The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion

by Hans Küng

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2008

Overview

Translated by John Bowden

In an age when faith and science seem constantly to clash, can theologians and scientists come to a meeting of minds? Yes, maintains the intrepid Hans Küng, as he brilliantly argues here that religion and science are not mutually exclusive but complementary.

Focusing on beginnings—beginnings of time, of the world, of man, of human will—Küng deals with an array of scientific precepts and teachings. From a unified field theory to quantum physics to the Big Bang to the theory of relativity—even superstring and chaos theories—he examines all of the theories regarding the beginning of the universe and life (of all kinds) in that universe.

Küng seeks to reconcile theology with the latest scientific insights, holding that “a confrontational model for the relationship between science and theology is out of date, whether put forward by fundamentalist believers and theologians or by rationalistic scientists and philosophers.” While accepting evolution as scientists generally describe it, he still maintains a role for God in founding the laws of nature by which life evolved and in facilitating the adventure of creation.

Exhibiting little patience for scientists who do not see beyond the limits of their discipline or for believers who try to tell experts how things must have been, Küng challenges readers to think more deeply about the beginnings in order to facilitate a new beginning in dialogue and understanding.

Praise for The Beginning of All Things

The prolific and inquisitive Hans Küng guides us through the conundrums of Big Bang cosmology, evolution, and brain science, showing how science raises questions it cannot answer. God is the answer. God is a rational answer, based on a faith that trusts. Küng's is a grippingly lucid and insightfully thoughtful addition to the field of science and religion.

—Ted Peters, coeditor of Theology and Science

Many will find it fascinating to see how a distinguished theologian offers his personal contribution to the dialogue between science and theology, writing in a bold and challenging manner and making good use of his wide reading and personal encounters.

—John Polkinghorne, Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral

Product Details

• Title: The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion
• Author: Hans Küng
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 234
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9780802863591, 0802863590
• Resource ID: LLS:BGNNNGLLSCNRLGN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-01T16:58:23Z

About Hans Küng

Hans Küng is a Swiss Catholic priest, controversial theologian, and prolific author. Since 1995 he has been President of the Foundation for a Global Ethic (Stiftung Weltethos). Küng is “a Catholic priest in good standing”, but the Vatican has rescinded his authority to teach Catholic theology. He had to leave the Catholic faculty, but remained at the University of Tübingen as a professor of ecumenical theology, serving as an emeritus professor since 1996.