Editing Natural theology (section)

=== History ===
For [[monotheism|monotheistic religions]], this principally involves arguments about the [[Cataphatic theology|attributes]] or [[negative theology|non-attributes]] of a deity, and especially the [[existence of God|deity's existence]], using arguments that do not involve recourse to [[revelation]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Wahlberg|first=Mats|title=Divine Revelation|date=2020|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2020/entries/divine-revelation/|encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|editor-last=Zalta|editor-first=Edward N.|edition=Fall 2020|publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University|access-date=2020-10-09}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Natural Theology {{!}} Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|url=https://iep.utm.edu/theo-nat/|access-date=2020-10-09|language=en-US}}</ref>

The ideals of natural theology can be traced back to the [[Old Testament]] and [[Greek philosophy]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Swinburne|first=Richard|date=2007|title=The Revival of Natural Theology|journal=Archivio di Filosofia|volume=75|pages=303–322}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGrath |first1=Alister |title=Natural Theology |url=https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/NaturalTheology#section3 |journal=St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology |date=2022}}</ref> Early sources evident of these ideals come from [[Jeremiah]] and the [[Wisdom of Solomon]] (c. 50 BCE)<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Dines2004">{{cite book|author=Jennifer Mary Dines|title=The Septuagint|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_g_UAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|date=8 June 2004|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-567-08464-4|pages=19|quote=usually assigned to the late first century BCE}}</ref> and [[Plato]]'s dialogue [[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]] (c. 360 BCE).<ref name="NA229">{{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180;query=section%3D%23400;layout=;loc=Tim.%2028a| title = Plato, ''Timaeus''}}</ref> Aristotle's [[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|tractate on metaphysics]] claims to demonstrate the necessary existence of an unmoved [[Unmoved mover|prime mover]].

[[Marcus Terentius Varro]] (116–27 BCE) established a distinction between [[political theology]] (the social functions of religion), natural theology and [[mythical theology]]. His terminology became part of the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] tradition and then [[Christianity]] through [[Augustine of Hippo]] and [[Thomas Aquinas]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McGrath |first1=Alister |title=Natural Theology |url=https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/NaturalTheology#section4 |journal=St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology |date=2022}}</ref>