The Big Bang and God: An Astro-Theology

by Chandra Wickramasinghe, Theodore Walker

Overview

As advanced by astronomer-cosmologist Sir Fred Hoyle, astronomy, biology, astrobiology, astrophysics, and cosmology converge agreeably with natural theology. In The Big Bang and God, these interdisciplinary convergences are developed by an astronomer collaborating with a theologian.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137552426
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	10/06/2015
Edition description:	1st ed. 2015
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.02(d)

About the Author

Chandra Wickramasinghe is a world-renowned astronomer-astrobiologist. He is also a long-time research collaborator with Sir Fred Hoyle. They discovered organic molecules in interstellar space and advanced 'cometary panspermia' (the idea that water and organic matter are circulated by comets).

Theodore Walker Jr. is a liberty-oriented process theologian who serves on the advisory board for the journal Process Studies and as a guest editor for the astro-theology volumes of the Journal of Cosmology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Abstract
Summary Preview
PART I: ASTRO-THEOLOGY AND COSMOLOGY
1.1. Modern Astro-Theology – William Derham
1.4. Postmodern Revisions
1.7. Cosmology – Fred Hoyle
1.8. Big Bang Cosmology – Georges Edouard Lemaître
1.11. Big Bang Cosmology – Edgar Allan Poe
1.20. Hoyle's Contributions to Big Bang, Steady State, Quasi-Steady-State, Inflationary, and Multiverse Cosmologies
PART II: INTERDISCIPLINARY CONVERGENCES: FROM STARDUST TO DEITY
2.1. Astrochemistry
2.3. From Astrochemistry to Astrobiology
2.4. First Hoylean Argument Leading to Astrobiology
2.5. Anthropic Principle
2.10. Nuclear Astrophysics
2.11. Second Hoylean Argument Leading to Astrobiology
2.12. Astrobiology
2.16. Comets and Biology - Cometary Panspermia
2.19. Interstellar Bacteria
2.20. Astrobiology and Cosmology
2.21. From Astrobiology and Cosmology to Theology
PART III: MICROBIOLOGY AND COMETARY PANSPERMIA
3.1. Origins of Microbial Life
3.14. Enter Fred Hoyle
3.22. From Elements to Organic Molecules and Life
3.24. Hoyle-Wickramasinghe Collaboration Begins
3.30. Cometary Panspermia verses Random Assembly
3.35. The Meteorite Microfossil Saga
3.39. Microorganisms in the Stratosphere
3.41. Cometary Panspermia Today
3.45. Concerning the Next Chapter
PART IV: COSMOLOGY, REALITY, AND PANORAMIC THEOLOGY
4.1. Cosmic Variables
4.2. Variations in Reality-inclusiveness
4.4. Reality-inclusiveness and the Reality of God
4.6. Panentheism
4.11. Pantheism
4.12. Classical Theisms
4.14. Atheism
4.15. Reality-inclusiveness and Universe
4.16. Panentheism Affirms One God, One Universe
PART V: COSMOLOGY, PANORAMIC BIOLOGY, AND PANORAMIC PSYCHOLOGY
5.1. Cosmology: Definitions and Scope
5.7. Cosmological Models
5.16. Cosmology: Where Biology and Psychology Meet Theology
5.20. Panspermia and Panpsychism: Dictionary Data
5.23. Panspermia
5.28. Panpsychism
5.30. Panpsychism and Brain Functions
5.36. Panpsychism as Neoclassical and Postmodern
5.39. Panpsychism / Universal Psychicalism
5.42. Universal Animism
5.43. Universal Creationism Entails Universal Evolution
5.47. Panpsychism and Obviously Inanimate Objects
PART VI: ANALOGY, METAPHYSICS, FACT, MYTHICAL SYMBOLS, THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS, AND RELIGION IN POSTMODERN SCIENCE
6.1. Mind-Body Analogy and Person-to-Cell Analogy
6.6. From Psychology and Biology to Theology
6.8. Analogy and Metaphysics
6.10. From Astro-Biotic and Cosmo-Biotic Reasoning to Theology
6.19. Factual Requirements in Postmodern Science
6.28. Cometary Panspermia and Mythical Symbols
6.33. Cometary Panspermia and Theological Implications
6.38. Panspermia and Religion
PART VII: FUTURE INTERDISCIPLINARY CONVERGENCES TOWARD THEOLOGY: A POSTMODERN TREND
7.1. Astronomy, Astrobiology, Cosmology, Theology
7.3. Sociology
7.5. Metaphysical Sociology
7.6. Metaphysics of Nature
7.7. Metaphysics of Morals
7.8. Liberty-Oriented Ethics, Theology, and Cosmology
7.9. Narration/Storytelling
7.11. Mythology
7.14. Graphic Images, Art, Dance, Music, Poetry, and Literature
7.16. Science and Science Fiction
7.19. Science and Spirituality
7.20. Multiverse Speculations and Avoiding the G-word
7.22. Multiverse and Implicit Generic Quasi-Steady-State Cosmology
7.27. Concluding Predictions
PART VIII: FUTURE ASTROBIOLOGY
8.1. Rigidity of Paradigms
8.8. Clash with Religion: The Arkansas Trial
8.13. Emergence of Cometary Panspermia
8.18. Clash with Authority
8.20. Evolutionary Predictions
8.23. Horizontal Gene Transfer
8.28. Viral Sequences in Genomes
8.32. Astronomical Spectroscopy
8.35. Crucial Data from Meteorites
8.36. The Polonnaruwa Meteorite
PART IX
9.0. From William Derham's Modern Demonstration of God to John Wesley's Precedent for Postmodern Exemplification of God

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Any book that builds bridges between the cosmologist Fred Hoyle and the process philosopher Charles Hartshorne is sure to prove valuable to the modern-day revival of natural theology. The authors of The Big Bang and God are authoritative, and they build their bridges in bite-sized pieces a novel approach akin to poetry.' - Larry Witham, journalist and author of Piero's Light and Where Darwin Meets the Bible

Editorial Reviews

The Big Bang and God: an Astro-Theology is a unique and enjoyable exploration of the relationship between science and theology, centered around a central theme: convergence. … The Big Bang and God is a genuinely interesting and approachable work, ably organizing and presenting a broad, interdisciplinary topic for the non-specialist.” (Corbin Boekhaus, RR readingreligion.org, September, 2016)

From the Publisher