Koers and the ideal of Christian scholarship

Abstract

Commemorating the 75-year existence of the journal Koers is connected to the Reformational tradition, from Calvin to Kuyper, Stoker, Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven – all thinkers who realised that the biblical starting point of life indeed touches the heart, the religious root, of humankind and therefore cannot remain restricted to church life and religion in its narrow sense, but must come to expression in all walks of life. This awareness was a fruit of the Christian worldview and lifeview which currently is confronted by the Big Bang claims and by neo-Darwinism – both movements taking on cultic dimensions with an intolerance towards everyone who does not accept their perspective. Their attitude generated serious reactions on two websites, the impact of which was discussed in this article. Some problems entailed in Darwinism and physicalistic materialism were highlighted, before attention was given to the status of natural laws and normative principles. Particular attention was given to the elimination of God’s law and the way in which modern Humanism explored the two cornerstones of modern nominalism, up to the point where human understanding was elevated to become the a priori formal law-giver of nature. This legacy was continued both by the later developments within the Baden school of neo-Kantian thought and Postmodernism,which is placed within the context of the three succeeding epistemic ideals of the past three centuries. Rationality can only fulfil its true calling when it accounts for the cohering diversity within reality without becoming a victim of any form of reductionism – and by following this guiding star, Koers will continue to strengthen its invaluable contribution to the advancement of Christian scholarship.