Creation and Science Chronicle

An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology: Faith Seeking Understanding

Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 9780310104087 (paperback)
Pages: 208
Price: $23

Summary:
Philosophical or analytic theology seeks to employ philosophical tools while studying topics in Christian theology and examining the logical consistency or intelligibility of some of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. In this accessible primer, An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology, authors Stephen T. Davis and Eric T. Yang first explain the scope, relevance, and value of philosophical theology and then applies its conceptual tools to examine each of the core Christian doctrines:

Revelation and Scripture
The Trinity
The Incarnation
Redemption and the atonement,
Resurrection and life after death

The final chapter briefly addresses some additional theological issues including petitionary prayer, eschatology, and original sin.

Designed for beginning students and non-specialists this guide provides the ideal entry point for not only understanding what philosophical theology is but also for how it can provide valuable insights for how we think about the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

The Bible & Ancient Science: Principles of Interpretation

McGahan Publishing House
ISBN: 9781951252052 (hardcover)
Pages: 218
Price: $16

Summary:
Theologian and scientist Denis O. Lamoureux suggests that a common assumption of biblical interpretation fuels this struggle. Many Christians think Scripture is supposed to align with science in some sort of way. This idea is known as “scientific concordism” (or simply “concordism”). But Lamoureux demonstrates that the Bible has an ancient science. During the inspiration of Scripture, the Holy Spirit came down to the level of the biblical writers and allowed them to use the science-of-the-day as a vessel for delivering life-changing, inerrant spiritual truths. Dr. Lamoureux explains how moving beyond concordism leads to a peaceful and God-honoring relationship between modern science and our Christian faith.

Theology and Science: From Genesis to Astrobiology

World Scientific
ISBN: 9789813235038 (hardcover)
Pages: 440
Price: $148

Summary:
The age-old debate between science and faith invites more players to the fore in this book. Proponents of the origin of life as a natural process and natural selection as a mechanism of evolution come face to face with advocates for the intervention of a creator, while other scholars believe that the gulf between science and religion should be bridged. At turns disconcerting, revelatory, and profound, readers are invited to leave their preconceived notions at the door and join these writers in this curious journey of discovery.

Table of Contents:
Preface by Joseph Seckbach
Prologue on Why by Richard Gordon
Part I Astrotheology
Chapter 1: Astrobiology as Contemporary Theology by Dawn Skjei Cooley
Chapter 2: Astrobiology and Astrotheology in Creative Mutual Interaction by Ted Peters
Part II Approach of Jewish Studies
Chapter 3: Science and Medicine in Talmudic Literature: Ancient Jewish Knowledge Compared to Modern Understanding by Mordechai Halperin
Chapter 4: The Science of One Life at a Time by Robert Pollack
Chapter 5: Science and Exegesis: A Case Study of Genesis 1 by Robert B. Sheldon
Part III Theology Critics
Chapter 6: On Language and Nationhood: Lessons from the Tower of Babel by Abraham Berkowitz
Chapter 7: Cosmic Conspiracy Theories: How Theologies Evade Science by Taner Edis
Chapter 8: Free Will: Science Reveals the Seat of Our Power to Choose by Gerald L. Schroeder
Chapter 9: Science versus Religion: The Fallacious Conflict by Frithjof A. S. Sterrenburg
Chapter 10: Scientific Thinking versus Religious Thinking from a Viewpoint of a Secular Science Educator by Shlomo Vinner
Part IV Interaction: Science — Theology
Chapter 11: Rabbi Kook’s Teachings on the Theory of Evolution: The Human Ethics by Dov Berger
Chapter 12: The Delusion of Unethical Science Popularization: Astrobiology in an Ethical Dialogue of Faith and Reason by Julian Chela-Flores
Chapter 13: From Matter to Emergence: Scientific and Theological Views on the Nature of Life by George V. Coyne
Chapter 14: Confluence of Biblical Truth and Scientific Facts Must Emerge for Wise Stewardship of God’s Creation by Robert Y. George
Chapter 15: Wonder and the Necessary Alliances of Science and Religion by Scott F. Gilbert
Chapter 16: Center to Circumference and Back: Theology and Science in Rabbi M. M. Schneerson by Meir Klein
Chapter 17: Big Bang Cosmology and Christian Theology by Joshua M. Moritz
Chapter 18: “Man-as-an-Animal Needs Religious Faith”: Rabbi Soloveitchik on Evolution and Divine Image in The Emergence of Ethical Man by Rachel S. A. Pear
Chapter 19: The Trouble with Thomists by Michael J. Behe
Epilogue on Why by Richard Gordon

Creationism USA : Bridging the Impasse on Teaching Evolution

Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780197516607 (hardcover)
Pages: 232
Price: $32

Summary:
Who are America’s creationists? What do they want? Do they truly believe Jesus rode around on dinosaurs, as sometimes depicted? Creationism USA reveals how common misconceptions about creationism have led Americans into a century of unnecessary culture-war histrionics about evolution education and creationism. Adam Laats argues that Americans do not have deep, fundamental disagreements about evolution – not about the actual science behind it and not in ways that truly matter to public policy. Laats asserts that Americans do, however, have significant disagreements about creationism. By describing the history of creationism and its many variations, Laats demonstrates that the real conflict about evolution is not between creationists and evolution. The true landscape of American creationism is far more complicated than headlines suggest.

Creationism USA digs beyond those headlines to prove two fundamental facts about American creationism. First, almost all Americans can be classified as creationists of one type or another. Second, nearly all Americans (including self-identified creationists) want their children to learn mainstream evolutionary science. Taken together, these truths about American creationism point to a large and productive middle ground, a widely shared public vision of the proper relationship between schools, science, and religion. Creationism USA both explains the current state of America’s battles over creationism and offers a nuanced yet straight-forward prescription to solve them.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: We Don’t Disagree about Evolution
Chapter 1: After their Kinds
Chapter 2: The Evolution of Radical Creationism
Chapter 3: Evolution and All That
Chapter 4: What Not to Know and How Not to Know It
Chapter 5: Ignorance and Evolution
Chapter 6: I Saw the Light
Chapter 7: Evolution USA
Conclusion: Trust Falls

Lengthy description by the author.

Science and the Doctrine of Creation edited by Geoffrey H. Fulkerson and Joel Thomas Chopp

IVP Academic
ISBN: 978083085280- (hardcover)
Pages: 275
Price: $28

Summary:
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:

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.