Thinking through Creation

Too often, all our contemporary culture sees in Genesis 1 and 2 are problems involving Darwin, dinosaurs, and the length of days, while the Trinity is dismissed as irrational or a later imposition on the Bible. But a loss of confidence in these doctrines would be a disaster for thinking Christians. In fact, these foundational, biblical truths of the Trinity and creation are among the richest sources of insights and tools for robust and sensitive engagement with contemporary culture. With diagrams and clear explanations both of the Bible and our contemporary world, Christopher Watkin reclaims the Trinity and creation from their cultural despisers and shows how these foundational doctrines speak into, question, and reorient some of the most important debates in today's society.

About the Author :
Christopher Watkin (MPhil, PhD, Jesus College, Cambridge) researches and writes on modern and contemporary French thought, atheism, and religion. Currently, he is a senior lecturer in French studies at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. He blogs at christopherwatkin.com, and you can find him on Twitter @DrChrisWatkin.

Review :
"Christopher Watkin's Thinking through Creation could not be more aptly named. Here is another excellent tool for contemporary Christians as they confront the challenges of postmodern culture. Watkin bores in on one of the nonnegotiable elements of the biblical narrative--the idea of creation. Of course Christians want to use the Bible and its teaching in the first two chapters of Genesis--but how? Especially when secularists have co-opted the term with their focus on the three Ds--dinosaurs, Darwin, and the days of creation? Watkin answers by insisting that we develop a clear understanding of the doctrines of the Trinity, human nature, and culture. The Trinity and creation are not irrational ideas to be rejected as embarrassing and outmoded. Just as Charles Cochrane in his enduring work Christianity and Classical Culture demonstrated how Augustine's Trinitarianism replaced the classical Greek worldview, Watkin deftly unpacks how a fresh understanding of the Trinity enables Christians in the twenty-first century to avoid the trap of debating the three Ds and instead to discover the riches of biblical teaching. But Watkin goes further than simply developing these ideas; he insists that we think with them. His creative use of diagonalization offers a fresh way of resolving apparent dichotomies that has captured contemporary thinking. Watkin's work deserves to be in the hands of pastors as well as all students--from college freshmen to seminarians."--Andrew Hoffecker, Professor of Church History Emeritus, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson "For years, as an academic sociologist and a volunteer leader in the Engaging the University initiative of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), I have been urging faculty and students worldwide to bring their disciplines, their scholarly debates and research agendas, and their teaching and writing into close creative encounters with powerful biblical motifs and theologies. Too often they reply, "Where is the theology, what are the motifs, that apply to the big issues in my field, to my research agendas?" In Thinking through Creation, Chris Watkin, a leading scholar of French social thought, presents a paradigmatic response. This learned, beautifully written, theologically infused, and highly evocative work provides all of us in the academy--students and senior faculty alike--with a creative theological armory that reflects the glory of our Creator God and can transform our scholarship. The book is readily accessible to any thoughtful student or professor, complete with aids to understanding difficult issues, study questions, and a rich bibliography. Watkin's deep insights carry rich value far beyond the social sciences and humanities to every corner of the twenty-first-century university."--Terence Halliday, Co-Director and Research Professor, American Bar Foundation; Honorary Professor, Australian National University; Adjunct Professor of Sociology, Northwestern University "I give a high endorsement to Christopher Watkin's little book Thinking through Creation. It is a fine contemporary example of the kind of Christian thinking that connects biblical teaching and historic Christian orthodoxy with the challenges of contemporary culture, but does so in a way that does not resort to proof-texting or to the shibboleths of the contemporary culture wars. Instead, it uses Scripture to break through the many false dilemmas that bedevil much contemporary thinking, both secular and Christian. Thoroughly conversant with a broad range of contemporary and classical thinkers, Watkin offers a radical and trenchant critique of contemporary culture and a well-grounded alternative shaped by the Christian Scriptures. I regard this slim volume as a seminal work, and I predict that it will become a classic of its kind."--Albert M. Wolters, Emeritus Professor of Worldview and Biblical Studies, Redeemer University College; author, Creation Regained (1985, 2005) "If theology is the application of God's Word to all areas of life, then we have to understand not only Scripture but the world in which we live and move and have our being. Cultural studies are all the rage in secular universities, but Chris Watkin here sketches the contours of a distinctly biblical and Christian theory for interpreting our contemporary culture with theological categories, such as Trinity and creation, doing the heavy lifting. Watkin does much more than round up the usual proof texts: he also calls our attention to biblical patterns that diagonally cut through taken-for-granted false dichotomies such as the fact-value distinction. In so doing, he convincingly shows that Genesis 1 and 2 offer much more than fodder for debates about creation vs. evolution. Their enduring contribution has as much to do with ways of human thinking and being in the world (culture) as with cosmological origins (nature). Modern theory may have disenchanted the world, but Watkin's book, like the world that God created good, is 'enchanted' in the best sense: run through with Word, song, and meaning. Take up and take heed."--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School "Just brilliant! A great gift to Christian thought and discipleship. In a rare combination, Watkin shows us at the deepest level what it means to read the world through the Word, but in a way that is genuinely accessible. His demonstrations of biblical patterns and structures are incredibly helpful. With the excitement of a kid at Christmas, I opened the gift of 'diagonalization, ' and it has already become a favorite tool for my lectures on culture and Christian worldview."--Dan Strange, Acting Principal, Oak Hill College, London "On a dramatic and unprecedented scale, historic Protestantism is today a global phenomenon, and its maturing presence in countries and cultures far and vastly different from its native contexts is an urgent call to pursue biblical wisdom on what it means to be an image-bearer in God's world. Chris Watkin's Thinking through Creation takes up this task with winsomeness, style, and insight. His approach to Scripture combines humility with rigor, and his theological offerings make free use of a vast range of explanatory tools and concepts that he commands with ease and deploys with didactic mastery. This is a delightful, easily accessible text, which promises a fruitful and enjoyable encounter with the wealth of the Word of God for Christian living and witness today."--Nathan D. Shannon, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, Torch Trinity Graduate University, Seoul; editor, Great Thinkers series "This is one of the most refreshing books I have read in a long time. With deceptive simplicity, Watkin defends exegetical, theological, and philosophical verities that are much needed in today's discussions. Rather than being embarrassed by Christian doctrines such as creation ex nihilo, the Trinity, and the Sabbath, he sees them as unique strengths in the quest for truth. Among his most helpful strategies is diagonalizing, which we used to call the third way: a corrective to scores of false dichotomies, such as functionality vs. beauty, corrected by the meaning of God's creation; fact as objective vs. value as subjective, corrected by the 'and there was . . . and God saw that it was good' of Genesis 1; and nature vs. culture, corrected by the cultural mandate. For those who thought that all had been said about Genesis, philosophy, and culture, this marvelous book will convince them otherwise, and it will inspire them to explore further."--William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary Chris Watkin explores two controversial and often-overlooked doctrines (the Trinity and Creation) in order to tear down false dichotomies in philosophy and lift up treasures of truth just below the surface of our creedal affirmations. This book helps us to inhabit biblical worlds of thought so that we can see, interpret, and reach our world with the gospel.--Trevin Wax, Bible and Reference Publisher, LifeWay Christian Resources, author of Eschatological Discipleship, This Is Our Time, and Counterfeit Gospels