Description
Book SynopsisIs theology responsible to tradition or new insight? Institutional church or humanity at large? Spiritual or everyday existence? Revelation or scientific findings? In his new bookScience of God:Truth in the Age of Science, Kevin Sharpe proposes a method for doing theology which does not divorce it from the practical applications of science. Not only does this work establish that theology ought to be empirical in what it says about the world and God''s relationship to it, but it also outlines a clear method for doing this. Science and theology can each share the same empirical method: when each attempts a description of any part of reality, it is relying on its own essential assumptions, or lens. When applied to theology, the method assumes the existence of God and then seeks the nature of God using falsifiable and verifiable techniques. Starting with the sciences that examine happinessparticularly biology, genetics, psychology, and social psychologyScience of God seeks to understand the spiritual nature of humans and, through it, the nature of God.
Trade ReviewKevin Sharpe is a research-level scientist and a trained theologian. His dual nature shines through with much sparkle and insight in his new book, Science of God. Everyone interested in the science-religion relationship must read this book. -- Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Florida State University
For anyone seriously interested in this relationship [theology and science], this work will be thought-provoking. Summing Up: Recommended. * CHOICE *
The book explores this new vista in plain language accessible to the nonexpert.... Kevin Sharpe extends and refines his long-standing effort to bridge the gap between science and theology. * Journal of Religion, January 2009 *
Clear your calendar and give your attention to Kevin Sharpe’s new book. To say that it is the book of the year may be an understatement. He is impatient with theology and particularly with its ways of interacting with the sciences. His discussion is polemical, combining candor of critique with courtesy of spirit—but it is also constructive. He deals with fundamental issues and offers proposals that are foundational. This book should engage both theologians and scientists for years to come. -- Philip Hefner, Professor of Theology Emeritus, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Editor-in-Chief,Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Preface. A Failure of Science and Religion Chapter 2 Chapter 1. God the Mystery: The Rising Question on Method Chapter 3 Chapter 2. God the Outcast: Model Making Chapter 4 Chapter 3. God Removed: Challenges from an Extreme Chapter 5 Chapter 4. 'God' Required: Why the Scientific Method for Theology Chapter 6 Chapter 5. 'God' Constructed, Yet God Real: Help from Philosophy of Science Chapter 7 Chapter 6. 'God' the Lens: Key-Theology as Science Chapter 8 Chapter 7. God Ignored: Contemporary Scholars Fail Chapter 9 Chapter 8. God Acknowledged: Refashioned Theory Chapter 10 Postscript
