Science & Theology Collection (9 vols.)

by Celia Deane-Drummond; Thomas F. Torrance; Wolfhart Pannenberg

and

4 more

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 1969–2004

Overview

The Science & Theology Collection traces the implications of scientific inquiry into God’s universe. The nine volumes offered examine many controversial matters within the sciences, while acknowledging God’s providence over creation. These include the ethical and moral aspects of environmental issues, biotechnology, human understanding and anthropology (to name only a few). Renowned scholars from a variety of backgrounds helm each title, endowing the collection with voices from biology, ecology, theology, and other disciplines. The collection presents knowledgeable and approachable answers to the questions that arise when the sciences inform our understanding of Scripture, and when God’s Truth informs our understanding of the sciences.

Of special note among the volumes in the Science & Theology Collection are three titles by preeminent Reformed theologian Thomas F. Torrance, whom David F. Ford deemed “one of the most remarkable theological minds of the century.” Torrance’s contributions to this collection include works on the incarnation, the contingent nature of the universe, and an Einsteinian answer to the question of reconciliation between the sciences and religion.

Few would deny the tension that exists between the worlds of religion and science. In the current scientific climate, with divisive enterprises such as the Human Genome Project ever-tightening their grip on the world’s attention, a comprehensive understanding of science’s relationship to religion is more necessary than ever. The Science & Theology Collection offers a firm foothold for an important issue.

Key Features

• Discusses many controversial matters within the sciences
• Provides answers to questions on science's relationship with religion
• Authors include renowned scholars from a variety of backgrounds

Product Details

• Title: Science & Theology Collection (9 vols.)
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Volumes: 9
• Pages: 2,564

The Ground and Grammar of Theology

• Author: Thomas F. Torrance
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 192

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Will the theologian ever be reconciled with the scientist? T. F. Torrance discusses the implications for Christian theology of a transition form two great dualist cosmologies of the past (the Ptolemaic and the Copernican-Newtonian) to a non-dualist Einsteinian cosmology, which might seek to integrate the assumptions of science and religion by elucidating the unity of being and form, substance and structure. Torrance maintains that the continuing dialogue between theological and natural sciences will benefit both fields of study.

Revd Thomas F. Torrance is Emeritus Professor of Christian Dogmatics, University of Edinburgh.

Space, Time and Incarnation

• Author: Thomas F. Torrance
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 112

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

When the Nicene Creed affirms that the eternal Son of God “for us and for our salvation came down from heaven,” it asserts that God Himself is actively present within the space and time of our world. The philosophical problems that this involves are bound up with Christian theology, and form the subject of this book.

Professor Torrance begins with a critique of modern Protestant thinking, and proceeds to examine the place of spatial and temporal elements in basic theological concepts. He then offers a positive account of the relation of the incarnation to space and time. While related to the work of the great theologians of the past, this study is also supremely relevant to theological thinking in this age of science.

Revd Thomas F. Torrance is Emeritus Professor of Christian Dogmatics, University of Edinburgh.

Divine and Contingent Order

• Author: Thomas F. Torrance
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 176

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

This volume examines the implications of the Judaeo-Christian claim for our understanding of the universe that it is contingent: freely created by God out of nothing, and having an existence, freedom, and rational order of its own while still dependent on Him.

Professor Torrance argues that this claim made possible the development of western empirical science. However, Newtonian physics obscured the connection between the rational order of nature and the Christian doctrine of creation. Torrance shows how modern relativity and quantum theories have once again drawn attention to the significance of contingence. This implies the universe is found to be consistently rational only if it is dependent on a creative rationality beyond it.

Torrance considers finally the disorderly elements in the universe, both physical and moral, and argues that the doctrine of incarnation as well as of creation is necessary to deal with the intellectual problems which they raise.

Revd Thomas F. Torrance is Emeritus Professor of Christian Dogmatics, University of Edinburgh.

Anthropology in Theological Perspective

• Editor: Wolfhart Pannenberg
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 552

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

In this comprehensive study, renowned theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg examines the anthropological disciplines—human biology, psychology, cultural anthropology, sociology and history—for their religious implications. The result is a theological anthropology that does not derive from dogma or prejudice, but critically evaluates the findings of the disciplines.

Pannenberg begins with a consideration of human beings as part of nature; moves on to focus on the human person; and then considers the social world: its culture, history and institutions. All the elements of this multi-faceted study unite in the final chapter on the relation of human beings to their history.

Wolfhart Pannenberg is Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Munich.

Creation Through Wisdom: Theology and the New Biology

• Author: Celia Deane-Drummond
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 272

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

This volume offers a new theology of nature based on wisdom Christology. The author argues that an exaggerated emphasis on mere information has deprived modern science of its capacity to respond adequately to the moral dilemmas resulting from our increased power over nature. Dr. Deane-Drummond proposes a theology of creation that is in tune with recent developments in biological science, including genetics and ecology, and points to a new ethical approach to developments in biological science.

Clearly and accessibly written for those without a science background, this is a truly multi-disciplinary study, drawing on Christian theology, biological science, feminism, biblical studies, philosophy, ethics and sociology.

This major work provides a convincing case for the reconsideration of the wisdom of God as such a resource… It is a theologically significant contribution.

—Dr. Arthur Peacocke, Exeter College, Oxford

Deane-Drummond argues persuasively for a Trinitarian view of Wisdom that gives a much needed initiative to the voice of religion in discussions of such wide-ranging topics as ecology, biogenetics, and the future of the universe.

—Professor Robert John Russell, The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkley

Celia Deane-Drummond is Director of the Centre for Religion and the Biosciences at the University of Chester, UK.

Reordering Nature: Theology, Society and the New Genetics

• Editors: Celia Deane-Drummond, Bronislaw Szerszynski and Robin Grove-White
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 444

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

In this volume, experts in the environment, theology and science argue that the challenge posed to society by biotechnology lies not only in terms of risk/benefit analysis of individual genetic technologies and interventions. It also has implications for the way we think about human identity and our relationship to the natural world. Such a profound, even religious challenge requires a response that is genuinely interdisciplinary in nature. It requires a conversation that draws as much on expertise in theology and philosophy as on the natural sciences and risk assessment techniques.

The contributors argue that an adequate response must also be sociologically informed in at least two ways. First it must draw on contemporary sociological insights about contemporary cultural change, the complex role of expert knowledge in modern complex society and the specific social dynamics of contemporary technological risks. Secondly, it must endeavor to pay sensitive attention to the voice of the lay public in the current controversy over the new genetics.

This volume attempts to realize such an aim as a contribution not just to academic scholarship, but also to the public debate about biotechnology and its regulation. Thus the collection includes contributions from scholars in a range of intellectual domains (indeed, many of the chapters themselves draw on more than one discipline in new and challenging ways). This work invites the reader to enter into this conversation in a creative way and come to appreciate more fully the many-sided nature of the debate.

Dr Bronislaw Szerszynski is Lecturer in Environment and Culture at Lancaster University, UK.

Robin Grove-White is Professor of Environment and Society at Lancaster University, UK.

Celia Deane-Drummond is Director of the Centre for Religion and the Biosciences at the University of Chester, UK.

Brave New World? Theology, Ethics and the Human Genome

• Editor: Celia Deane-Drummond
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 272

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

One of the key issues facing us in the next millennium is the ability to manipulate the genetics of living organisms. The possibility of manipulating human genetics raises many theological, ethical and socio-political issues. These include specific decisions about whether the technology will be developed, how it will be applied and more general questions about the technical manipulation of “natural” processes. From a theological perspective the human genome project not only challenges particular doctrines, such as that of creation, eschatology and anthropology, but also raises particular issues of social justice and medical ethics.

The purpose of this volume is to bring together the collective expertise of theologians, scientists and social scientists in order to provide a forum for critique and public debate focused on the human genome project. It is hoped that the results presented in this book offer a sophisticated theological and ethical response.

Celia Deane-Drummond is Director of the Centre for Religion and the Biosciences at the University of Chester, UK.

God's Book of Works: The Nature and Theology of Nature

• Author: R. J. Berry
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 256

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

R. J. Berry contends that the interplay of science and faith requires continual re-examination in the light of scientific developments, with the consequent need to review religious assumptions. To quote from his Preface: "Where science and faith meet, they must be congruent; if they are not, both the science and the religion ought to be examined. Religion cannot drive the content of science, nor can science properly determine the nature of religion."

R. J. Berry's treatment differs from traditional work in science and religion in that he intentionally and explicitly extends his exploration of the implications of religious faith for contemporary science to environmental conservation, or 'Creation care'. Professor Berry's expertise in this area is considerable—as an ecologist who has long been involved in developing environmental ethics both locally and internationally. He argues that the contribution of religious belief to environmental science is highly important. This is true not only in theoretical terms, but also in practice.

This book does not assume extensive, specialized background knowledge. It will be of immense interest to anyone concerned with environmental problems, scientists and religious believers exploring contemporary applications of religious faith.

R. J. Berry D.Sc., F.R.S.E., is Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University College London.

The Nature and Limits of Human Understanding

• Editor: Anthony J. Sanford
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 288

Sample pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

This volume is an exploration of human understanding, from the perspectives of psychology, philosophy, biology and theology. The six contributors are among the most internationally eminent in their fields. Though scholarly, the writing is non-technical. No background in psychology, philosophy or theology is presumed. No other interdisciplinary work has undertaken to explore the nature of human understanding. This book is unique and highly significant for anyone interested in or concerned about the human condition.

The topics covered include: models and illusions of understanding; the mental mechanisms behind metaphors; how the body shapes thought; the ways in which humans deal with causation, mathematics, morality, the soul and God; the context and influence of evolutionary theory; first- and third-person consciousness; and the nature of metaphysical and theological understanding.

This book is a must for readers with an interest in the issues of mind, knowledge, understanding and interpretation in the context of modern cognitive psychology and modern evolutionary theory. The authors, as well as the editor, are among the best qualified that can be found… For anyone interested in these existentially important questions this book is a rich source of inspiration.

—Pieter Seuren, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Anthony J. Sanford, F.B.PsS. is Professor of Psychology, University of Glasgow.