All Things Hold Together in Christ: A Conversation on Faith, Science, and Virtue
Overview
As Christians engage controversial cultural issues, we must remember that "all things hold together in Christ" (Col. 1:17)--even when it comes to science and faith. This anthology is an invitation to find resources for faithful, creative thinking in the riches of the church's theological heritage and its worship traditions. Reflecting “the Colossian Way” this book offers a vision that will help congregations pursue the truth in love. Top Christian thinkers show how attending to the formation of virtue through the practices of worship creates the hospitable space we need to deal with difference and disagreement in the body of Christ.
Key Features
- Engages thoughtful with perspectives on both science and faith
- Thoughtfully considers how disagreement within the community of faith can be fruitfully engaged
- Provides a substantive example for interaction among Christians of a variety of perspectives
Contents
- The Church as Church: Practicing the Politics of Jesus by Rodney Clapp
- Friends of God and Friends of God's Friends by Samuel Wells
- Friendship and the Ways to Truth by David Burrell
- Worship Is Our Worldview: Christian Worship and the Formation of Desire by James K. A. Smith
- Common Prayer by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro
- The Master Argument of MacIntyre's After Virtue by Brad Kallenberg
- The Nature of the Virtues by Alasdair MacIntyre
- The Church as a Community of Practice by Jonathan R. Wilson
- Resistance to the Demands of Love: On Sloth by Rebecca DeYoung
- Cultivating Gratitude: Pray without Ceasing by Paul Griffiths
- Why Christian Character Matters by N. T. Wright
- The Rationality of Traditions by Alasdair MacIntyre
- Aquinas and the Rationality of Tradition by Alasdair MacIntyre
- The Epistemic Priority of Jesus Christ by Robert Barron
- Reading Scripture with the Reformers by Timothy George
- Come and See: A Christological Invitation for Science by Mark Noll
- Encountering God's World: Curiositas vs. Caritas by Paul Griffiths
- The Religious Path to Exclusive Humanism: From Deism to Atheism by James K. A. Smith
- Natural Theology, or a Theology of Creation? by Stanley Hauerwas
- Science, Stories, and Our Knowledge of the Natural World by Alasdair MacIntyre
- Science for the Church: Natural Sciences in the Christian University by Jonathan R. Wilson
Praise for the Print Edition
A quiet revolution is going on in the contested debates between science and religion, and this anthology represents vital reading for its manifesto. The foreword and introduction by the editors are essential prior reading in laying out the way this book can be a training manual in learning how to think differently about those debates. Scientific knowledge as equated with understanding what nature is all about becomes unsettled by an insistence on the cultural embedding of science as practice. Theological knowledge is qualified by reference to the practical and ecclesial context in which that knowledge needs to be grounded. The steps required to re-vision such a perspective are built into this anthology, drawing on influential theologians and philosophers who have, in different ways, insisted on the importance of Scripture-laden faith traditions and virtue development. The editors insist, and I think they are correct, that the methodological basis for understanding dialogue between theology and science needs to be overhauled. It is time for theology to reclaim a voice but at the same time become aware of its limitations as a servant in the broader vision of building the church for a new century. This anthology will be essential reading for the student and educated layperson alike.
—Celia Deane-Drummond, director, Center for Theology, Science, and Human Flourishing, professor of theology, University of Notre Dame
This book demonstrates how texts can speak again and afresh in new contexts. This anthology's convergence of authors and readings invites readers into a new way of thinking about faithful Christian practice amid the postmodern university, Christian or otherwise. As such, those who follow the logic of All Things Hold Together in Christ—a dense yet sturdy argument whose path is facilitated by our conductors' expert arrangement of many renowned voices into a novel harmony--will be initiated into 'The Colossian Way,' which aspires to be nothing less than a viable mode of contemporary discipleship along the way of Jesus in a secular world.
—Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Theological Seminary
The Colossian Forum is renewing the conversation on science in the church today. It's the kind of conversation we need--starting with worship of the Creator, practicing humble dialogue within Christian communities, and remembering the limits of science as well as its importance in a Christian worldview. This volume presents the writings of leading philosophers, theologians, and historians on the role of Christian practice in forming virtues, the role of virtues in forming intellectual discourse, and the role of Christology in forming our understanding of science and creation. Our best guard against deism and scientism is to center the science and faith conversation on Jesus Christ, the crucified savior and the creator of the cosmos, in whom all things hold together.
—Deborah Haarsma, president, BioLogos
Product Details
- Title: All Things Hold Together in Christ: A Conversation on Faith, Science, and Virtue
- Editors: James K. A. Smith and Michael L. Gulker
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 292
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Theology
About the Editors
James K. A. Smith (PhD, Villanova University) is professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he also holds the Gary and Henrietta Byker Chair in Applied Reformed Theology and Worldview. He is the editor of Comment magazine and is a popular speaker. Smith has authored or edited many books, including Imagining the Kingdom, Who's Afraid of Relativism?, and the Christianity Today Book Award winners You Are What You Love, Desiring the Kingdom, and Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?
Michael L. Gulker (MDiv, Duke Divinity School) is president of The Colossian Forum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and an ordained Mennonite pastor. He previously pastored a church in Des Moines, Iowa.