This book brings together lessons from three journeys. The first journey began with my acceptance of Jesus at a young age, together with my growing recognition of the differences between the scriptural record and scientific understanding. It continued with a young man’s adventure, a retreat into nature, and an encounter with war. War and life’s darker side convinced me that even as nature brings awe and opens us to religious experience, we need morality. The second journey began as I inquired into the ministry. When the church transferred the guide they had assigned to me, Bob Wessman became my mentor. Bob was an ordained pastor with a doctorate in theology. For twenty years, we read and discussed theology, including the Catholic ideas that I had discovered while teaching with the Dominican Sisters. Bob is in hospice care as I write this, and my library is full of the books that he gifted to me. Thank you, Bob. I now had many ideas from my first two journeys, but they floated about in my head without an organizing form. The challenge was to find a form that would allow the ideas to come together and speak in harmony. Differences between Scripture and science had troubled me since my youth, and I could not ignore science. It was simply too good at finding truth to ignore. So science would have to help me. Science cannot touch all that religion touches, but science and technology can be in correspondence with theology. Researching and writing this book could explore that relationship. The result was to have remained personal, but then I thought that a reader might find an idea or two useful. A person who is literate in science might see why trusting Jesus is both good and reasonable. This book is the story of the third journey, an odyssey through science and Christian theology.

If the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe is just around the corner, what would be the consequences for religion? Would it represent another major conflict between science and religion, even leading to the death of faith? Some would suggest that the discovery of any suggestion of extraterrestrial life would have a greater impact than even the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions. It is now over 50 years since the first modern scientific papers were published on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Yet the religious implications of this search and possible discovery have never been systematically addressed in the scientific or theological arena. SETI is now entering its most important era of scientific development. New observation techniques are leading to the discovery of extra-solar planets daily, and the Kepler mission has already collected over 1000 planetary candidates. This deluge of data is transforming the scientific and popular view of the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence. Earth-like planets outside of our solar system can now be identified and searched for signs of life. Now is a crucial time to assess the scientific and theological questions behind this search. This book sets out the scientific arguments undergirding SETI, with particular attention to the uncertainties in arguments and the strength of the data already assembled. It assesses not only the discovery of planets but other areas such as the Fermi paradox, the origin and evolution of intelligent life, and current SETI strategies. In all of this it reflects on how these questions are shaped by history and pop culture and their relationship with religion, especially Christian theology. It is argued that theologians need to take seriously SETI and to examine some central doctrines such as creation, incarnation, revelation, and salvation in the light of the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, thousands of American Jews were drawn to the teachings of Christian Science. Viewing such attraction with alarm, American Reform Rabbis sought to counter Christian Science's appeal by formulating a Jewish vision of happiness and health. Unlike Christian Science, it acknowledged the benefits of modern medicine yet, sharing the belief in God as the true source of healing, similarly emphasized the power of visualization and affirmative prayer. Though the numbers of those formally affiliated with Jewish would remain small, its emphasis on the connection between mind and body influenced scores of rabbis and thousands if not hundreds of thousands of American Jews, predating contemporary Jewish interest in spiritual healing by more than seventy years. Examining an important and previously unwritten chapter in the story of American Judaism, this book sheds light on religious and social concerns of twentieth-century American Jewry, including ways in which adherence to Jewish Science helped thousands bridge the perceived gap between Judaism and modernity.

Stenmark (philosophy of religion, Uppsala University, Sweden) replaces the paradigm of science and religion as opposing perspectives with a conciliatory model. He lays out the central issues of the debate between these two powerful cultural forces and shows what is at stake for the advancement of human knowledge, then demonstrates how science and r

A four year research reconciling science and religion. Includes bibliographical references and index.

A scientist explores the harmony between Christian faith and science Though some Christians and many skeptics see science and Christianity as locked in a never-ending battle, geologist Gregg Davidson contends that there is tremendous harmony between Scripture and modern science. Many apparent conflicts arise when the Bible is interpreted apart from its literary and historical contexts, but when these are taken into account, most alleged clashes resolve. Proceeding from a belief that Scripture is inspired and without error and that God's creation should inform how we interpret the Bible, Davidson shows that Scripture and science need not disagree on issues like the age of the earth, Adam and Eve, Noah's flood, the origin and development of life, and numerous related topics. Rather, Christians can rejoice at how God's glory is revealed in both the Bible and the natural world.

This collection of essays is a fitting tribute to Denis Edwards, who was one of Australia's leading theologians. In exploring the most challenging questions of our time, these essays canvas some of the great themes of Christian theology that were the focus of Edwards research. Denis Edwards was a theologian of dialogue: dialogue with our rich theological tradition, dialogue with science, dialogue with contemporary theologians. The contributors to this volume enter into a dialogue with substantial parts of the theological output of Denis Edwards. In the process, they capture something of his humanity, his love of creation, and his concern for our common home. The book demonstrates the commitment Denis Edwards had to a theology that is truly ecumenical and always learning from the insights of others. The editors and authors have done a great service in helping many others to deepen reflection on Denis Edwards' contribution to our understanding of God and the natural world.

"Scientific Christian Mental Practice," which once more becomes available with this ebook edition, embodies class instruction given by Emma Curtis Hopkins in the practical application of metaphysical Science as exemplified most particularly by Jesus Christ but with varying degrees of understanding by all true metaphysicians. Breaking open the twelve lessons of Science and receiving the ointment of the meanings is getting at the actual teachings of Jesus Christ.

This book is not a formidable series of learned papers on abstruse theology, but a plain and coherent outline of the Christian faith, written by members of the Community of the Resurrection and intended for the ordinary educated layperson. There are no Hebrew or Greek words; scholarship will be found mainly in the notes. The central theme is the faith of the Resurrection. This is prepared for by essays on the relevance of the Old Testament, the Incarnation and the Cross. A chapter on the Resurrection of our Lord closes Part I. Part II contains a series of more reflective essays, looking back on what is involved in the claim for the Resurrection: arguments for the existence of God, the Christian doctrine of God, Creation and the Fall, the nature and work of the Holy Spirit. Part III considers the consequences of the Resurrection: the Church Worship in the Body, Baptism and Christian Unity, Prayer in the Body, and the Christian answer to pain and evil. Part IV deals with the consequences for the Church and the World: the secular challenge to the Church, the witness of the Church in an expanding World, Vocation, and the End of All Things.

In response to challenges from the emerging world, this book brings together essays that discuss and exemplify various related approaches to academic faith integration and explore how Christian faith should underpin, scaffold, and frame our understanding of academic disciplines, leading to practical implications for work or action in modern society and culture. Written by Christian scholars and practitioners from diverse backgrounds including the USA, the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines, the contributions here all contribute a global perspective while addressing some specific issue or case in the context of Asia. They represent ingenious endeavors that illustrate the workings of a faith-integrated approach in domains as wide as higher education, business, science, psychology and counseling, politics, environment, media, social services, leadership, research, and technology. This volume will inform and inspire the reader into cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary studies particularly of religion, education, culture, society, and worldview.