Bridging Science and Religion

by Ted Peters

Overview

This collection brings together a number of distinguished contributors from the sciences, comparative philosophy and religious studies to address some of the most important current themes in the interplay of science and religion. Sponsored by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, it is an ideal starting point for those interested in the whole field and has much to offer academics, professionals and students. Part One establishes a working methodology for bridge-building between scientific and religious approaches to reality. Part Two lays down the challenge to current theological and ethical positions from genetics, neuroscience, natural law and evolutionary biology. Part Three offers a religious response to modern science from scholars working out of Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Orthodox, Latin American Catholic and Chinese contexts. The unique aspect of this collection is its showcasing of attitudes towards science from outside the West. With this inclusive and timely comparative dimension, Bridging Science and Religion is set to become an indispensable reference work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451418798
Publisher:	Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
Publication date:	08/15/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	420 KB

About the Author

Gaymon Bennett is Communications Coordinator for the Science and Religion Course Program at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley.

Ted Peters is emeritus professors ofsystematic theology and ethics atPacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He is author ofGod-The World"s Future: Systematic Theology for a New Era (Fortress Press, 2015).He also served on the Human Genome Project and is author of The Stem Cell Debate (Fortress Press, 2007). He co-editedThe Gift of Grace: The Future of Lutheran Theology (2004).

Robert John Russell is the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and Founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) there. A leader in the religion / science field for a generation, he has also been series editor for the six influential volumes in the joint Vatican Observatory / CTNS series on scientific perspectives on divine action.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgements	v
	Notes on the Contributors	vii
	Foreword	ix
	Introduction	1
Part 1	Methodology: How Bridges are Built
1	Science and Theology: Mutual Interaction	19
2	Bridging Theology and Science in a Postmodern Age	35
Part 2	Constructing Scientific Spans
3	Natural Law and Divine Action	49
4	Biological Evolution in Science and Theology	69
5	Genetics, Theology, and Ethics	80
6	Neuroscience, the Human Person, and God	107
Part 3	Constructing Religious Spans
7	God's Two Books: Special Revelation and Natural Science in the Christian West	123
8	Traditional Islam and Modern Science	141
9	Buddhism and the Sciences: Historical Background, Contemporary Developments	153
10	The Nature of Being Human	173
11	Traditional Hinduism and Modern Science	185
12	Cosmology, Evolution, and Biotechnology	196
13	Science and Ethics in Judaism: Discernment and Discourse	213
	Notes	220
	Authors' Bibliographies and Further Reading	234
	Index	250