Toward a Theology of Nature


Book Description

Pannenberg poses theological questions to natural scientists that illuminate his personal position on issues dealing with theology and the natural sciences, especially physics, reviewing the relationship between natural law and contingency, the importance of the spirit in the phenomenon of life, field theory, language, and the theological account for the nature of God and God's creative activity.




Without Nature?


Book Description

Does "nature" still exist? Common wisdom now acknowledges the malleability of nature, the complex reality that circumscribes and constitutes the human. Weather patterns, topographical contours, animal populations, and even our own genetic composition--all of which previously marked the boundary of human agency--now appear subject to our intervention. Some thinkers have suggested that nature has disappeared entirely and that we have entered a postnatural era; others note that nature is an ineradicable context for life. Christian theology, in particular, finds itself in an awkward position. Its Western traditions have long relied upon a static "nature" to express the dynamism of "grace," making nature a foundational category within theology itself. This means that any theological inquiry into the changing face of nature must be reflexive and radically interdisciplinary. This book brings leading natural and social scientists into conversation with prominent Christian theologians and ethicists to wrestle collectively with difficult questions. Is nature undergoing fundamental change? What role does nature play in theological ethics? How might ethical deliberation proceed "without nature" in the future? What does the religious drive to transform human nature have to do with the technological quest to transcend human limits? Would the end of nature make grace less comprehensible?




Toward a Theology of Beauty


Book Description

Over the centuries, theological studies have grappled with the comprehension of Truth and Goodness. However, theology, unlike philosophy, has neglected serious scrutiny of the study of Beauty or Aesthetics. Jo Ann Davidson's Toward a Theology of Beauty investigates this omission. Why should aesthetic dimensions be ignored in theology's quest for ultimate truth? Davidson convincingly states that these would contribute to the ongoing search for a more comprehensive perception of the divine. This book contends that theology is incomplete and impoverished without fundamental deliberations within aesthetic values. A survey of the literature up to the present currently reveals that theological studies, by and large, do not yet realize the extent to which it might be enriched by the biblical aesthetic. God's own nature, His Word in both Testaments including narratives, poetry, literary structures, and vocabulary are all embedded in aesthetic expressions. A systematic study of the biblical aesthetic is one that calls for attention and this book offers a solid and thought-provoking beginning.




Christianity and Science


Book Description

Haught offers systematic theological reflections on the relation between Christian revelation and the unfolding story of the universe. Using the 'three infinities' - the immense, the infinitesimal, and the complex - he puts forward an appreciation for the grandeur of God, creation, Christ and redemption.




Christianity and Science


Book Description

"There is nothing in Christian faith that should make one afraid of science's widening and deepening knowledge. No matter how enormous the picture of the natural world turns out to be, it can never surpass the infinity we have always attributed to God."
In this work, John Haught, a leading Catholic theological voice in the study of science and religion, offers his most systematic theological reflections on the relation between Christian revelation and the unfolding story of the universe. In the face of recent discoveries some maintain their faith by clinging to a pre-scientific world view; others conclude that perhaps ""the universe has outgrown the biblical God who is said to be its creator." For Haught, however, exploration of the "three infinities"--the immense, the infinitesimal, and the complex--serves as invitation to an unprecedented appreciation for the grandeur of God, creation, Christ, and redemption.




Ecology and Religion


Book Description




Toward an Old Testament Theology


Book Description

Exploring the difficulty in determining the true nature, method, scope, and motivation for Old Testament theology, this book proposes the promise of God as the center of Old Testament theology and applies the solution to each of its eras.




Work in the Spirit


Book Description

Since the rise of modern industrial society, work has come to pervade and rule the lives of men and women. Although there have been many popular books and church documents on on the Christian understanding of work, this is the first scholarly effort to articulate a developed Protestant theology of work. In Work in the Spirit, Miroslav Volf interprets work from a new perspective - in terms of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. He exhaustively explores the nature of work in both capitalist and socialist societies and considers a variety of work, including industrial, agricultural, medical, political, and artistic work. Examining the importance of alienation in work in industrial and information societies (particularly in the relation of workers to management and technology), he analyzes various forms of such alienation, and elucidates the character of humane work. On the basis of the ÒpneumatologicalÓ theology of work that he develops, Volf rejects the traditional Protestant understanding of work as vocation, and takes the concept of charisma as the cornerstone for his theological reflection on work. He denies that one is ÒcalledÓ to do a particular work irrespective of one's inclinations, and asserts, instead, that it is our privilege to do the kind of work for which God's spirit has gifted us. All human work done in accordance with the will of God, Volf argues, is cooperation with God in the preservation and transformation of the world.




Wilderness in the Bible


Book Description

Wilderness in many parts of the globe is under considerable threat from human development. This has important ramifications not only for fauna and flora but also for human well-being. Wilderness in the Bible addresses this ecological crisis from a biblical and theological perspective. It first establishes the context of a biblical study of wilderness and then passes to an analysis of the attitudes towards in the canonical biblical record. This provides the biblical basis for the development of a theology of wilderness for the twenty-first century. The Australian wilderness is taken as an illuminating case study.




Recognizing the Gift


Book Description

Recognizing the Gift puts twentieth-century Catholic theological conversations on nature and grace, particularly those of Henri de Lubac and Karl Rahner, into dialogue with Continental philosophy, notably the thought of Jean-Luc Marion and Paul Ricoeur. It argues that a renewed theology of nature and grace must build on the accomplishments of the recent past while acknowledging that an engagement with the political is unavoidable for theology. Ultimately, the aim is to revive and broaden discussion of nature and grace by drawing together the insights of contemporary theologians and Continental philosophers. Too often these areas of inquiry remain quite separate, in part due to differing priorities. This work tries to open that conversation, in part by critically pointing out, in dialogue with Ricoeur, the need in Marion’s work for an acknowledgment of recognition, reciprocity, and the political. It thus argues for a theology of nature and grace in terms of recognition of the gift, drawing out the reciprocal and political nature of gift and givenness in opposition to those, including Marion, who would seek to avoid politics and reciprocity as a proper avenue of inquiry for theology.