The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God: An Emerging Chapter for Religious Life; Science, Theology, and Mission

by Laurie Brink OP PhD

Overview

2023 Catholic Media Association First Place Award, Faith and Science

Building on the work of Teilhard de Chardin, the New Cosmology integrates scientific facts and theories, including discoveries about the expanding universe and evolution, and proposes that creation is developing into greater complexity. But how are we to understand concepts like “original sin” and “redemption” if creation isn’t complete and humanity is still in process? How does one “retrofit” religious tradition and Scripture into this scenario? Is there room for the historical Jesus in the New Cosmology? While a ready concern for all Christians, this question has unique implications for women religious whose lives are centered on the person and mission of Jesus Christ. How is a Catholic sister to understand her vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in light of a cosmology in which the need for redemption and the role of Jesus are significantly redefined?

The Heavens Are Telling the Glory of God probes these questions and offers possible answers. Beginning with the experiences of women religious and their encounter with the New Cosmology or Universe Story, this bookseeks to mediate among the various perspectives and proposes how informed and reflective engagement with science, tradition, and theology can bridge the generational divides and foster a spirituality that is both emergent and incarnational.

Access to online discussion and reflection questions is included.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814667255
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	02/05/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Laurie Brink, OP, PhD, is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa and professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union, in Chicago. She serves as an associate editor for The Bible Today and has authored numerous articles and books on Scripture, religious life, and spirituality. As a Dominican, she is keenly interested in promoting biblical literacy and has given presentations and workshops throughout the United States and in Australia, Bolivia, Jamaica, New Zealand, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword by Dianne Bergant, CSA ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface xvii
Introduction: Why This Topic Now? xxiii

SECTION ONE
     Chapter of Faults: Naming Our Diversity 1
          1. Whence Comes Wisdom? (Job 28:20): Differences among Age Cohorts 7
          2. There Is a Season and a Time (Eccl 3:1): Exploring American Generations 25
          3. Orienting Ecclesiologies: The Formative Experience of Church for Cohort Identity 51
SECTION TWO
     Chapter of Affairs: Responding to the Signs of the Times 71
          4. The Cosmos and Creation 77
          5. The Quantum World of the Spirit 109
          6. Evolution and the Jesus Singularity 133
SECTION THREE
     Chapter of Elections: Choosing a Future for Religious Life 159
          7. The Emergent Disciple: Formation in an Unfinished Universe 165 
          8. Seeking the Whole: The Vows through a Hermeneutic of Catholicity 185
          9. “For All the Earth” (1 Cor 10:26): Mission and the Reign of God 205

Conclusion: Community as the Holy Preaching 233
Afterword by Sarah Kohles, OSF 245
Glossary of Terms 249
Bibliography 255
Scripture Index 269
Subject Index 273
          Discussion and Reflection Questions are available at
                https://litpress.org/discussion/the-heavens.

Editorial Reviews

"In this challenging and hopeful volume Dominican theologian Laurie Brink, who has been involved in the formation of newer religious for some years, brings into conversation three topics that are in potentially creative tension among religious today: the diversities and potential complementarity among different cohorts/generations of religious; the diverse influence of the 'new cosmology' on these different cohorts; and her own hopeful vision of their mutual contribution to the emergence of the religious life of the future. Dr. Brink's impressive competence in the first two areas makes her constructive, but perhaps controversial suggestions about the future of the life in the third section, worthy of serious consideration."
Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM, STD, Professor Emerita of New Testament and Spirituality, Santa Clara University
 

"In this readable and intellectually exciting synthesis of science and Christian faith, Laurie Brink shows how communities of religious women may fruitfully integrate the new scientific cosmic story into their spiritual lives. I hope, however, that many other Christian readers also may take this scientifically and theologically informed and inspiring work with them on their own religious journeys."
John Haught, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University

"Religious life has been in flux since the close of the Second Vatican Council. What was once a static and fixed life has become an open system of emerging communities and ministries. Laurie Brink’s new book brings the heart of religious life into deep dialogue with the sciences in a scholarly and thoughtful way. By weaving together new life in God with new life in the universe, we can begin to appreciate the value of the Gospels with new depth and breadth. This is an important book, as religious communities diminish in size, yet expand with new possibilities of communal and intercommunal life. Framing religious life with a scientific worldview will not detract from the life but expand it in creative and novel ways. The Spirit who calls us into new life in God is breathing through a dynamic and vibrant universe; indeed, God is doing new things throughout the entire cosmos."
Ilia Delio, OSF, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology, Villanova University
 


"Laurie Brink's well researched and thoughtful book is a much-needed contribution to the conversation regarding the present and future of religious life in the twenty-first century. As a middleton who is also a newer vocation, now serving in elected leadership, I discovered pathways to deeper understanding of the experiences and ecclesiologies of my sisters of all generations. Brink deftly weaves scripture, theology and science to explore an intercultural, unitive, evolutionary, and integrative vision of wholeness for formation, vows, and mission in apostolic religious life."
Susan Francois, CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace


"Professor Brink’s book serves as a wonderful primer on the New Cosmology. She brings her considerable biblical exegetical tools to this project as she demonstrates that the New Cosmology does not leave the Bible behind. As every generation must, she rethinks formation, vows, and mission in terms of emerging science (cosmology, Quantum Mechanics, and evolution) as well as traditional theology. She adroitly examines the contribution of contemporary theologians such as Elizabeth Johnson, Ilia Delio, and Denis Edwards to the New Cosmology."
Garrett Galvin, OFM, President of the Franciscan School of Theology


"The book has value for readers in the integration of religion and science and, specifically, in the New Cosmology and its implications for religious life."
Catholic Books Review

 

"This book exudes confidence about the future of religious life for women. Those unfamiliar with the New Cosmology will find this book a helpful primer. It can stimulate lively discussions among religious women, especially those who are just beginning to embrace that way of life."
The Bible Today

 

"This remarkable book not only discusses clearly and cogently the role of the 'new cosmology' in our understanding of the big questions of our faith; it also uniquely explains how this new cosmology is being perceived by different age and educational cohorts within the Church. All of this is done in the beautiful setting of 'chapter' of a typical women’s religious order. The important reminder is that theology which incorporates modern science is done in a human context, and it will be understood and received by different generations in markedly different ways. Thus, it is both an important source book for the material, and an instruction manual for those who use this material. And... it is written in a clear and lively style."
Catholic Media Association
 

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