Aquinas, Science, and Human Uniqueness: An Integrated Approach to the Question of What Makes Us Human
Ebook
What is a human being? What makes humans special, different from other creatures? Or is a human just another animal? Drawing on Scripture, Aquinas, and science, this book seeks to articulate both why and how humans should be understood as special. Despite amazing similarities to other creatures, humans are physiologically, psychologically, and spiritually unique beings. No other creatures--not even angels--have the unique combination of capacities nor the divine calling that humans have. Vanden Berg argues that only humans are material-spiritual, intellective, worshipping beings created specifically for a personal relationship with their Creator and with the stated vocation of caring for God's world and representing God in it.
“It is a wonderful gift to have a thoughtful and courageous theologian reach across Christian perspectives, pursue interdisciplinary engagement with the sciences, and remain intentionally rooted within her own tradition. Vanden Berg’s argument for human uniqueness is a valuable starting place that will foster robust conversations between Protestants and Catholics, scientists and theologians, clergy and congregants.”
—Clay Carlson, Trinity Christian College
“Mary Vanden Berg makes a persuasive case for retrieving Aquinas’s notion of the soul’s intellective capacity as the best way forward for doing justice not only to human uniqueness but to the human dignity of the disabled as well. The argument turns on rightly dividing physical from metaphysical judgments, science from theology. The conclusion—that humans are material-spiritual worshiping animals—is compelling.”
—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“Mary Vanden Berg provides an insightful exploration of human uniqueness in this well-researched and well-written book. Vanden Berg’s retrieval of Aquinas, interpretation of Scripture, and engagement with contemporary science, all in conversation with the Reformed tradition, make a valuable contribution to contemporary theological anthropology. This is no small feat. Moreover, Vanden Berg’s epistemological humility is a balm for treating those wounded by debates in science and religion.”
—Ryan S. Peterson, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
“Dr. Vanden Berg provides an uncommon integration of theological acumen, careful exegesis, informed science, and pastoral engagement. The result is a cogent and existentially satisfying presentation of what it means to be human.”
—John W. Hilber, McMaster Divinity College
“Vanden Berg’s new book is a welcome entrée into what it means to be human in a post-Darwinian world. In dialogue with the natural sciences and Aquinas, she probes the mystery of the human condition while drawing from Scripture and the Catholic tradition. Even for readers like me who are unconvinced by the evolutionary story, her insights are brimming with pastoral relevance. . . . Vanden Berg offers us a stimulating treatment of what’s so astonishing about God’s gracious gift of being human.”
—Hans Madueme, MD, Covenant College
- Title: Aquinas, Science, and Human Uniqueness: An Integrated Approach to the Question of What Makes Us Human
- Author: Mary L. Vanden Berg
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781725267787, 9781725267763, 1725267764, 9781725267770, 1725267772, 1725267780
- Resource ID: LLS:9781725267787
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-02-28T17:20:00Z
Mary L. Vanden Berg is the Jean and Kenneth Baker Professor of Systematic Theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan.