April 2007
volume 19 (1)

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Articles

Editorial: Astronomy and Christianity in China

Rodney Holder
Pages: 2-2

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Does the Advance of Science Mean Secularisation?

David Martin
Pages: 3-14

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Eden & Ecology: Evolution & Eschatology

R. J. Berry
Pages: 15-35

Abstract

If God is both Creator and one who reveals himself, there can be no inevitable conflict between our knowledge of him as derived from his written and living Words and that obtained from the study of his creation, which is mainly through science. How does the Garden of Eden fit with our knowledge of ecology; does evolution deny the possibility of a historical Adam; and where is creation headed? This paper examines how we can reconcile a creation which God declared to be ‘very good’ with our present imperfect world and how we may perceive its final fate.

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Mere Summing Up? Some Considerations on the History of the Concept of Emergence and its Significance for Science and Religion

Russell Manning
Pages: 37-58

Abstract

The concept of ‘emergence’ is of increasing interest to Christian theologians working in the science and religion field. This paper offers a long view of the concept of emergence and its significance for religion and theology. To do so, it reconstructs the accounts of three pioneers of the philosophy of emergence – John Stuart Mill, Samuel Alexander and C. D. Broad. It further relates their positions to contemporary debates concerning the theological appropriation of emergence, in particular in the writings of Nancey Murphy and Philip Clayton.

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OBITUARY Arthur Peacocke [1924-2006]

Dr Denis Alexander
Pages: 75-75

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A Theology of Purpose: Creation, Evolution and the Understanding of Purpose

Graham J. O Brien
Pages: 59-74

Abstract

The notion of purpose within the universe remains one of the central areas of disagreement between theology and science today. Even within theology itself, there is the belief that purpose is a religious inference rather than a biological reality. Recently, however, Simon Conway Morris has countered common evolutionary opinion by suggesting that the biological process of evolution does appear to be purposeful, as illustrated by the fact of convergence. Although this concept is controversial, it has some theological merit, because if evolution as a process can now be considered purposeful, a theology of purpose can be developed. By using the doctrine of election as outlined by Karl Barth, I believe such a theology can be derived through which the purpose for evolution can be seen in producing the ‘inevitable humans’. In this context, a theology of purpose acts to support the dialogue between theology and science, and provides a basis for an ethic of care.

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Correspondence

The Curse: Relational or Cosmic?

P. G. Nelson
Pages: 77-78

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A Cosmic Fall?

R. J. Berry
Pages: 78-80

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Comment on Roger Paul, ‘Relative State or It-from-Bit…’, Science and Christian Belief (2005) 17, 155-175

Lydia Jaeger
Pages: 81-83

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Evolution and intelligence

Richard Sturch
Pages: 84-84

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A response to Richard Sturch

Simon Conway Morris
Pages: 85-86

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Book reviews

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Liberal Eugenics: In Defence of Human Enhancement

Nicholas Agar (Alun Morinan)
Pages: 87-88


Mountains on the Moon

Michael Arthern (Jason Rampelt)
Pages: 88-89


10 Good Questions About Life and Death

Christopher Belshaw (Peter Lynch)
Pages: 89-90


Galileo’s Instruments of Credit: Telescopes, Images, Secrecy

Mario Biagioli (Ernan McMullin)
Pages: 90-92


Denying and Disclosing God: The Ambiguous Progress of Modern Atheism

Michael J. Buckley, SJ (Lawrence Osborn)
Pages: 92-93


The Myth of Religious Neutrality: An Essay on the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories

Roy Clouser (Steve Bishop)
Pages: 93-94


The Goldilocks Enigma: Why is the Universe Just Right for Life?

Paul Davies (Rodney Holder)
Pages: 94-96