Expanding Humanity's Vision Of God: New Thoughts On Science And Religion

EXPANDING HUMANITY’S Vision of God
EXPANDING HUMANITY’S Vision of God NEW THOUGHTS ON SCIENCE AND RELIGION Edited by ROBERT L. HERRMANN Tem pl et on F o un d ati o n Pr es s P hi l ad el p hi a an d Lo n do n Templeton Foundation Press 300 Conshohocken State Road, Suite 550 West Conshohocken, PA 19428 www.templetonpress.org © 2001 by Templeton Foundation Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of Templeton Foundation Press. Designed and typeset by Nesbitt Graphics, Inc. Most of the chapters in this book were originally published in other formats: as journal articles, sections of books, sermons, and the like. As a result, the chapters of this book contain a variety of spelling, capitalization, and usage styles, particularly for scientific and religious terms. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Expanding humanity’s vision of God : new thoughts on science and religion / edited by Robert L. Herrmann. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-59947-097-7 1. Religion and science. I. Herrmann, Robert., 1928BL240.2.E893 2001 291.1'75—dc21 2001027018 CIP Printed in the United States of America 01 02 03 04 05 06 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Preface PART I CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE RAISING THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS 1 1 Knowledge of the Unseen: A New Vision for Science and Religion Dialogue Hyung S. Choi 3 2 The Strangely Relational World of Quantum Mechanics 15 Catherine H. Crouch 3 Physics and Faith: The Luminous Web Barbara Brown Taylor 23 4 From Physics to Metaphysics: The Changing Face of Scientific Imagination Avihu Zakai and Ayvai Ramati 41 5 Complexity in Systematic Theology: The Case of the Christian Concept of “New Creation” in the Dialogue with Science Günter Thomas 53 6 Leaving Behind the God-of-the-Gaps: Towards a Theological Response to Scientific Limit Questions Christian Berg 87 7 Cosmic Endgame: Theological Reflections on Recent Scientific Speculations on the Ultimate Fate of the Universe John Jefferson Davis 117 8 A Brief Note on the Problem of the Beginning: From the Modern Cosmology and “Transcendental Hikmah” Perspectives Pirooz Fatoorchi 9 Three Views of Creation and Evolution Richard H. Bube 135 163 10 The Scientist as Believer Richard Rice 171 11 A New Immortality? Brian G. Edgar 191 12 God Among Immortal Humans! Kuruvilla Pandikattu 215 13 Divine and Artificial Life: A Theological Exploration 225 Peter G. Heltzel v vi CONTENTS PART II NEW VISIONS OF THEOLOGY 237 14 Toward a Kenotic Pneumatology: Quantum Field Theory and the Theology of the Cross Ernest L. Simmons 239 15 A Pantheist Vision of God: The Divine Universe Paul Harrison 251 16 God, Science, and Jnani: A New Framework Michael R. King 267 17 A Theology for the Millennium: Exploratory, Creative, Humble Isaac Padinjarekuttu 18 Science and Religion: A Marriage Made in Heaven? 275 285 Rami M. Shapiro 19 Light of Science in Our Eyes: Envisioning a New Spiritual Epic Part III Edward Searl 293 H I S TORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE SCIENCE-RELIGION DIALOGUE 20 The Mystery of the