IVP Studies in Creation (3 vols.)

by Gerald L. Hiestand; Todd Wilson; Robert C. Bishop; Larry L. Funck

and

4 more

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 2018

Overview

The questions of science, creation, and biblical interpretation continue to challenge Christians today. This collection from IVP provides an excellent set of tools for readers to dive deep into the complexities of Genesis, nature, worldview, and historical theology. Combining pastoral, theological, and academic insights gives the reader a detailed picture of how all the disciplines function together to explain God’s good creation.

Key Features

• Encourages thoughtful and deliberate study of Scripture and church history
• Addresses the ethical and pastoral implications of a biblical doctrine of creation
• Provides a biblical and theological perspective on the sciences of origins

Product Details

• Title: IVP Religion and Science Collection (3 vols.)
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2018
• Volumes: 3
• Pages: 1296

Creation and Doxology: The Beginning and End of God's Good World

• Editors: Gerald L. Hiestand and Todd Wilson
• Series: Center for Pastor Theologians (CPT)
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 240

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The doctrine of creation is crucial to the Christian faith, but it has often been maligned, misinterpreted, or ignored.

Some, such as pagan philosophers and Gnostics, have tended to denigrate the goodness of the material world. More recently, new questions have emerged regarding human origins in light of the Darwinian account of evolution. What does it mean today to both affirm the goodness of God’s creation and anticipate the new creation?

The Center for Pastor Theologians (CPT) seeks to assist pastors in the study and production of biblical and theological scholarship for the theological renewal of the church and the ecclesial renewal of theology. Based on the third annual CPT conference, this volume brings together the reflections of church leaders, academic theologians, and scientists on the importance—and the many dimensions—of the doctrine of creation.

Contributors engage with Scripture and scientific theory, draw on examples from church history, and delve into current issues in contemporary culture in order to help Christians understand the beginning and ending of God’s good creation.

Creation is vast, the universe an incomprehensible diversity—‘worlds without end.’ This much is familiar, but who knew the doctrine of creation was equally far-reaching? The essays in Creation and Doxology range far and wide, as do their authors’ disciplines, and, while the question of origins is ably represented, the real surprise is the wide array of topics these chapters cover: everything from genes to Genesis, time and truth, matter and medicine. The doctrine of creation looms large over all areas of life. Of the many important takeaways in this book, one is surely the call to pastor-theologians to tear down the dichotomy between the spiritual and the material. These essays remind us that the gospel is good news for the whole creation.

—Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Gerald L. Hiestand (PhD candidate, University of Reading) is the senior associate pastor at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the cofounder and director of the Center for Pastor Theologians. He is the coauthor of The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision and the coeditor of Becoming a Pastor Theologian.

Todd Wilson (PhD, Cambridge University) is senior pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, and the cofounder and chairman of the Center for Pastor Theologians. He is the author of Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith and Galatians: Gospel-Rooted Living, the coauthor of The Pastor Theologian: Resurrecting an Ancient Vision and Pastors in the Classics, and the coeditor of Becoming a Pastor Theologian.

Early Christian Readings of Genesis One: Patristic Exegesis and Literal Interpretation

• Author: Craig D. Allert
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 368

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Do the writings of the church fathers support a literalist interpretation of Genesis 1? Young earth creationists have maintained that they do. And it is sensible to look to the Fathers as a check against our modern biases.

But before enlisting the Fathers as ammunition in our contemporary Christian debates over creation and evolution, some cautions are in order. Are we correctly representing the Fathers and their concerns? Was Basil, for instance, advocating a literal interpretation in the modern sense? How can we avoid flattening the Fathers’ thinking into an indexed source book in our quest for establishing their significance for contemporary Christianity?

Craig Allert notes the abuses of patristic texts and introduces the Fathers within their ancient context, since the patristic writings require careful interpretation in their own setting. What can we learn from a Basil or Theophilus, an Ephrem or Augustine, as they meditate and expound on themes in Genesis 1? How were they speaking to their own culture and the questions of their day? Might they actually have something to teach us about listening carefully to Scripture as we wrestle with the great axial questions of our own day?

Allert’s study prods us to consider whether contemporary evangelicals, laudably seeking to be faithful to Scripture, may in fact be more bound to modernity in our reading of Genesis 1 than we realize. Here is a book that resets our understanding of early Christian interpretation and the contemporary conversation about Genesis 1.

This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the unique features of patristic exegesis. Allert provides a judicious and much-needed defense against making the early Fathers conform to various conservative versions of interpreting Scripture. Using the Genesis creation account, the reader is invited to see that the ancients were far more imaginative and biblically minded than we credit them.

—D. H. Williams, professor of patristics and historical theology, Baylor University

Craig D. Allert (PhD, University of Nottingham) is professor of religious studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. He is the author of A High View of Scripture: Biblical Authority and the Formation of the New Testament Canon and Revelation, Truth, Canon, and Interpretation. His areas of expertise include early Christianity, church fathers, development of Christian doctrine, evangelicalism, formation of the New Testament canon, historical theology, and Justin Martyr.

Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins

• Editors: Robert C. Bishop, Larry L. Funck, Raymond J. Lewis, Stephen O. Moshier, and John H. Walton
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 688

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The question of origins remains a stumbling block for many. But just as the Psalmist gained insight into God’s character through the observation of nature, modern scientific study can deepen and enrich our vision of the Creator and our place in his creation. In this often contentious field Bishop, Funck, Lewis, Moshier, and Walton serve as our able guides.

Based on over two decades of teaching origins together in the classroom, the authors present a textbook exploring mainstream scientific theories of origins in astronomy, cosmology, chemistry, geology, biology, physical anthropology, and genetics. While many authors engage origins from a Christian perspective, this is the first work offering a full-fledged discussion of the scientific narrative of origins from the Big Bang through humankind, from biblical and theological perspectives accessible to a lay audience.

Topics include

• Principles of biblical interpretation
• Close readings of relevant Genesis texts
• A comprehensive Trinitarian doctrine of creation
• Cosmic origins
• The geologic history of Earth
• The origin of life on Earth
• The origin of species and diversity of life
• Human origins
• New creation and creation care
• Science education

Rather than the familiar scenario where science and faith compete, this book seeks to diffuse tensions by taking the inspiration and authority of the Bible seriously while respecting and honoring God’s revelation through creation. Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins gives the reader a detailed picture of the sciences of origins along with how they fit into the story of God’s creative and redemptive action.

According to the Bible, God created everything—the cosmos, the solar system, the earth, and life itself. Many Christians wrongly believe that science undermines that belief and so they avoid, or worse, attack science. Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins is a book that looks at the best mainstream science from a Christian perspective to show that such fears are unfounded. This book, born in the classroom, is a perfect textbook for colleges and also for all Christians who are interested in the question of how the Bible and science relate.

—Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

Robert C. Bishop (PhD, University of Texas) is associate professor of physics and philosophy and the John and Madeleine McIntyre Endowed Professor of Philosophy and History of Science at Wheaton College. His research interests include the physical and social sciences, particularly the implications of science and its assumptions for theories of mind, free will and consciousness. Bishop is the author of The Philosophy of the Social Science and co-editor of Between Chance and Choice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Determinism.

Larry L. Funck (PhD, Lehigh University) is an emeritus professor at Wheaton College where he taught inorganic chemistry for over forty years. He continues to be engaged in Wheaton’s chemistry department teaching the origin of life component in the Theories of Origins course. His reseach interests include transition metals, especially as they relate to bioinorganic model studies. Funck is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Scientific Affiliation and the Midwest Association of Chemistry Teachers at Liberal Arts Colleges (MACTLAC). He was a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Lesotho and served as the chief reader for College Board’s Advanced Placement chemistry program.

Raymond J. Lewis (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara) is associate professor of biology at Wheaton College. His research interests include genetics and physiology of marine algae, environmental ethics and botany. He has published articles in many scientific journals and is a member of the American Scientific Affiliation, the International Phycological Society, and the Botanical Society of America.

Stephen O. Moshier (PhD, Louisiana State University) is professor of geology and chair of the geology and environmental science department at Wheaton College, where he also serves as the director of the Black Hills Science Station. Besides his work in academia, he has also practiced geology as an oil company explorationist, with much of his early research describing and interpreting oil reservoir rocks. More recently, his research efforts are in the field of geoarchaeology, participating in expeditions to the Sinai coast, Egypt, and Israel.

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years.