Meeting the buddha on the road – An essay on christian scholarship

This essay looks at the christian theory of science from a very specific context. The essay is divided into two parts. In the first part two different (christian) theories of science, those of Dooyeweerd and Stoker, will be discussed. In the second part, these theories will be analysed against the background of recent developments in the theories of science and knowledge in the field of law and legal theory. The conclusion from the first part is that christian scholarship (and, conversely, a christian university) has nothing to do with the morality of either students or lecturers. It should also be clear that one cannot speak of “the” christian paradigm of science, but that there are various theories and paradigms. In the second part various problems with these two theories are discussed. These include the objectivist stance of both Dooyeweerd and Stoker, Dooyeweerd’s archimedean point of departure and Stoker’s use of socalled scriptural truths. These problems are highlighted by recent developments in legal theory of which christian scholarship must take cognisance