From “Let there be light” to “Lumen Christi”: created and uncreated light in Scripture, Patristics, and liturgy
Light between physics and theology: analogical convergence, epistemological limits, and the rationality of creation
This article examines the epistemological conditions under which light can function as a locus of dialogue between physics and theology, without concordism, reductionism, category error, or appeal to a “God of the gaps.” The guiding question concerns the methodological rules required for the two discourses to meet without one being reduced to the other. The thesis defended is that the only legitimate form of convergence is analogical and stratified: physics describes the properties, interactions, and cosmological role of light through empirico-mathematical methods, metaphysics interrogates the intelligibility of this description, and theology interprets creation in relation to the Logos and its finality — three distinct yet not isolated levels. The article draws on the author’s own interdisciplinary profile (engineering and theological formation) to propose a methodological model more precise than the simplified formula “science answers how, theology answers why,” refining it through the Thomistic rule of analogy and through four recent studies by the theologian Gabriel-Iulian Robu on the limits of conceptual language about the divine. The article discusses, as a methodological case study, the figure of the priest-physicist Georges Lemaître and formulates three serious objections to its own argument — epistemic asymmetry, the rhetorical risk of analogy, and the “God of the gaps” objection — to which it responds, concluding with three operational criteria for a responsible dialogue.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/DSTG1051
Dialog Teologic XXIX/58 (2026)
p., 17×24, ISSN 1453-8075, 25 lei.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/SQWH8546
Cumpără online de la Librăria Sapientia
Vizualizează online Dialog Teologic 58
Florin-Emilian ŢURCANU
Light between physics and theology: analogical convergence, epistemological limits, and the rationality of creation
This article examines the epistemological conditions under which light can function as a locus of dialogue between physics and theology, without concordism, reductionism, category error, or appeal to a “God of the gaps.” The guiding question concerns the methodological rules required for the two discourses to meet without one being reduced to the other. The thesis defended is that the only legitimate form of convergence is analogical and stratified: physics describes the properties, interactions, and cosmological role of light through empirico-mathematical methods, metaphysics interrogates the intelligibility of this description, and theology interprets creation in relation to the Logos and its finality — three distinct yet not isolated levels. The article draws on the author’s own interdisciplinary profile (engineering and theological formation) to propose a methodological model more precise than the simplified formula “science answers how, theology answers why,” refining it through the Thomistic rule of analogy and through four recent studies by the theologian Gabriel-Iulian Robu on the limits of conceptual language about the divine. The article discusses, as a methodological case study, the figure of the priest-physicist Georges Lemaître and formulates three serious objections to its own argument — epistemic asymmetry, the rhetorical risk of analogy, and the “God of the gaps” objection — to which it responds, concluding with three operational criteria for a responsible dialogue.
This article traces the biblical, patristic, and liturgical trajectory of the motif of light, from the first creative command to the Nicene confession “Light from Light” and to the sacramental actualization of Baptism as “illumination.” The guiding question is how the biblical motif of light moves from created reality and sign of God’s saving presence to christological, sacramental, and ecclesial predication, without conflating created light with God himself. The thesis defended is that the canonical arc from Genesis 1:3 to Revelation 21 does not establish a physico-metaphysical identity between cosmic light and God; rather, it reconfigures the symbol of light christologically and liturgically: what functions as a created gift in the Old Testament finds its personal fulfillment in Christ, while the created–uncreated distinction safeguards both divine transcendence and the possibility of human participation in grace. The method combines theological exegesis of representative biblical texts with their patristic reception and liturgical actualization, integrating, as an element of novelty, four recent studies by the theologian Gabriel-Iulian Robu on the phenomenology of gift, the iconic, and the hermeneutics of Genesis. The article’s contribution lies in joining, within a controlled argument, four registers usually treated separately: the exegesis of Genesis, the christological concentration in the Johannine and Pauline writings, the Nicene patristic reception, and the paschal liturgical actualization.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/YPVK4115
This study offers a reading of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’ from an Ignatian perspective. The first part examines the structural elements of the encyclical through the lens of the Ignatian spiritual triad : contemplation, discernment, and action. The second part of the study provides an interpretation of the encyclical’s key concepts based on two fundamental contemplations from St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises : The Contemplation on the Incarnation and the Contemplation to Attain Love. This approach aims to highlight the contemporary relevance of the Supreme Pontiff’s vision, with the goal of providing a spiritual theological framework for potential initiatives centred on the spiritual and vocational formation of young people, families, and ecclesial communities.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53438/KIPD8238