About the Book
It is hard to think of an area of Christian theology that provides more scope for interdisciplinary conversation than the doctrine of creation. This doctrine not only invites reflection on an intellectual concept: it calls for contemplation of the endlessly complex, dynamic, and fascinating world that human being inhabit. But the possibilities for wide-ranging discussion are such that scholars sometimes end up talking past one another. Productive conversation requires mutual understanding of insights across disciplinary boundaries. Knowing Creation offers an essential resource for helping scholars from a range of fields to appreciate one another's concerns and perspectives. In so doing, it offers an important step forward in establishing a mutually-enriching dialogue that addresses, amongst others, the following key questions:
Who is the God who creates
Why does God create
What is "creation"
What does it mean to recognize that a theology of creation speaks of a natural world that is subject to the observation of the natural sciences What does it mean to talk about both a "natural" order and a "created" order
What are the major tensions that have arisen between the natural sciences and Christian thinking historically, and why How can we move beyond such tensions to a positive and constructive conversation, while also avoiding facile notions such as a "god of the gaps"
Is it feasible for a natural scientist to maintain a belief in God's continuing creative activity
In what ways might a naturalistic understanding of the natural world be said to be limited
How can biblical studies, theology, philosophy, history, and science talk better together about these questions
At a time when the doctrine of creation - and even a mention of "creation" - has been disparaged due to its supposed associations with anti-scientific dogma, and theological offerings sometimes risk appearing a little more than reactionary exercises in naive apologetics, ill-informed by science or distinctly wary of engagement with it, it is more important than ever to offer a cross-disciplinary resource that can voice a positive account of a Christian theology of creation, and do so as a genuinely broad-ranging conversation about science and faith.
Contributors to Knowing Creation include Marilyn McCord Adams, Denis Alexander, Susan Eastman, C. Stephen Evans, Peter van Inwagen, Christoph Schwobel, John H. Walton, Francis Watson, and more.
Table of Contents:
I. Introduction: Knowing Creation (editors)
II. Theological Perspectives
1. Christoph Schwöbel (Tubingen), Reading Creation: Creation as God’s Text and the Gift of Human Literacy
2. John Webster (St Andrews), “The Introduction of Being Entirely”: Creation Out of Nothing
3. Simon Oliver (Durham): Creation, Nature and Humanity
4. Randall Zachman (Notre Dame), Why Should Free Scientific Inquiry Matter to Faith?
III. Biblical and Historical Perspectives
5. Francis Watson (Durham), How did Genesis become a Problem? On the Hermeneutics of Natural Science
6. John Walton (Wheaton), Origins in Genesis? An Ancient Text in a Modern Scientific World
7. William Brown (Columbia Theological Seminary), 'Knowing Creation in the light of Job and Astrobiology'
8. Susan Eastman (Duke), Knowing and Being Known: Personal Knowledge and the Apostle Paul
IV. Philosophical Perspectives
9. C. Stephen Evans (Baylor), Natural Knowledge of God, Darwinian Evolution, and the Sensus Divinitatis
10. John Haldane (St Andrews), Christian Thought and Natural Science: Two Perspectives or Two Worlds?
11. Robert Koons (Texas), Ontological Escalation: A Neo-Aristotelian Alternative to ‘Emergence’ and Non-reductive Materialism
12. Marilyn McCord Adams (Rutgers), Sanctifying Material Creation
V. Scientific Perspectives
13. Denis Alexander (Cambridge), Creation, Providence and Evolution
14. Tom McLeish (Durham), The Science-and-Religion Delusion: Towards a Theology of Science
15. William Simpson (St Andrews), Knowing Nature: Beyond the False Dilemma of Dualism and Physicalism
16. Mark Harris (Edinburgh), “The Trees of the Field shall Clap their Hands” (Is. 55:12): Exploring Creation’s Praise of the Creator
About the Author :
Andrew B. Torrance (PhD, University of Otago) is a Research Fellow at St. Mary’s College, the School of Divinity of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland and the project leader for Scientists in Congregations Scotland (www.sicscotland.org). He is author of The Freedom to Become a Christian: A Kierkegaardian Account of Human Transformation in Relationship with God (T & T Clark, 2016) and has published a number of articles in related areas.
Thomas H. McCall (PhD, Calvin Seminary) is professor of biblical and systematic theology and director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of Which Trinity? Whose Monotheism? Philosophical and Systematic Theologians on the Metaphysics of Trinitarian Theology; Forsaken: The Trinity and the Cross, and Why It Matters; An Invitation to Analytic Christian Theology and coeditor (with Michael C. Rea) of Philosophical and Theological Essays on the Trinity.
Review :
'Andrew Torrance and Thomas McCall have brought together an outstanding group of philosophers, theologians, biblical scholars, and scientists to reflect on the notion of creation. The result is a deep examination from diverse points of view on the relation of religion and science that ought to be required reading for anyone interested in this important topic.'
'Editors Torrance and McCall have assembled a first-rate cast of authors writing with unusually sharp insight about God, science, and the created realm. The great achievement of their book is to demonstrate how productive--rather than how contentious--classical Christianity and contemporary scientific investigation can be. The book is accessible, but deeply considered chapters make a stellar contribution.'
'Knowing Creation brings together leading Christian thinkers to enrich our understanding of the relationship between Christianity and science. I found myself enlightened and encouraged in my faith and my thinking. I recommend this book with great enthusiasm to a broad readership.'
'Knowing Creation is a rich collection of theologically informed essays. The authors engage an impressive array of conversations partners from Job and Moses, to Plato and Aristotle, from Luther and Calvin, to Derrida and Dawkins. This is a valuable contribution to the science and religion dialogue.'
'Knowing Creation is a wide-ranging resource for those who want to think more deeply about the complexity and wonder of the created world. We are indebted to the authors of these essays for their stimulating--and often challenging--reflections about our knowledge of God's creation.'
'Knowing Creation moves beyond jaded conflict narratives to innovative, substantive dialogue about creation. By assembling a team of scientifically savvy theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars in conversation with theologically informed scientists, Knowing Creation breaks new ground in thinking deeply about the astonishing richness of God's creation.'
'This volume includes chapters that exemplify awareness of relevant areas of contemporary science and biblical scholarship. Other contributors set the topic firmly within an historical context. The uses of the concept of creation are carefully scrutinised by philosophers determined to identify and expose muddled thinking wherever it occurs. The result is a challenging book which will fully reward careful and critical reading.'
“Andrew Torrance and Thomas McCall have brought together an outstanding group of philosophers, theologians, biblical scholars, and scientists to reflect on the notion of creation. The result is a deep examination from diverse points of view on the relation of religion and science that ought to be required reading for anyone interested in this important topic.”
“Editors Torrance and McCall have assembled a first-rate cast of authors writing with unusually sharp insight about God, science, and the created realm. The great achievement of their book is to demonstrate how productive---rather than how contentious---classical Christianity and contemporary scientific investigation can be. The book is accessible, but deeply considered chapters make a stellar contribution.”
“Knowing Creation brings together leading Christian thinkers to enrich our understanding of the relationship between Christianity and science. I found myself enlightened and encouraged in my faith and my thinking. I recommend this book with great enthusiasm to a broad readership.”
“Knowing Creation is a rich collection of theologically informed essays. The authors engage an impressive array of conversations partners from Job and Moses, to Plato and Aristotle, from Luther and Calvin, to Derrida and Dawkins. This is a valuable contribution to the science and religion dialogue.”
“Knowing Creation is a wide-ranging resource for those who want to think more deeply about the complexity and wonder of the created world. We are indebted to the authors of these essays for their stimulating---and often challenging---reflections about our knowledge of God’s creation.”
“Knowing Creation moves beyond jaded conflict narratives to innovative, substantive dialogue about creation. By assembling a team of scientifically savvy theologians, philosophers, and biblical scholars in conversation with theologically informed scientists, Knowing Creation breaks new ground in thinking deeply about the astonishing richness of God’s creation.”
“This volume includes chapters that exemplify awareness of relevant areas of contemporary science and biblical scholarship. Other contributors set the topic firmly within an historical context. The uses of the concept of creation are carefully scrutinised by philosophers determined to identify and expose muddled thinking wherever it occurs. The result is a challenging book which will fully reward careful and critical reading.”
“Torrance and McCall bring together leading scholars in theology, biblical studies, philosophy, and the sciences to offer intelligent and immensely accessible perspectives on creation. Anyone who cares about the future of Christian theology and its potential to reinvigorate the meaning and purpose of the sciences should read this volume.”
