Paths from Science Towards God: The End of All Our Exploring [Paperback]

Arthur Peacocke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2001

In this ground-breaking work, biochemist, priest and 2001 Templeton Prize winner Arthur Peacocke offers a uniquely balanced evaluation of the science-religion debate.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After four decades of leadership in science-and-religion dialogues, biochemist/theologian Peacocke expresses and embodies a deep weariness with bridge-building between science and religion. Peacocke's rhetorical powers shine undiminished, but this volume is not among his best works. Evocative imagery is insufficient to enliven the dated atmosphere of the book, in which Peacocke advocates for a "radical" and "global" theology while defending quasi-reactionary views of scientific progress. Concerned with the problem of God's action in the world, Peacocke labors to rehabilitate a concept of providence, without introducing God into the causal story of particular events a familiar notion of divine intervention that Peacocke deems inconsistent with science. Instead, he proposes a "whole-part influence" in which God's action trickles down through the entire universe (itself seen as part of God's being) to individual phenomena, yet without any interruption of the natural order. Peacocke's sketchy explanation will leave readers struggling, as well as skeptical about whether his alternative is as scientifically licit or theologically satisfying as he claims. Similar problems accompany his heavy reliance on the method of "inference to the best explanation" to establish theological principles as "public truth" to the extent that dogmatic claims based on divine revelation or religious tradition are discarded as outdated and unnecessary. Nonbelievers will likely be unimpressed with Peacocke's inferences about God's existence and attributes, and many believers will be puzzled by his dismissal of what many regard as the foundations of faith.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A former biochemist and an Anglican priest, Peacocke won the 2001 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. He is without a doubt the most significant voice on science and religion in the English-speaking world. With this intellectually compelling and readable work, he greatly adds to the dialog. "We are stardust," he announces. "Every carbon atom in our bodies, every iron atom in our blood's hemoglobin was made in stars and scattered by supernovae explosions before the earth existed as a planet." The complexity and contingency of all that has come to be, particularly the human, lead Peacocke to posit a creator who is not the master designer. Creation is the result of chance and law; within the process of creation, God (who is the ultimate ground of chance and of law) is an improviser of unsurpassed ingenuity. For Peacocke, our creator-God is not blissfully apart from the world but intimately involved in it, enduring the evils of nature and of humankind along with us. God communicates with humans through the constituents of the world by imparting meaning and significance to particular patterns of events. In view of this, Peacocke argues that theology must not retreat into fortresses of biblicism or traditionalism but must understand its task to develop concepts, images, and metaphors that represent God's purposes and implanted meanings for the world, which we are still discovering through the sciences. Highly recommended for all seminary and academic libraries as well as larger public libraries. David I. Fulton, Coll. of St. Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oneworld (August 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851682457
• ISBN-13: 978-1851682454
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, September 9, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Paths from Science Towards God: The End of All Our Exploring (Paperback)

I just finished reading this book and in my view it is one of the best books on the science religion debate. Peacocke is obviously a Christian and he also knows his science and the result is a very fascinating book. I can see why he won the $1 million prize from Templeton in 2001 for progress in religion.