About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherLiturgical Press

ISBN-100814655130

ISBN-139780814655139

eBay Product ID (ePID)99333364

Product Key Features

Book TitleBibles and Science

Number of Pages232 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicChristianity / Catholic

Publication Year2011

GenreReligion

AuthorVincent M. Smiles

Book SeriesTheology and Life Ser.

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.6 in

Item Weight11 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2011-002358

TitleLeadingThe

ReviewsThe debate on the relationship between religion and science rages on in America. Unlike many books in the field, Vincent Smiles places science and the Bible on an equal footing, regarding each as a source of knowledge about our world, and about our God. The result is a thoughtful and refreshingly balanced dialogue that will keep the reader thinking long after finishing the last page. Dr. Noreen Herzfeld, Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion, St. John's University, Collegeville, MN, This is a book that will be of help to many contemporary readers. If offers clarity on the issue of how the Christian of today might embrace fully both the insights of contemporary science, including those springing from big bang cosmology and neo-Darwinian biology, and the profound religious insights of biblical faith. Worship, When their understanding of God is challenged by new insights, some claim: God is dead! However, when their view of the world is so challenged, they seldom declare: Science is dead. In this very well researched study, Vincent M. Smiles sketches the development in the West of the notions of science and of God, as well as of understanding itself. He shows how science and religion conflicted in the past, and he argues that they need not do so in the present or the future, as well as science is not equated with scientific materialism or religion with fundamentalism. Rather, these two very different ways of understanding can enhance each other. Dianne Bergant, CSA, Professor of Biblical Studies, Catholic Theological Union, Vincent Smiles offers here a significant contribution to the contemporary discussion of science and religion. Combining his expertise in biblical scholarship with a refined theological sensitivity and profound pedagogical concern, he has produced a work that readers at many levels will find very illuminating. Strongly recommended. John F. Haught, PhD Senior Fellow, Science & Religion Woodstock Theological Center Georgetown University, Washington, DC

Dewey Edition22

Dewey Decimal261.5/5

Table Of ContentCONTENTS Preface xi Chapter 1: Overture 1 Essential Preliminaries for the Road Ahead 1 Debate and Confusion about Theology and Science 4 Purpose, Meaning, and Value in Human Life 9 The Relationship of Faith and Reason 10 Reasons to be Skeptical about Scientific Naturalism 13 The Bible and Science as Partners in Understanding Reality 17 Overcoming Arrogance 20 Conclusion 22 Chapter 2: The Bible 24 Introduction 24 The Problem of Content 26 The Problem of Interpretation 28 Avoiding Extreme Views about the Bible 30 Richard Dawkins 30 Biblical Fundamentalism 33 Interpreting the Bible: The Problem of Method 36 The Historical-Critical Method: Benedict Spinoza 38 The "Four Assumptions" of the Ancient Interpreters and "The Very Idea of the Bible" (James Kugel) 43 A Response to Kugel: Historical Criticism and Faith 49 Learning from the Bible and Science: The Assumptions behind the Combination 53 The Bible in the Context of the Science-Theology Dialogue 58 Chapter 3: God 64 The "Problem" of God 64 Origen: The Highest "Branch of Learning" 66 Symbolism and Contemplation of God 69 The Loss of Symbolism 72 A Science-Dominated World 74 The Trivializing of God and Humanity 76 Theology and Science: Sources of Knowing 81 Science''s Suggestions of God 85 God of Creation and Hope 91 Conclusion: Rediscovering God 97 Chapter 4: Humanity 100 What Is a Human Being? 100 Scientific Materialism 103 The Liberation of the Human Spirit 109 The Many Facets of Knowledge 116 Michael Polanyi: Scientist and Philosopher 121 Emergence 127 Conclusion: All of the Evidence 130 Chapter 5: Types of Knowing in the Bible 134 Tacit Knowing and the Language of Scripture 134 Bridging the Distance 139 Suffering 145 The Silence of God 149 God, Creation, and Suffering 151 Miracles 154 Jesus and the Demons 159 Spiritual Experience and Theological Creativity among Jesus'' Earliest Followers 165 Jesus as Lord of the Sea 169 Conclusion 174 Life after Death 175 The Old Testament 175 The New Testament 180 Near-Death Experiences 184 Eternal Life 188 Conclusion 194 Bibliography 196 Index of People and Sujects 203 Scripture Index 208

SynopsisConfusing paradox surrounds the Bible. Some look to it as the definition of reality and deny science; others see science alone as the arbiter of truth and deny the Bible. Both extremes are merely symptoms of a still wider debate on the place of ancient spiritual wisdom in a science-dominated world. Following the Reformation and Enlightenment, the Western world gained great power but lost its spiritual bearings. This book draws on numerous sources, ancient and modern, to examine what the missteps were that have brought us to a point of such confusion, and in doing so argues cogently against the modern philosophy of scientific materialism. With the aid of biblical stories and imagery it suggests how we might find our way back to balance, where ancient wisdom and modern science can together shed light on humans and their encompassing reality. Vincent Smiles is professor of theology at Saint John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota.

LC Classification NumberBS650.S64 2011