Doğal Din Tasavvuru Üzerinden Hıristiyanlık Okuması: John Toland’ın Tanrı, Din ve Vahiy Anlayışı

Abstract

Bugün “Aydınlanma” olarak nitelendirdiğimiz 18. yüzyıl Batı düşüncesine temel karakteristiğini veren hususlardan biri doğa felsefesinden “bilime” doğru yaşanan sıçramadır. 17. yüzyılda Newton’la özdeşleşen doğa felsefesinin matematiksel yasalarının tespitine yönelik teşebbüsle Tanrı’ya, evrene ve insana yönelik bakış açısı da değişmiştir. Bu süreçte Hıristiyanlığın akıl ve doğa ile uyumlu hale getirilme çabalarının arttığı görülür. Doğa ve akıl ile uyumlu din arzusu Hıristiyanlık içerisinde dinî rasyonalistler başlığı altında değerlendirilen çeşitli yaklaşımlar doğurmuştur. Bu dönemde ayrıca ağırlıklı olarak deistler tarafından dile getirilen “doğal din” söylemi ile karşılaşılır. Yaşadığı zaman diliminde entelektüel kimliği ve çok sayıda eseriyle fikirleri takip edilmiş bir isim olan John Toland da doğal din anlayışını savunanlardan biridir. Bu çalışmada Tanrı, din ve vahiy hakkındaki görüşlerinden hareketle, Toland’ın sahip olduğu doğal din perspektifi açısından Hıristiyanlığın geleneksel yapısına yönelik değerlendirmeleri ele alınacaktır.

Keywords

• John Toland
• Deizm
• Doğal Din
• Hıristiyanlık
• Vahiy

A Reading of Christianity through the Conception of Natural Religion: John Toland’s Understanding of God, Religion, and Revelation

Abstract

One of the critical issues in the philosophy of Enlightenment was the leap from natural philosophy to science. As a result of the quest to uncover the mathematical principles of natural philosophy, which was identified with Newton in the 17th century, the view toward God, universe, and mankind also changed. In this process, attempts to harmonize Christianity with reason and nature were increased. The wish to have a religion in harmony with nature and reason gave way to different interpretations within Christianity described as religious rationalists. In this period, moreover, there emerged "natural religion" discourse, mainly advocated by deists. John Toland, who distinguished himself with his intellectual profile and many works and whose ideas were closely followed, also defended the concept of natural religion. By surveying Toland's views on God, religion, and revelation, this study will examine Toland's evaluation of the traditional structure of Christianity through the prism of his notion of natural religion.

Keywords

• John Toland
• Deism
• Natural Religion
• Christianity
• Revelation

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