Customer Reviews

The Process of the Cosmos: Philosophical and Theology and Cosmology

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I've read many a book on Jesus, Christianity, and the Bible since 1976 through a myriad of sources from fundamentalism to liberalism and even New Age, and have found this book to contain the most satisfying explanations of the development of life and of the existence of evil I've ever read. Dr. Kelly builds his case so thoroughly, and comes up with an hypothesis dazzling in its simplicity. A must-read for all!

This book is not an easy read and I found myself having to re-read certain passages so I would not get lost in its argument. Kelly presents his case well. It is presented from the point of view of Natural Theology as he clearly states. Initially, for me, the book held more promise than it delivered. I concluded, however, that my disappointment is probably due to my understanding of theology and not Kelly's arguments or academic effort. I do not contest Kelly's thesis that "Natural Theology can now provide an answer to the question as to the reason for the existence of man and the world." But does this answer suffice? Can we expect another reason should circumstances change, or should our experience not bear out "that the world can be understood as a process involving the possible self-creation of an entity like God." These questions arise from my uneasiness about the conclusion Kelly draws from his investigation. He understands Natural Theology to be distinct from revelation (p.24). He initiates his investigation as a speculative activity but concludes it as an existential activity thus preserving a form of dualism in his thought. He writes: "When our contemporary understanding of the world is applied to the raw material of revelation, the essence [speculative term] of revelation will no doubt be maintained but the expression [existential term] of revelation may be quite different" (p.125). One way to overcome this dualism, to my mind, is to consider response in the existential theological interpretation. A responsive interpretation is a unified act which incorporates speculation and expression, be it to a set of circumstances or God's grace. In fact, need we preserve the distinction between Natural Theology (Philosophy) and Revealed Theology? In his Catholicism, (study edition), Richard McBrien (1981:113) notes: "It is not clear, for example, whether one can be both a philosopher and a theologian at the same time, or whether such a choice has to be made at all." If no such choice is made, one wonders what becomes of Kelly's concluding statement: "What will need to be considered in a future work is the extent to which this thesis is consistent with revelation" (p. 125). These remarks notwithstanding, Kelly's thesis is a challenging read worthy of the time and effort needed to do it justice.

This book is not an easy read and I found myself having to re-read certain passages so I would not get lost in its argument. Kelly presents his case well. It is presented from the point of view of Natural Theology as he clearly states. Initially, for me, the book held more promise than it delivered. I concluded, however, that my disappointment is probably due to my particular understanding of theology and not Kelly's arguments or academic effort. I do not contest Kelly's thesis that "Natural Theology can now provide an answer to the question as to the reason for the existence of man and the world." (...) He understands Natural Theology to be distinct from revelation (p.24). He initiates his investigation as a speculative activity but concludes it as an existential activity. In this he perpetuates a dualistic way of thinking. He writes: "When our contemporary understanding of the world is applied to the raw material of revelation, the essence [speculative term] of revelation will no doubt be maintained but the expression [existential term] of revelation may be quite different" (p.125). A way to overcome this dualism, to my mind, is to consider the role of one's response in existential theological interpretation. (...) These musings notwithstanding, Kelly's thesis is a challenging read well worth the time and effort expended in doing it justice.

Cosmologists such as Paul Davies and Stephen Hawking have ventured onto the field of Theology, posing questions as to the Mind of God. The tables are turned by an Australian Philosopher and Theologian who proposes answers to the ultimate questions of Cosmology.

Kelly extends the recent trend among evolutionists from self-organisation to the concept of self-creation. Basing himself on the work of Samuel Alexander on Emergent Evolution and of the little known Latvian Philosopher Nicolai Hartmann, Kelly puts forward views which are likely to upset more traditional theologians as well as scientists.

This book is not an easy read and I found myself having to re-read certain passages so I would not get lost in its argument. Kelly presents his case well. It is presented from the point of view of Natural Theology as he clearly states. Initially, for me, the book held more promise than it delivered. I concluded, however, that my disappointment is probably due to my particular understanding of theology and not Kelly's arguments or academic effort. I do not contest Kelly's thesis that "Natural Theology can now provide an answer to the question as to the reason for the existence of man and the world." (...) He understands Natural Theology to be distinct from revelation (p.24). He initiates his investigation as a speculative activity but concludes it as an existential activity. In this he perpetuates a dualistic way of thinking. He writes: "When our contemporary understanding of the world is applied to the raw material of revelation, the essence [speculative term] of revelation will no doubt be maintained but the expression [existential term] of revelation may be quite different" (p.125). A way to overcome this dualism, to my mind, is to consider the role of one's response in existential theological interpretation. (...) These musings notwithstanding, Kelly's thesis is a challenging read well worth the time and effort expended in doing it justice.