Historicity of Nature, The
Details and Description
Description
Known as one of the most outstanding theologians of the twentieth century, Wolfhart Pannenberg is also considered a great interdisciplinary thinker. Now, essays and articles on science and theology that are central to understanding Pannenberg's theories have been collected into one volume.
Niels Henrik Gregersen, a former student of Pannenberg and now professor of systematic theology at Copenhagen University, has compiled the writings in four sections: Methodology, Creation and Nature's Historicity, Religion and Anthropology, and Meaning and Metaphysics. Included in this volume are:
- Translations of Pannenberg's principled argument for the consonance between science and religion, including contingency and laws of nature, field theories and space-time, and divine action
- Translations of Pannenberg's theory of theology as a rational hypothetical science, including his discussions with leading British and American scholars such as A. N. Whitehead, John Cobb, and Langdon Gilkey
- Previously unpublished articles on the problems between science and theology in the course of modern history, explaining why chance may be more important for theology than design
- Translations of seminal articles that articulate Pannenberg's understanding of the role of religion in human nature
- One of the few theological articles on aggression as a psychological and social phenomenon
With this collection, the essays of this important contemporary theologian and his illuminating views are presented in one convenient volume.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Wolfhart Pannenberg’s Contributions to Theology and Science / vii
by Niels Henrik Gregersen
Part One. Methodology
1. Theology Examines Its Status and Methodology / 3
2. Is There Any Truth in God-Talk? The Problem of Theological Statements from the Perspective of Philosophy of Science / 11
Part Two. Creation and Nature’s Historicity
3. The Theology of Creation and the Natural Sciences / 25
4. Problems between Science and Theology in the Course of Their Modern History / 41
5. Providence, God, and Eschatology / 49
6. A Dialogue: God as Spirit—and Natural Science / 61
Part Three. Religion and Anthropology
7. Religion and Human Nature / 75
8. Human Life: Creation Versus Evolution? / 87
9. Consciousness and Spirit / 101
10. The Human Being as Person 119
11. Aggression and the Theological Doctrine of Sin / 129
Part Four. Meaning and Metaphysics
12. Meaning, Religion, and the Question of God / 147
13. Eternity, Time, and Space / 163
14. Atomism, Duration, Form: Difficulties with Process Philosophy / 175
15. A Liberal Logos Christology: The Christology of John Cobb / 187
16. A Modern Cosmology: God and the Resurrection of the Dead / 205
Acknowledgments / 213
Notes / 215
Index / 235
Endorsements and Reviews
Reviews
Theology Forum—theologyforum.wordpress.com
A collection of sixteen essays intended to further the exposure of Pannenberg’s interdisciplinary work to English language readers. Neil Henrik Gregersen's nice introductory essay outlines the broad contours of Pannenberg’s theological and briefly chronicles his engagement with the natural sciences. For those uninitiated to this aspect of Panneberg's corpus, it could serve as a primer.
For readers not partuclary interested in searching the stacks of their local library for past issues of Zygon or unable to read German, this volume provides a good introduction to Pannerberg’s work in the field of science and theology. Second, although readers more familiar with his literature may not find the one previously unpublished essay worth the price of the book, Gregersen serves us well by bringing together several fine translations of important essays with at least one new taste of Panneberg’s work.
—Kent Eilers
First Things
A fascinating volume, worth the investment of serious consideration.
Pannenberg may be the only major systematic theologian of moderan times to have studied and written extensively on the natural sciences.
This newly released collection, The Historicity of Nature, contains sixteen essays written over the course of thirty years. They treat a wide range of topics, including the methods of science and theology, the relation of God to time, the mode of divine action in the world, the nature of sin, evolution, the origin of language, and modern cosmology.—Stephen Barr, theoretical particle physicist, Bartol Reserach Institute, University of Deleaware
Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith—Vol. 61, No. 3
As this volume of essays shows, Pannenberg was equally adroit at engaging even the meteoric advances that so characterized science across the twentieth century in the fields of quantum physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, and psychology. In short, these collected essays prove yet again that Pannenberg is an alarmingly learned individual.
Modern Theology—Vol. 23, Issue 3
The text is rich, often brilliant, and at times even deeply moving and provocative . . . reading this fine set of essays, even if one disagrees with certain points, will challenge any thoughtful reader to take the Gospel as seriously as Pannenberg does.