Bøker i Theology & the Sciences S.-serien

Readers: College, university, and seminary students; scholars of theology, ethics, and bioethics

Two partial apprehensions of nature vied for dominance in the past century: religious (void of any influence from science) and scientific (unable to admit any reality, beyond the empirical). Both views have led to the exploitation of nature -- and the scientific may prove even more devastating. The fault, Gilkey argues, lies not in the scientific knowledge of nature but in the assumed philosophy of science that accompanies most scientific and technological practice. Scientific knowing needs to be critiqued and brought into relationship with other complementary ways of knowing.

"This amazing book takes into account all of the leading premises of the modern concept of biocultural evolution and builds a bridge to religious theory. Its value lies in its ability to pose the major questions and sketch proposals for dealing with them. To my knowledge it is the first work to make such an attempt."--Solomon H. KatzUniversity of Pennsylvania "Hefner's book is a major breakthrough in doing constructive theology. His view of human beings as created co-creators is filled with balanced insight regarding how humans are united with the rest of creation, while having a special place because of their brains and culture."--Karl E. PetersCoeditor, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science

Scientist and theologian Sjoerd Bonting offers a new overarching framework for thinking about issues in religion and science. He looks at the creation controversy itself, including biblical perspectives, tradtional doctrines, and the particular potential contribution of chaos theory. Finally, Bonting extends this perspective, a combination of chaos theory and chaos theology he calls "double-chaos," into a framework that addresses traditional questions about evil, divine agency, soteriology, the understanding of disease, possible extraterrestrial life, and the future.