Review of Peter Byrne, God and Realism.pdf

7/27/2019 Review of Peter Byrne, God and Realism.pdf

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ESSSAT-News

14:4 (December 2004)

European Society for the Study of

Science and Theology


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ESSSAT News 14:4 December 2004 2

In this issue:

From the Editor 2

From the President 2

Forthcoming conferences 4

Reports of meetings 5

Special note 6

Book reviews 7

Index of book reviews, 2003-4 15

ESSSAT contact details 16

From the Editor

This issue resumes the standard 16-pageformat, from which all previous issues thisyear have departed, upward or downward.

Official ESSSAT business is broughtbefore readers in a substantial letter fromthe President, starting on this page.

Following notices of forthcoming eventsand reports of activities in severalcountries, I am happy to offer six bookreviews. Alongside one of our mostestablished reviewers, ESSSAT Treasurer

Chris Wiltsher (UK), it is a pleasure towelcome four new volunteers to thereviewing panel: retired engineeringprofessor and Teihardian, Bill Cranston(UK); young pastor completing hisdoctorate, Andreas Losch (Germany);former palaeontologist now working in thechurch, Gerard Willemsen (Sweden); andlastly the most theologically professionalof all, Philip Luscombe, Principal ofWesley House theological college (UK). Ithank each of them for their contributions

of time and effort to the ESSSATcommunity. Finally, p. 15 completes theindex of recent book reviews, begun in theprevious issue.

May Christmas 2004 be free of dreadfulevents, and a time of joyful renewal for allreaders.

Deadline for next issue:

The next issue of ESSSAT News willappear in time for Easter. Material should

reach me by March 7.Neil Spurway

From the President

Dear members of ESSSAT,

May I wish you a Merry Christmas and allthe best for 2005, professionally andpersonally.

We had a wonderful conference inBarcelona, in April of the year nowending. Next year will be a yearbetween, in the life of ESSSAT shapedas it is by its conferences.

The year between conferences is the onein which we prepare the next conference.A call for papers, nominations for theprizes, and applications for scholarships,may be expected sometime in the Springof 2005, with some reflections on ourconference title, Sustainable Diversity.Abstracts of proposed presentations,nominations, and applications will have tobe in by October 1. Thus, when summercomes again you will have to think hard.

In the mean time, as reported briefly in thelast ESSSAT News by our Secretary, Eva-Lotta Grantn, the Organizing Committeemade a visit to Iasi. We are currently busy

developing the programme. Details willbe in the next issue of ESSSAT News.But let me here report briefly on Romaniaand on the conference theme, while alsoinforming you about the books that maysoon be expected from ESSSAT.

Iasi, Romania

When I first heard from Iasi as the townwhere our next conference will be, mymind went blank. No idea where it was,

what the town looked like, what thecountry was like. With some fear andtrembling a bit like the old maps of theMediterranean that had South of Egyptand Algeria a white territory, there arelions here Europe has been dividedthroughout the lifetimes of most of us, andthis division has had major consequencesfor our familiarity with those on the otherside.

After being there, I am ashamed at myinitial ignorance and the concerns thatelicited. There are no lions there! Instead,there are kind people, who have shown


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enormous hospitality. We had excellentfood, a safe trip, wonderful company,mobile phones worked, and so on. Eventhe architecture was far more familiar thanI had expected buildings had many ofthe typical features of Central Europe, asthe Hapsburg legacy is evident not only inAustria and Hungary, Spain and the LowCountries, but also further East. Eiffeldesigned not only a tower in Paris, butalso a hotel in Iasi! Throughout itshistory, there were other powers in theregion too. As someone said to us, whenyou in the West were building thecathedrals and founding the universities,we were defending Europe against theTurks. It has been an area where the

Ottoman Empire exerted its influence,while the Russian empire was not far awayeither. Thus arose a Latin country(Romania) which had drifted to the East,but with old ties to other Roman countriesas well as to many other areas in Middleand Western Europe.

Romania will join the European Union in2007, the year after our conference. Thisshows itself in an active programme ofdevelopment, e.g. of airports and otherfacilities. Thus, the number of

international connections to Iasi willincrease, even though the trip by air viaBucharest (through which the non-localmembers of the Organizing Committeetravelled) worked fine as well. AsMetropolit Daniel, a remarkableecumenical leader who offered us agenerous lunch in his Metropolitan Palace,said to us, with the entry into the EURomania should not become merely thenew boundary of Europe, but also its

gateway towards the East the Ukraineand other Slavonic countries, and even tothe countries of Asia.

The capital, Bucharest, is of course, thecity best known by outsiders. However,ESSSAT has had other conferences incultural centres that rivalled their owncapitals in heritage and significance Krakow in Poland, Lyons in France,Barcelona in Spain, Geneva inSwitzerland. Going to the lesser knowntreasures may well be a journey of

discovery. Iasi, the second largest city ofRomania, is a former capital with the

countrys oldest university. Not too farfrom Iasi are the painted monasteries ofthe Southern Bucovina, some of which wewill visit during the excursion, Treasuresof the Orthodox tradition. That will beanother discovery for many of us:experiencing directly the cultural richnessof Eastern Orthodoxy. Romania has itsCatholic and Protestant minorities, andthese will be most welcome to ourconference as well, but the Orthodox formof Christianity has been the mostprominent one in Romania for a thousandyears, and this shows interestingly.

Books & publications

The year between conferences will notbe a year of inactivity, not only becausewe prepare the next conference, but alsodue to the follow-up from previous ones.Two books may be expected to reach you,our members, namely Issues in Scienceand Theology, volume 3 (based on theNijmegen conference) and volume 4 (withthe plenary lectures and some essays fromthe Barcelona conference). The next bookin our other series, Studies in Science andTheology is also in preparation. All who

submitted manuscripts after the Barcelonaconference should have had a responsefrom Hubert Meisinger some months ago.Though he recently became the proudfather of a son, he is eager to catch up andhave all books published before the nextconference.

The editors of the books faced difficultchoices this time, because about twice asmany papers were submitted as could bepublished. We look for original papers,which are well argued, where relevantwith good references, both on the theme ofthe conference and on some other aspectsof religion and science. It is, of course,wonderful that so many of the paperspresented at the conference weresubmitted for publication. Thus thepainful process of selection indicates alsothe enthusiasm and dedication peoplebring to the discussion.

In November, many participants andmembers received an e-mail announcing a

new science-and-religion journal. As themessage used e-mail addresses from our


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last conference, invited the submission ofpapers presented in Barcelona, and waseasily associated with our next conference,some of you may have read this messageas if the plan for the journal was aninitiative of ESSSAT. The text suggestedthat we published only 10 % of the papersavailable. However, 50 % of thosesubmitted is a more appropriate way tostate the number accepted for publication.In any case, ESSSAT for the time beingfocuses its efforts on the two series ofbooks; producing a solid book every yearis a serious achievement for anorganization of volunteers. The Councilmay come to discuss new initiatives, butso far has no such plans. Of course,

everyone is free to initiate new activitiesin religion-and-science; we merely needto be clear as to what is and what is not aproject we as ESSSAT have committedourselves to. The conference provides aplatform to explore new ideas and enternew territory; it may be a good thing thatwe allow presentations, whether they lendthemselves to publication or not.

Again, have a good year. Let us hear from

each other via ESSSAT News, e-mails,abstracts, books, and whatever else willcome in 2005.

Yours,

Wil lem B. Drees

President

********************************

Forthcoming conferences

THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE:

NEW APPROACHES IN RESEARCH

AND DIALOGUE

June 20-22, 2005

Bonn, Germany

The dialogue between theology and thesciences has expanded and strengthened inrecent decades. The variety of themes hasenormously increased. Propositions,models and methods of physics and

biology perhaps figure most prominently -e.g. neuroscience raises themes such as

subjectivity, personality, freedom andreligious belief, which have attractedincreased attention from theologians.However, the relationships betweenscience, technology and society are alsoreflected. The focus in these fields lies onethical, social and political problems suchas those arising from developments inmedicine, biotechnology andnanotechnology. Beyond these, studentsof social and cultural matters examine thehistory and public contexts of science andtheology and open up new areas ofinvestigation as to themes, contents andmethodology, going far beyond olderapologetic schemes. Even renaissantphilosophies of nature have been taken up

by theology. Thus, in the dialoguebetween theology and science not only athematic, but also a disciplinary andmethodological pluralization is takingplace.

This research conference will explore suchinsights by bringing different approachesand perspectives into dialogue with eachother. It will be organized by theProtestant Academy in the Rhineland,which has long placed emphasis on the

dialogue between science and theology; bythe Villigst Protestant ScholarshipFoundation, an interdisciplinary forum forstudents which has mounted science andtheology seminars throughout itsexistence; and by ESSSAT. During thelast ESSSAT conference, a group ofrepresentatives of these three organisationsdecided to organise this meetinge as a firststep to creating a platform for dialoguebetween the next and "next-but-one"

generations of scientist-theologians inEurope, and those prominent in the field atthe moment. The focus of the meetingwill be on up to 24 ongoing researchprojects. In accord with the conferencetitle the presentations will concentrate onmethodological approaches.

Younger scholars in science and theologyfrom Europe, working on specificproblems in science or technology andtheology, are invited to attend. A few

places will also be allocated to studentsand scholars interested in this field who


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have not yet begun to work in it. Inaddition, two established contributors tothe field have been invited to give plenarylectures and to share in discussion of theother presentations. Those currently underinvitation are Prof. Dr. W. B. Drees(ESSSAT President) on The PresentStatus of the Dialogue between Science,Technology and Theology, and Visions forthe Future, and Prof. Dr. I.-O.Stamatescu (FEST, Heidelberg) onReligiosity and Scientific Knowledge.

The conference will take place fromlunchtime on Monday, June 22, tolunchtime on Wednesday, June 24, 2005,at the Protestant Academy in the

Rhineland, Bonn, Germany. Languageswill be German and English.

Enquiries to either Dr. Frank Vogelsang:

([email protected])

or Dr. Hubert Meisinger:

([email protected]).

******

SCIENCE, IDEOLOGY & RELIGION

March 30 - April 2, 2005

St. Petersburg, Russia

The St. Petersburg Educational Center forScience and Religion (SPECRS) togetherwith the St. Petersburg School of Religionand Philosophy (SRPh), are pleased toannounce this conference.

Applications will be accepted untilJanuary 15, 2005.

Contact Greg Sandstrom, Secretary forInternational Relations at the SRPh office:

Tel: +7 (812) 326-8603, orTel/Fax: +7 (812) 103-7279

E-mail: [email protected],or [email protected]

Web site: http://www.srph.ru

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Reports of m eetings

SCIENCE AND ORTHODOX

THEOLOGY

in the presence and under the blessing ofMgr. Joseph Pop,

Romanian Orthodox Metropolitan forWestern Europe

Knowledge in Theology and in Science.

Purposes and methodological guidelines

Second meeting

1-2 October 2004, Paris, France

The work of this conference wasstructured in three modules. The aim of

the first module, the SCIENCE one, wasto propose a perspective concerning theway that science produces knowledge andto build a bridge towards theology. After abrief introduction performed by DimitriCadere, who is working in a researchlaboratory in physics, about the way weare dealing with the concept of knowledgein science, Pierre Perrier, generaldelegate of the French Academy ofTechnology and secretary of the FrenchAcademy of Sciences, presented a paper

about the building of scientific knowledgeand the confrontation between science andtheology. Then followed a round tablewith three contributions: Jean FranoisLambert, psycho-physiologist andlecturer at Paris VIII University talkedabout the dialogue between science andtheology: conditions and limits, ViorelStefaneau, professor in comparativeliterature at Paris XII University, talkedabout language and its competences, and aprofessor of medicine, Dan Wanjek,

talked about the structure of scientificlanguage.

The THEOLOGY module was dividedinto two sections. The first one wasconducted by Jean-Franois Colosimo,professor in Patrology at Saint SergeTheological Institute, Paris. He talkedabout the distinctions between thetheological and scientific methods ofknowledge. The reverend father MarcAntoine Costa de Beauregard, Dean of

the Romanian Orthodox parishes in


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France, presented several patristicgnoseology guidelines.

The third module, SCIENCE andTHEOLOGY, considered the bridgesuggested by the first two modules

conclusions. Jean Kovalevsky, memberof the French Academy of Sciences,compared antinomies and concepts in thephysics of particles with theologicalapophatic language. Doctor AdrianLemeni, engineer and assistant at theFaculty of Orthodox Theology inBucharest, Romania, talked about severalguidelines of the patristic theology thatcould nourish the modern Science-Theology dialogue. Finally, father RazvanIonescu, doctor in medical imaging,

concluded by offering several guidelinesconcerning the methodological rapports interms of competence between science andtheology today.

Razvan I onescu

* * * * * *

PIETRO MAFFI AND SCIENCE AS

ANINSTRUMENT FOR DIALOGUE

Meeting of the Italian-Russian Foundation

to develop science, culture and the arts

10-11 December 2004, Pisa, Italy

This event commemorated the firstcentenary of the 1904 enthronement intothe diocese of Pisa, the city of Galileo, ofBishop Pietro Maffi, an astronomer of theschool of Virgilio Schiaparelli.

The meeting was in two parts. The firstrecalled the doings of Pietro Maffi asPresident of the Vatican Observatory. It

was thanks to his decisions that thisobservatory became one of the mostimportant in the world. His contributionwas described by George Coyne S.J., thepresent-day director. Then LodovicoGalleni outlined the main events fromFibonacci through Galileo to Maffi, whenPisa was a key city for the dialoguebetween science and faith.

But Bishop Maffi also used science as atool for the dialogue between religions and

culture. For this reason a bilateralcolloquium on science and faith between

Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodoxrepresentatives was the second part of themeeting. This colloquium, partiallysupported by the National Service for theCultural Project of the Italian EpiscopalConference, was about Creationknowledge and creation care - considering

two priest-scientists: Pierre Teilhard deChardin and Pavel Florenskij

The various aspects of these two scientist-thinkers were presented by a dozen or soscholars, with particular attention to theirrelationships and their contributions to therenewal of theology in their churches.

The speakers not named above were:F. Fiorenzo Reati, O.F.M., Fiorenzo

Facchini, F. Vincenzo DAscenzi S.J.,Silvana Procacci, Fabio Mantovani andNatalino Valentini (Italy) and A. Grib,Yuri Romashev, Evgeni Arinin, A.Klestov and K.G. Isupov (Russia).

Lodovico Gallemi

********************************

Special note

Another doctorate for Helmut Reich

Helmut Reich, a member of ESSSAT whowas the key organizer of our conference inFreising near Munich (1994) and has beenpresent at all or almost all other ESSSATConferences, a most friendly critic anddiscussion partner for many others, hasearned a further doctorate. After a fruitfulfirst career in physics and engineering,including many years (1955-1983) atCERN, the international physics

laboratory, he turned to the religion andscience dialogue, with a special interest instyles of thinking and hence in issues inthe psychology and pedagogy of religion.At the age of 83, on November 16 th, 2004,he defended at Utrecht University, beforea committee from its Department ofTheology, a dissertation entitled The Roleof Cognition in Religious Development:The Contribution of Relational andContextual Reasoning (RCR), based on sixpapers previously published.

Continued on p. 14


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Book reviews

IN WHOM WE LIVE AND MOVEAND HAVE OUR BEING

Panentheistic Reflections on Gods

Presence in a Scientific World

Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke (eds.)

Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans(2004) xxii + 322 pp.0-8028-0978-2 (pbk) 24.99

What account can be given of divinepresence and action in the world, whichrespects the insights both of religioustraditions and contemporary science? Thisbook is a valuable and stimulatingresource for current attempts at a plausibleand coherent response to that question.

The eighteen contributors share the viewthat the approach of panentheism offersthe best way forward. They agree thatpanentheism could be summarised as Godis in the world and the world is in God.There the agreement ends, as they struggleto interpret the little word in from theirown perspectives.

The foreword by Arthur Peacocke sets thescene, drawing attention to the range ofideas which nestle under the umbrella term

panentheism. Philip Claytons afterwordoffers a constructive systematicevaluation of the contributions, pointingout common themes, but also notingdifferences and setting something of anagenda for further work.

In between we have eighteen diversepresentations of panentheism, with a veryuseful summary of the contributions.Some contributors have a backgroundmainly in science, some mainly in

theology. They represent a variety oftheological standpoints, and there is anattempt to engage with non-Christiantraditions.

As a preliminary, Michael Brierleyreviews the use of the term panentheismin theological literature, from an historicaland analytic perspective. He isolates eightthemes which he regards as key elementsof the thought of panentheistic writers, andthen helpfully examines some of the othercontributors adherence to those themes,thus illustrating the varieties ofpanentheism.

Thereafter the book is helpfully dividedinto three sections. The first is entitledPanentheistic Interpretations of the God-World Relationship, and includes papersby Niels Gregersen, David Griffin,Christopher Knight, Keith Ward andPhilip Clayton. All five authors attempt torelate contemporary panentheism to pastdiscussions: in Christian theology(Gregersen, Knight), Indian religioustraditions (Ward), Western philosophicaltheology (Clayton) and process thought(Griffin). Given the writers diverse viewson panentheism, this section provides aninteresting exploration of the roots ofcontemporary panentheistic thought whichcomplements the essay by Brierley.

Section two, Scientific Perspectives onthe God-World Relation, presents papersfrom writers with predominantly scientificbackgrounds. Drawing on their scientificexpertise they present different reasons forsuggesting panentheism as the approachbest suited to developing a theology whichis scientifically sophisticated. Paul Daviesexplores the implicit teleology of laws ofnature; Russell Stannard discusses timeand creation; Robert Herrmann looks atcontinuity and complexity; Harold

Morowitz relates emergence in nature toideas of immanence and transcendence;and Arthur Peacocke sees the unity,complexity and unbroken causality of thenatural world as requiring a strongdoctrine of divine immanence.

Section three presents TheologicalPerspectives on the God-Worldrelationship. It opens with papers writtenfrom an Eastern Orthodox viewpoint, byKallistos Ware, Alexei Nesteruk and

Andrew Louth. All three relatepanentheism to the writings of the GreekFathers, finding in their patristic sourcesideas which they suggest can contributesignificantly to the modern discussion ofthe presence, even involvement, of God inthe cosmos. Then follow four paperswritten from within the traditions ofWestern trinitarian Christianity. DenisEdwards draws on ideas of trinitariancommunion to construct a trinitarianpanentheist theology; Joseph Bracken uses

process thought to develop a field-oriented model which, he claims, justifies


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belief in a triune God; Ruth Page raisessome sharp questions about panentheismand offers pansyntheism as an improvedmodel; and Celia Deane-Drummondinsists that panentheist theology needs theancient idea of Sophia/Wisdom if it is toremain properly incarnational.

Even this brief summary of thecontributions shows the range ofperspectives brought together in thisvolume. The book is the outcome of aconference on panentheism, supported bythe John Templeton Foundation: it musthave been a lively affair! For these writersdisagree about much, and within theessays sharp questions are posed to othercontributors. This is debate in progress,

about fundamental ideas.The great strength of this volume is thatthe debate is very well-informed. Thesecontributors are experts. Nevertheless, theessays are generally clear and remarkablyfree from professional jargon; they arealso well-written and readable. Thosewho are familiar with recent work in thescience-religion dialogue will find littlehere that is new: for them, the greatbenefit of this volume is the opportunity to

easily compare and contrast differentarguments and approaches. Others,perhaps seeking to establish a foothold inthe discussion of divine action, willbenefit greatly from the lucid expositionsof a range of perspectives.

This book raises many questions. Is aterm which can shelter such a range ofperspectives really useful? How can oneidentify divine acts on a panentheisticview? What does it mean to say that aloving God is in, say, a landslide which

follows a volcanic eruption and causesapparent devastation? How significant ornecessary is it to uncover panentheistideas in the past of religious traditions?This volume gives few answers, but atvery least it helps clarify the questions andthe bounds of the answers; and for some itwill help to shape them. For all readers, itwill make stimulating, challenging andenjoyable reading - a rare book indeed.

Chr is Wiltsher

JOHN MACQUARRIES NATURAL

THEOLOGY: The Grace of Being

Georgina Morley

Aldershot, UK: Ashgate (2003) ix + 201ppISBN: 0-7546-3039-0 (pbk) 16.99

To a generation of Christian ministers andtheological students educated in the 1970sand 80s, John Macquarries Principles ofChristian Theology, remains for good orill a landmark in their formation. Forthose of us training a generation ago inBritain Macquarrie provided an alternativeto the alarmingly academic and complex and in most cases lengthy Germantheologians about whom our teachersenthused and warned, but whose theology

never quite seemed to fit the atmosphereof the British churches. Macquarrie, on theother hand, was a Scottish Presbyterianwho had converted to the Anglicancommunion, and whose writing showed adeep concern for both church andsacrament. There was, however, aproblem. Macquarries writing was deeplymarked by his early immersion inexistentialist philosophy, especially that ofMartin Heidegger. Few of my generationhad the courage to reject existentialism out

of hand, but even then we were hazilyaware that its centring upon the individualwas deeply flawed as a completelysatisfying description of the world inwhich humans lived, and even moreseriously, inadequate as a basis for anyChristianphilosophy.

Georgina Morley performs a usefulservice by demonstrating thatMacquarries own engagement withexistentialism was far more critical andquestioning than many of his early readersassumed. She also demonstrates thatMacquarries concerns move inincreasing concentric circles ofrelationality, from anthropocentric focuson the individual (albeit moderated inemphasis), through social and ecclesialrelationality and embodiment in the sharedpublic realm, to attention to the role of thehuman being within the organic wholenessof the cosmos. It had seemed to many acuriosity that in Principles of Christian

Theology, a systematic theology groundedin existentialist philosophy, so much space


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was devoted to a loving treatment ofchurch and sacrament from acomparatively catholic perspective.Morley paints a persuasive picture of thegrace of being (her key summation ofMacquarries theology) graduallybroadened out in his thought to takeaccount of individual, social and cosmicdimensions. John Macquarries ownforeword to the book suggests that helargely agrees with her exposition of histhought.

Macquarries theology has relevance forthose interested in the study of science andtheology in two main respects. Firstly,Macquarries mature work attempts topresent an integrated picture. Perhaps

precisely because of his own early roots inexistentialism, Macquarrie knows theimportance of holding together theindividual, social and cosmic dimensions.His theology will not allow that one isgiven priority over the other, or that onecan be simplistically understood in termsof the other. Morleys concentric circlesdo not imply that the outer rings are of anyless importance than the inner, althoughMacquarrie perhaps never quite departsfrom the assumption that human

understanding proceeds from individualexperience. Whether or not this is the case,Morley rightly insists on the importance ofthe whole cosmos in Macquaries latertheology. She does not explore theconnection but this is surely linked toMacquarries insistence, a point he re-emphasises in his foreword, that naturaltheology and revealed theology (bothinaccurate terms in his view) are closelylinked parts of a single enterprise

Secondly, and again we should look toMacquarries deep debt to existentialism,he understands the force of the modernistcriticism of religion, the seductiveness, atleast until recently, of a positivisticaccount of religion and religiousexperience. Despite this, Morley showsthat from early in his work, Macquarrieargued against Bultmanns programme ofdemythologization, understanding thatsomething important was lost whenmethod was allowed to dictate possible

results. For Macquarrie, the kerygma has areal content. Precisely because Macquarrie

understands the issues at stake so well, hecould provide an acute theological partnerin dialogue for the work of engagementbetween science and theology.

Georgina Morleys book is far more

readable than most work which originatesfrom an authors doctoral research,although she devotes too much time to theinfluences on Macquarrie and too little toexposition of and dialogue with his work.Will Macquarries work become importantin the current debate? Sadly, probably not.As Morley notes, despite providing amodel of both Anglican restraint andpostmodern contextualisation he is rarelycited today. The current generation ofstudents use different textbooks and have

different priorities. Nonetheless, Morleydoes a service in reopening someimportant concerns which merit continuedconsideration.

Phil ip Luscombe

GOD AND REALISM

Peter Byrne

Aldershot,UK: Ashgate(2003) xi + 187 pp.ISBN 0 7546 1467 0 (pbk) 16.99/$ 29.95

Although the literature in the philosophyof religion and theology is full ofdiscussions of realism, the author of thisbook, Senior Lecturer in the philosophy ofreligion at Kings College (London), isconvinced that there is not much order inthese discussions. According to Byrne,talking about God in a realist fashionshould be the primary object of concern inthe philosophy of religion. Further, onehas to distinguish between anti-realist

interpretations of theistic talk based onglobal grounds and those based oncontrastive grounds (asserting that whiletheories of other areas of human enquirysuch as science can be taken to intend torefer to realities, theistic theories bycontrast cannot). Finally, one has todistinguish between theistic discourse asan object of interpretation and theologyasan object of interpretation. While the mainpart of Byrnes book deals with theism asthe object of a realistic interpretation, only

one chapter tackles the issue of scienceand theology.


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What are the distinctions made for? Byrnehopes that, liberated from confusionsbetween global and contrastive forms ofanti-realism, the student of religion ortheology can appreciate the essence ofreligion in general and of theism inparticular as the attempt to refer torealities existing beyond humanrepresentations (which he elsewhere seeksto connect to the moral order of theworld). The antithesis to Byrnes thinkingis what he calls magic, the theme thatlanguage creates the world and that humanwords have the power to create and alterwhat is so. Byrne perceives this attitude aschildish wishful thinking, and renders it asurvival of an ancient magical belief one

of the consequences of the linguistic turntaken by philosophy and allied disciplines.To counter these post-modern distortions,he develops his own concept of a minimaltheistic realism, which holds that thegoverning intent of a theistic concept is torefer to a reality which is epistemicallyindependent of human beings,ontologically distinct from them andtranscendent (ch. 2). The stance sodeveloped is equated by Byrne with aposition of Susan Haacks which she calls

innocent realism. Chapters 3 to 5 provethe stability of this stance against anti-realist arguments from different fields(positivism, feminist theory, the writingsof Don Cupitt), finally also againstcontrastive anti-realism (viz. D.Z.Phillips). However, the most interestingchapter for an ESSSAT reader will be thevery last one, where Byrne deals withrealist interpretations of science andtheology.

Byrne advocates a realist interpretation ofscience. According to him, theprogressive, cumulative development ofscience strongly suggests real-worldcognitive contact and influence. Realistswill hold that there is an asymmetrybetween how we explain thought andactivity directed at the discovery of thetruth and thought and activity not sodirected only science shows, through itscumulative character, that it is successfullydirected at the discovery of truth. Even

across theory-change in science,existential knowledge (of chemical atoms,

bacteria, genes, subatomic particles) ispreserved while our ideas as to theconstitutions and capabilities of theseentities develop.

In contrast to that, theology does not show

any equivalent accumulation of truth anddiscovery. When it comes to theology,Byrne therefore adopts a purelysociological point of view (which inconnection to theism he is emphaticallyrejecting): the stock of reliable beliefsabout the Christian God has not increasedone iota in 2000 years. The manner inwhich mainstream Christian theologysettled on the Trinitarian dogma showsthat it was simply power which defeatedArius and his followers.

Byrnes theism-coloured dislike focuseson a noted feature of all religions: theirability to split into sects once doctrinalissues surface. Of course, God is not anobject of shared investigation in the wayphysical objects are. But are there reallyno agreed canons for interpreting the data,so that theology is doomed to interminablediscussions of the same issues? Anyonewho is convinced of this must be atheological agnostic and sceptic - which is

how Byrne labels himself.No doubt there is a critical component torealism. Nevertheless I do not want toconsider the many authors who wouldhave been helpful, at least as contrasts, toa further development of Byrnesassessment of the comparison betweenscience and theology (and those presentedby Byrne would themselves have beenworthy of more fully arguedconsideration). For instance, takeWhiteheads influential claim that both the

dogmas of religion and the dogmas ofphysical science are attempts to formulatein precise terms the truths respectivelydisclosed in the religious experience andthe sense-perceptions of humanity.

Astonishingly for a British thinker, Byrnealso fails to relate to the eminent traditionof the Gifford Lectures, which demand atreatment of theology like that of the exactsciences. Of course others haveconvincingly argued that natural theology

is only able to play its role within theframework of revealed theology. But it


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would be interesting to discuss the writersin science and theology who point to anaccumulation more in depth. I think Byrneis right to associate theology mainly withphilosophy in the humanities, although Ibelieve the call from natural science totheology and philosophy, as expressed inthe Gifford lectures program, is to stayalive if not to be the challenge of ourtimes.

When it comes to his assessment of anti-realist philosophers, Byrnes book isinteresting for personal reflection, but asan introduction to the issues underquestion I cannot recommend it. In myimpression, too, the adequacy of Byrnestreatment of the intent of postmodernist,

e.g. feminist, thought is quitequestionable. Nevertheless, for the personinterested in the philosophical side of therealism debate, this remains a book worthreading.

Andreas Losch

GOD AND THE NATURE OF TIME

Garrett J. DeWeeseAldershot, UK: Ashgate (2004) xii + 306pp.0-7546-3519-8 (pbk) 16.99

This is the third book on time reviewed inESSSAT News in the last two years. Theothers were Zeit und Ewigkeit, by AntjeJackelen (issue 12:4) and Dimensions ofTime, by Wolfgang Achtner and others(13:4). It is a striking demonstration ofthe breadth of this subject that this new

book is radically different from both.Garrett DeWeese, a former pastor, nowwrites from the Talbot school ofTheology, Biola University, California.His book is theologically scholarly andphilosophically professional, using theconcise symbolisms of modern philosophyto excellent effect wherever they areappropriate. And he starts his study withmetaphysics, before engaging briefly withphysics and then moving on to anextensive survey of philosophico-theological thinking on time fromAugustine to the present day. Here he

draws particularly on Tooley and Craig.Wolterstorff, Hasker and Swinburne areamong others with whom he broadlysympathizes, while Stump and Kretzmann,Leftow and Helm are prominent amongthose with whom he courteously disagrees.

In the historical sections (Chapters 4-8)the fundamental theme is a gradual shiftfrom Greek and Neoplatonist conceptionsof God as timeless, immutable andsimple, to a god responding to events intime and interacting with them, which isseen as a better philosophical formulationof the vision of the Hebrews. Favouringthis, and primary in DeWeeses ownstandpoint (Chap 2), is natural language,which represents time as really flowing,

and the future as really not yet knowable.More technically, and in my view lessconvincingly, DeWeese argues that It iscausation which ultimately explains whytime flows, and in which direction (p. 36).(Is it not easier to think the converse thattimes flow explains causation?) Perhaps,however, his true starting point is thatTraditional theism uniformly agrees thatthe continued existence of the contingentuniverse is due to Gods voluntaryexercise of causal, sustaining power. So

the most basic relation in the universe forthe theist is that of causation. (63).

From here, DeWeese moves to considermodern physics (Chap 3). Conceding thatthe 4-dimensional space-time continuumof special relativity requires one toconsider time as an axis along which thedetached observer could move in eitherdirection, and hence is often considered toinvite the static, block universe idea, hemaintains (68) that this invitation refers to

physical time, as measurable by clocks,but not to the underlying metaphysicaltime in which non-physical as well asphysical objects may exist (11). Histreatment of general relativity considersclosed time-like curves, singularities, andother mathematical abstractions. After animpressionistic glance at quantummechanics, he concludes that only foolsrush in to give realistic interpretations ofsuch wondrous mathematical constructs(89). Having myself ceased to practice

physics 45 years ago, I will allow him thedoubt here, but lose sympathy where he


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dismisses times thermodynamic arrow, onthe grounds (44) that, on time-scales manyorders of magnitude greater than the ageof the universe, the probability of entropydecreasing would become very high though that of it increasing had done somuch faster. That, to me, is an even lesshelpful subservience to mathematics!

Despite this rejection of what might havebeen his strongest ally, it is a dynamictheory of time that DeWeese espouses,and he contends that a temporal or,rather, omnitemporal conception ofGod must follow. An omnitemporal entityhas temporal properties with respect tometaphysical time but is present to allactual moments of any temporal world

(252). Fundamentally, I sympathise; forme, too, time really flows (though thattime is physical, not metaphysical) and Ican only make sense of God as beingpresent at all times equally. But I am farmore conscious of the limits of humanthought and language. Yet even DeWeesefalters when he considers Gods temporalstatus prior to (sans) creation (273); herehe concludes that consistent logic isimpossible, and one is left having todecide which is the smaller bullet to bite.

The ultimate effect of this book on me istherefore to reinforce the conviction thatfinite minds, trapped within theirinexorably time-bound experience on thesurface of the earth, have no way ofmeaningfully considering that which, bydefinition, is both spatially and temporallyextra-cosmic. There the eyes go not,speech goes not, nor the mind (KenaUpanishad).

However, for those who do think there can

be meaning to such speculations, this bookprovides a wide-ranging and penetratingsurvey of past and contemporary thought.Furthermore, it is written with all thelucidity which the topic can allow including the regular use of helpfulsummary-boxes yet at the same time, notinfrequently, with a winning sensitivityand gracefulness of phrase. For an attemptat the impossible it is very good indeed.

Neil Spurway

EVOLUTIONARY FAITH:

Rediscovering God in Our Great Story

Diarmuid OMurchu

Maryknoll, NY: Orbis (2002) 231 ppISBN 1-57075-451-9 (pbk) 14.99

From its main title one might expect thisbook to be a study in comparative religion,looking at developments in religious faiththrough time starting perhaps withanimism, and ending with modern quasi-religions, scientism, socio-biology, anddeep ecology. The author does not do this,but operates instead from a variety ofstandpoints.

He places much emphasis on cosmic andbiological evolution (the great story),

relying heavily on author Brian SwimmesThe Story of the Universe. The variousaspects are covered at several pointsthroughout the book: for example the BigBang is dealt with in Chapter 3 and thepossibility of an oscillating universe iscovered in Chapter 6. A reference tomodern psychology is introduced inChapter 5, with further reference tohumanistic psychology in Chapter 8.

On the religious side, the authors major

thrust is to support the deep ecologymovement, which he links with thewisdom of our ancient ancestors andmodern indigenous people. He refersextensively to Lovelock and Marguliswork, and extends into the political andeconomic fields with a chapter againstGlobalization. There is frequent negativereference to the patriarchic principle.

There are many references to science, thefirst of which is perhaps unfortunate:Both science and religion aim at

observable, verifiable truths, usingdifferent but related methods. Heproduces persuasive arguments thatscience tends to destroy hope, but theforce of these is marred by his insufficientgrasp of basic science (for example hedescribes a series of elements as chemicalsubstances).

The author operates over a wide canvas,and he is to be commended for havingmade a substantial effort to get to grips

with it. But the wide canvas means thatthe arguments are sketchy. There is no


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convincing argument that the developmentof agriculture led to patriarchy (recentevidence from Catalhoyuk certainlyindicates the goddess cult remained aliveand well there). There is no connectionmade between modern psychologysstudies of how our personhood develops inrelationships with other persons and thepossible relevance of that to seeing God asa person. Instead it is simply asserted (asfar as I can see) that we should see Godmore in the wonder of the physical andbiological cosmos.

His key message can be summed up asfollows: 1. We are raping the earth; 2. Wemust deal with our modernacquisitiveness; 3. We need a change of

attitude. This is very clear. But there areno specifics as to how our attitudes will bechanged, only general statements abouttaking evolution seriously and adjustingour lifestyle accordingly (p. 36) orallowing ourselves to be influenced by its[creations] ingenious wisdom (p. 176).

The discussions on science and theologyare to some extent ambivalent. Here is asentence from p. 51, which is locatedwithin a discussion of the dualism

between science and religion: What ismore disturbing is the collusion wherebyboth sets of wisdom (science and religion)enforce perceptions and values that distortand distract from the inspiring vision ofthe evolutionary story

It may be that I am being over-sensitive,but the use of the word collusion seemsdesigned to show both the scientist andtheologian in a poor light. At no point inthe book is any serious praise or creditgiven for the massive effort put in by both

professions over the centuries.But the book has undoubted strengths.The author is clearly deeply dissatisfiedwith the world as it is. He writes apassionate chapter about the state ofAfrica, praising the innate spirituality ofits peoples. He describes the feverish useof the Internet by Filipinos, identifying thepower that the information they gain willgive them against the excesses ofcapitalism.

Re-reading the above, one might concludethat this book has little to say to us in

ESSSAT. I am not so sure. This is thefourth book by OMurchu. He gets a largenumber of 5 star reviews in Amazon.There is an audience out there. A detailedanalysis of this book (which I intend toundertake) could give us hints about howscientists and theologians might betterapproach that audience. But I cannotregard the book itself as a good one.

Bi ll Cranston

HONEST TO GENESIS

A Biblical Scientific Challenge to

Creationism

Margaret Gray TowneBaltimore, USA: Publish America (2003)381 pp.ISBN 1 59286-497-X (pbk) $ 25

The authors main mission is to point outtheistic evolution as a way of integratingevolutionary science and Christian faithand to show that there need not be aconflict between the two. She writes for ageneral public, explaining technical termsin both the scientific and the theological

field. The author writes out of theconviction that the creationist conflict isdamaging for both the Christiancommunity and for science.

The author does make a valuable effort tofirstly lay a foundation before starting offfor the journey into science and religion.She dedicates pages to fundamentalunderstandings, like the anthropicprinciple, teleology, the creation doctrineetc. The author goes into ways of criticalthinking and into how people choose thosewho they regard as authorities. Sheexplores the questions at stake in ahistorical perspective and goes through thebasics of biblical study and ofevolutionary theory, giving a good accountof what science is and is not. The oftenill-understood difference betweenevolutionary science and evolutionarynaturalism is explained well.

After laying this important ground, theauthor explores a large number of well-

known controversies between evolutionaryscience and creationism. She takes on


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questions which are often raised increationist attacks on science and analysestheir substance as well as offering anotherexplanation based on a theisticevolutionary view. She poses questions tocreationism and concludes with a chapteron integrating Genesis and evolution.

There are though some shortcomings to bementioned. When the author writes aboutevolutionary theory she very much focuseson the New Synthesis as it was formulatedduring the 1970s, seeing natural selectionon the individual level as the sole cause ofevolutionary change. She makes somereference to the punctuated equilibriummodel, developed in the early seventies,but she does not explore the consequences

of that model in depth. Laterdevelopments, such as hierarchicaltheories of evolution and multi-levelselection, are not explored at all. Neitheris research within evolutionarydevelopment and its bearing on theologytaken into account. In my opinion, thosedevelopments in evolutionary theory areoffering valuable new perspectives on therelation between evolutionary theory andcreation theology.

Also, I feel that the author has a rathernarrow theological basis. I would saythere are more alternatives in theologythan the literal fundamentalism she isopposing and the one she is representingherself. The book would have gained ifthe author had looked upon evolutionarytheory from different theologicalperspectives. I also miss references to theDivine Action Project. Results of thatproject are not unimportant in this context.When listing the contradictions between

the Genesis account and scientific results,the author gives a rather literalistic readingof Genesis herself, presenting someconflicts that need not be there.

Nevertheless, this book offers accessibleand good background to educators,pastors, and anyone who is confrontedwith the supposed conflict betweenscience and Christian faith, and I wouldsurely recommend it to anyone who has toconfront questions on these matters andneeds an easy-to-read source ofinformation. The book does not offermuch new to scholars in the field ofScience and Theology, but they are not theaudience the author is aiming at.

Gerard Wi ll emsen

****************************

Continuation from p. 6

Helmut Reichs new doctorate (contd)

In the dissertation Helmut argues thatRelational and Contextual Reasoning canbe used fruitfully to make intelligible suchreligious convictions as the creation of the

universe, the divine and human nature ofJesus, and freedom and providence. Seealso his contributions to various ESSSATpublications and his book Developing theHorizons of the Mind: Relational andContextual Reasoning and the Resolutionof Conflict (Cambridge UP, 2002)reviewed in ESSSAT News 12:4. TheDutch academic system allows for theawarding of a doctorate on the basis of adissertation, without additional exams orresidence requirements, and thus made thisrecognition of his work possible.

Congratulations, Helmut!

Wim Drees


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BOOK REVIEW INDEX: Issues 13:4-14:4

This completes the list of recent reviews, begun in the previous issue.

Neil Spurway

ACHTNER, KUNZ, WALTER Dimensions of Time 13:4 p6

ALLINSON Space, Time and the Ethical Foundations 14:1p18

ARTIGAS The Mind of the Universe 14:1 p7

BENNETT, HACKER Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience 13:4p10

BERRY Gods Book of Works 13:4 p8

BURNE God and Realism 14:4 p9

CHURCHLAND Brainwise 13:4p10

CLAYTON, PEACOCKE InWhom We Live and Move and Have Our Being 14:4 p7

CLIQU Difference and Parallelism (in German) 14:1p17

DEANE-DRUMMOND Creation through Wisdom 14:1 p9

DeWEESE God and the Nature of Time 14:4p11

FLORIO Trinitarian Map of the World (in Spanish) 14:1p10

GLYNN An Anatomy of Thought 13:4p10

GRANTN Patterns of Care 14:1p15

HARRISON .. Bible, Protestantism and .. Rise of Natural Science 14:1p11

HELLER Creative Tension 14:2p20

HELRICH (ed) A Universe of Ethics, Morality and Hope 14:2p21

LORIMER (ed) Science, Consciousness and Ultimate Reality 14:3 p9MORLEY John Macquarries Natural Theology 14:4 p8

NESTERUK Light from the East 13:4 p4

OMURCHU Evolutionary Faith 14:4p12

PADGETT Science and the Study of God 14:3 p7

PEACOCKE Creation and the World of Science 14:2p20

PETERS Science, Theology and Ethics 14:1p16

RAYMENT-PICKARD Impossible God: Derridas Theology 14:3 p8

SHULTS Reforming Theological Anthropology 13:4 p9

TOWNE Honest to Genesis 14:4p13

WALLACE (ed) Does God Exist? The Craig-Flew Debate 14:2p23

WATTS Theology and Psychology 13:4 p9

ZIMMERLI Involvement (in German) 14:1p11


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ESSSAT is a scholarly organisation, based

in Europe, which aims to promote the

study of the relationships between the

natural sciences and theological thought.

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654 460 Postbank Dortmund, Germany.

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Documents

Review of Peter Byrne, God and Realism.pdf