Science and the Doctrine of Creation: The Approaches of Ten Modern Theologians
Overview
Can Christians take seriously the claims of modern science without compromising their theological integrity? Can theology contribute to our understanding of the natural world without reducing the doctrine of creation to a few flashpoint issues? While there is no shortage of works that treat the intersection between science and religion, little attention has been paid to the theological reception of developments of modern science. Yet a deeper look at the history of Christian thought offers a wealth of insight from theological giants for navigating this complex terrain.
Science and the Doctrine of Creation examines how influential modern theologians—from the turn of the nineteenth century through the present—have engaged the scientific developments of their times in light of the doctrine of creation. In each chapter a leading Christian thinker introduces readers to the unique contributions of a key theologian in responding to the assumptions, claims, and methods of science. Chapters include
- Kevin J. Vanhoozer on T. F. Torrance
- Katherine Sonderegger on Karl Barth
- Craig G. Bartholomew on Abraham Kuyper
- Christoph Schwöbel on Wolfhart Pannenberg
Edited by Geoffrey Fulkerson and Joel Chopp of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding, this book grows out of the Henry Center’s Creation Project, which promotes biblically faithful and scientifically engaged dialogue around the doctrine of creation. From Warfield’s critical appraisal of Darwinian evolution to Pannenberg’s pneumatological reflections on field theory, these studies explore how Christians can think more carefully about the issues at stake using the theological resources of their traditions.
- Examines how influential modern theologians have engaged the scientific developments of their times in light of the doctrine of creation
- Responds to the assumptions, claims, and methods of science
- Offers a wealth of insight from theological giants for navigating this complex terrain
- Introduction (Geoffrey H. Fulkerson and Joel Thomas Chopp)
- 1. William Burt Pope (1822–1903): Primary and Secondary Creation (Fred Sanders)
- 2. Abraham Kuyper (1837–1920): Enlightenment, Science, Worldview, and the Christian Mind (Craig Bartholomew)
- 3. B. B. Warfield (1851–1921): Evolution, Human Origins, and the Development of Theology (Bradley J. Gundlach)
- 4. Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976): Myth, Science, and Hermeneutics (Joshua W. Jipp)
- 5. Karl Barth (1886–1968): The Doctrine of Creation and the World of Science (Katherine Sonderegger)
- 6. T. F. Torrance (1913–2007): Christ the Key to Creation and Theological Science (Kevin J. Vanhoozer)
- 7. Jürgen Moltmann (1926–): The Environment of Science and Theology (Stephen N. Williams)
- 8. Wolfhart Pannenberg (1928–2014): Nature, Contingency, and the Spirit (Christoph Schwöbel)
- 9. Robert Jenson (1930–2017): History’s God (Stephen John Wright)
- 10. Colin E. Gunton (1941–2003): The Triune God, Scientific Endeavor, and God’s Creation Project (Murray A. Rae)
- Afterword by Alister E. McGrath
This volume represents another valuable contribution of the Creation Project to our understanding of this vital doctrine. The thinkers profiled are influential, and the chapter authors are insightful. As the editors suggest, these case studies frequently deepen our awareness that seeking appropriate concord between theology and science is complex but inevitable for biblical Christians.
Daniel J. Treier, Knoedler Professor of Theology at Wheaton College
The person who does not specialize in the work of modern academic theologians wants to know who the key writers are, with a clear survey of their distinctive views and contributions, given with sympathy and even critique. This volume, with its focus on the specific question of how these theologians have brought the Christian doctrine of creation into engagement with the sciences, has achieved exactly that. The editors, representing the Carl Henry Center for Theological Understanding, have done great service to us all and furthered the invaluable work of the center. We owe them a deep debt of gratitude!
C. John ("Jack") Collins, professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis
Science and the Doctrine of Creation presents ten of the most influential nineteenth- and twentieth-century theologians writing on dialogue with the sciences, analyzed by ten leading contemporary scholars in the field. With this new book, Geoffrey Fulkerson and Joel Chopp confirm the leading position of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding as a forum for informed scholarly debate, bringing theology and science into fruitful interaction.
Lydia Jaeger, lecturer and academic dean at the Institut Biblique de Nogent-sur-Marne, France, and research associate at St. Edmund's College, University of Cambridge
- Title: Science and the Doctrine of Creation: The Approaches of Ten Modern Theologians
- Authors: Geoffrey H. Fulkerson, Joel Thomas Chopp
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2021
- Logos Release Date: 2021
- Pages: 256
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Creation › History of doctrines; Religion and science
- ISBNs: 9780830826759, 9780830852802, 9780830826858, 9780851114842, 0830826750, 0830852808, 0830826858, 0851114849
- Resource ID: LLS:SCNCDCTRNCRTN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:53:21Z
Geoffrey H. Fulkerson (PhD, TEDS) is assistant director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is founder and editor-in-chief of HCTU’s periodical, Sapientia.
Joel Thomas Chopp (PhD candidate, University of Toronto) is project and communications manager for the Henry Center’s Creation Project. He also serves as associate editor of Sapientia.