1st Edition
God and the Book of Nature Experiments in Theology of Science
God and the Book of Nature develops theological views of the natural sciences in light of the recent theological turn in science-and-religion scholarship and the ‘science-engaged theology’ movement. Centered around the Book of Nature metaphor, it brings together contributions by theologians, natural scientists, and philosophers based in Europe and North America. They provide an exploration of complementary (and even contesting) readings of the Book of Nature, particularly in light of the vexing questions that arise around essentialism and unity in the field of science and religion. Taking an experimental and open-ended approach, the volume does not attempt to unify the readings into a single ‘plot’ that defines the Book of Nature, still less a single ‘theology of nature’, but instead it represents a variety of hermeneutical stances. Overall the book embraces a constructive theological attitude toward the modern sciences, and makes significant contributions to the research literature in science and religion.
Introduction Mark Harris
Part I Method and Metaphor
1 A Scientist-Theologian’s Perspective on Science-Engaged Theology: The Case for “Theology of Science” as a Sub-discipline within Science and Religion
Mark Harris
2 The Solidarity-Dehumanization Nexus: Addressing Three Barriers for a Science-Engaged Theological Ethic
Matthew Elia
3 The Book of Nature as an Augustinian Hermeneutical Project
Paul Allen
4 Augustinianism and the Book of Nature: Protestant Perils and Promise
Frederick Simmons
Part II Metaphysics and the Theology of Nature
5 Seeing God in Nature: Rethinking Bonaventure after Evolutionary Biology
Jamie Boulding
6 Creaturely Agency in Evolution and Theology
Megan Loumagne Ulishney
7 Saving the Macroscopic: Quantum Physics and the Theology of Nature
William Simpson and Simon Horsley
Part III Ecotheology and Nature
8 What Can Ecotheological and Agroecological Accounts Contribute to Biopolitical Perspectives on Farming?
Andrew Jones and Kin Wing (Ray) Chan
9 When Ecotheology Meets Paleoclimatology: Engaging Theology with the Deep History of Life on Earth
Bethany Sollereder
Part IV Naturalisms and Nature
10 Science, Determinism, and Free Will
Simon Kittle
11 Religiously Motivated Science Skepticism: When It Could Be Rational and How to Engage with it
Rope Kojonen
12 Both God and Nature: Providential Naturalism as a Middle Way in Contemporary Divine Action Debates
Josh A. Reeves and Peter N. Jordan
13 Prospects for a Naturalist, Critically Humanist, and Mystical Transreligious Understanding of Ultimate Reality
Wesley J. Wildman
Biography
Mark Harris is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, UK.
