copyright r. j. russell 2005 1 theology from creation to new creation goshen lectures overview

Copyright R. J. Russell 2005Copyright R. J. Russell 2005 11

Theology from Creation to Theology from Creation to New CreationNew Creation

Goshen Lectures OverviewGoshen Lectures Overview


Key topics in theologyKey topics in theology

Our Father who art in Our Father who art in heavenheaven,,

Hallowed be thy NameHallowed be thy Name

Thy Thy reign comereign come

Thy Thy will be donewill be done

On On earth as it is in heaven.earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily breadGive us this day our daily bread

Forgive us our debts as we forgive Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtorsour debtors

Lead us not into Lead us not into temptationtemptation,,

Deliver us from Deliver us from evilevil

For thine is the For thine is the Kingdom and the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Power and the Glory

ForeverForever

Creation of heaven and earthCreation of heaven and earth

Eschatology: parousiaEschatology: parousia

Divine actionDivine action


Moral evilMoral evil

Eschatology: eternal lifeEschatology: eternal life


Key topics in theology and the challenge of Key topics in theology and the challenge of sciencescience


Divine actionDivine action

Moral evilMoral evil

Eschatology: second coming, Eschatology: second coming, resurrection and eternal liferesurrection and eternal life

Big Bang cosmology:Big Bang cosmology:– t=0t=0

– ‘‘only earth’only earth’

Laws of nature / interventionist Laws of nature / interventionist divine actiondivine action

‘‘Fall without the Fall’ and Fall without the Fall’ and natural evilnatural evil

Big Bang cosmology:Big Bang cosmology:– ‘‘freeze or fry’freeze or fry’


Meeting the challenge: Creative mutual interaction:Meeting the challenge: Creative mutual interaction:2005 Goshen Conference Lectures 1, 2, & 32005 Goshen Conference Lectures 1, 2, & 3

Creation of heaven and earth: Creation of heaven and earth: Lecture1 --- last nightLecture1 --- last night– Assumptions underlying science: Assumptions underlying science:

Path 6Path 6– t=0: Consonance, Path 1 t=0: Consonance, Path 1

Conflict, Path7Conflict, Path7

Non-interventionist divine actionNon-interventionist divine action– CTNS/Vatican Observatory seriesCTNS/Vatican Observatory series– Paths 3 and 4Paths 3 and 4

‘‘Fall without the Fall’: Fall without the Fall’: Lecture 2 --- todayLecture 2 --- today– Natural and moral evil: Path 3Natural and moral evil: Path 3

Eschatology: Lecture 3, tomorrowEschatology: Lecture 3, tomorrow– Revise eschatology: Paths 3, 4 Revise eschatology: Paths 3, 4 – New research in science: Paths 6, New research in science: Paths 6,

7, 87, 8


Evolution: Atheism or Theism?Evolution: Atheism or Theism?

Evolution Evolution

AtheismAtheism theistic evolution theistic evolution


Robust Theistic Evolution:Robust Theistic Evolution:Non-Interventionist Objective Divine Action Non-Interventionist Objective Divine Action

((NIODANIODA))

Evolution Evolution

AtheismAtheism Theistic evolution Theistic evolution

Theistic evolution + Theistic evolution + NIODANIODA


Now, theodicy:Now, theodicy:

Evolution Evolution

Theistic evolution Theistic evolution

Theistic evolution + NIODA Theistic evolution + NIODA TheodicyTheodicy


Evolution, Natural Theodicy, and Evolution, Natural Theodicy, and ‘New Creation’ Eschatology‘New Creation’ Eschatology

Lecture 2Lecture 2Fifth Annual Goshen ConferenceFifth Annual Goshen Conference

ononScience and ReligionScience and Religion

Robert John RussellRobert John Russell

The Center for Theology and the Natural SciencesThe Center for Theology and the Natural SciencesBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California

March 18, 2005March 18, 2005

Copyright R. J. Russell 2005 9

1. Introduction

Life: filled with beauty, torn with pain

Biblical account: Created good by God

The Fall: leads to suffering and death for humankind

Suffering and death in nature, too


EEvolutionary account:volutionary account:

‘‘Natural evil’ --- pain, suffering, disease, death, Natural evil’ --- pain, suffering, disease, death, extinction --- are extinction --- are constitutiveconstitutive of life, part of the of life, part of the biological processes that vastly preceded the biological processes that vastly preceded the human specieshuman species

Natural evil: consequential Natural evil: consequential constitutive constitutive

Yet God is the Creator of life…Yet God is the Creator of life…

Natural theodicyNatural theodicy: how can a good : how can a good and powerful God create life through and powerful God create life through the processes of evolution when they the processes of evolution when they include natural evil?include natural evil?


For followers of Darwin, the familiar theological ‘problem of evil’ was turned inside out: evil could henceforth be assumed, and the existential paradox which demanded explanation became, in fact, the problem of goodness.”

David Oates, Zygon, 1988

"The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at bottom no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but pointless indifference."

Richard Dawkins, Science, 1997


I don’t want to achieve immortality through art. I want to achieve it by not dying.

Woody Allen


2. Reconstructing robust traditional 2. Reconstructing robust traditional theodiciestheodicies

Criteria: Criteria: avoid Manichean option that God created avoid Manichean option that God created

natural evilnatural evil

avoid Pelagian option that unaided human avoid Pelagian option that unaided human will is sufficient to overcome moral evilwill is sufficient to overcome moral evil

must work with neo-Darwinian evolution, must work with neo-Darwinian evolution, in particular the constitutive character of in particular the constitutive character of natural evil for lifenatural evil for life


3. Augustinian ‘free-will’ 3. Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicytheodicy

• ‘‘Creation/fall’ account of the origin of Creation/fall’ account of the origin of moral and natural evil: moral and natural evil: – all that is is created good (evil is not a ‘thing’)all that is is created good (evil is not a ‘thing’)– evil is the result of sin: the abuse of free will evil is the result of sin: the abuse of free will

by Adam and Eve propagated to all humanityby Adam and Eve propagated to all humanity– meets criteria 1 + 2.meets criteria 1 + 2.

• Retrieving Augustine: Reinhold Niebuhr Retrieving Augustine: Reinhold Niebuhr (1941):(1941):

“ “sin is unnecessary but inevitable”sin is unnecessary but inevitable”(anti-Manichaean) (anti-Pelagian)(anti-Manichaean) (anti-Pelagian)


Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicyExtending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy

• Engaging biology: • Genetic inheritance:

– genetic determinism?• gene myth in culture (Ted Peters)• twins research (Lindon Eaves) genetic predisposition, not determinism

• Genes and the capacity for morality– sociobiology: origin of ‘values’ as survival mechanism

• Michael Ruse

origin of capacity for values as surplus to reason• Francisco Ayala


Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicyExtending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy

• Engaging biology … and physics • “unnecessary” “contingent”

• “inevitable” “universal”

• What about biology and physics is both contingent and universal?


Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy to to thermodynamicsthermodynamics::

– applies universally to all physical systems and therefore all biological systems

– 19th c: classical thermo and closed systems:• entropy: measure of available energy / of disorder• 2nd law: inevitable increase in entropy


Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy to to thermodynamicsthermodynamics

– 20th c: non-linear, non-equilibrium thermo and open systems (within larger closed systems)

• inevitable increase in entropy of larger system• contingent and spontaneous decrease in entropy /

increase in order in open subsystems• ‘order out of chaos’ (Ilya Prigogine)• not material but a measure of the energy of a

material system • AND intrinsic to processes that we name as good!


Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy Extending the Augustinian ‘free-will’ theodicy to to cosmologycosmology

• why did God create a thermodynamic universe since then natural evil will be universal?

“cosmic theodicy”

• The best (only?) response: eschatology

– the goodness of creation lies ultimately in the new creation into which it will be transformed by God’s new action starting with the bodily resurrection of Jesus


4. Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy 4. Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy 1919thth century century

Original perfection of the world: Original perfection of the world: – God’s purposes can be accomplished God’s purposes can be accomplished

through natural processesthrough natural processes

Original righteousness of humankind:Original righteousness of humankind:– our capacity for religious experienceour capacity for religious experience– feeling of our feeling of our relativerelative dependence on dependence on

the world can lead us to feel our the world can lead us to feel our absoluteabsolute dependence on God dependence on God


Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicySchleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy 1919thth century century

Sin: obstruction of our awareness of Sin: obstruction of our awareness of God due to our dependence on the God due to our dependence on the world world – virtually inevitable (we are biological virtually inevitable (we are biological

creatures) yet not necessary (Jesus was creatures) yet not necessary (Jesus was sinless)sinless)

Natural evil: part of the prehuman Natural evil: part of the prehuman environment, not the result of the environment, not the result of the ‘Fall’‘Fall’

2222Copyright R. J. Russell 2005Copyright R. J. Russell 2005

Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicySchleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy2020thth century century

Retrieval: John Hick (1966)Retrieval: John Hick (1966)

pain and suffering are necessary for “soul-making”pain and suffering are necessary for “soul-making”

haphazard and unjust distribution are necessary if haphazard and unjust distribution are necessary if the right is to be chosen for its own sakethe right is to be chosen for its own sake

““epistemic distance”: the world must be epistemic distance”: the world must be

‘‘as if there were no God’as if there were no God’ helps to account for moral evilhelps to account for moral evil helps to account for natural evilhelps to account for natural evil


Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicySchleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy epistemic distance”: the world must be epistemic distance”: the world must be

‘‘as if there were no God’as if there were no God’

Russell: makes methodological naturalism (and Russell: makes methodological naturalism (and thus natural science) possiblethus natural science) possible

a ‘soul-making’ world will rule out referring to a a ‘soul-making’ world will rule out referring to a divine designer as part of a scientific theorydivine designer as part of a scientific theory

“ “Don’t put God into my equations” is right Don’t put God into my equations” is right for theological reasons!for theological reasons!

a ‘soul-making’ world will be one in which theism a ‘soul-making’ world will be one in which theism and atheism can both flourishand atheism can both flourish


Extending Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicyExtending Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy

Scholars in theology and science: Extending Scholars in theology and science: Extending Schleiermacher/Hick to natural evilSchleiermacher/Hick to natural evil

Kenosis: the self-emptying of Christ in the Kenosis: the self-emptying of Christ in the Incarnation and Christ’s humbling to death on a Incarnation and Christ’s humbling to death on a cross (Phil 2: 5-8)cross (Phil 2: 5-8)

Recent kenotic theology: God loves AND suffers Recent kenotic theology: God loves AND suffers with humanitywith humanity

Kenosis in ‘theology and science’: God loves AND Kenosis in ‘theology and science’: God loves AND suffers with all life, including humankind suffers with all life, including humankind


Schleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicySchleiermacher’s ‘developmental’ theodicy

Hick: Hick: Gravest challengeGravest challenge: :

excessive suffering + a ‘means-end’ argumentexcessive suffering + a ‘means-end’ argument Dostoievski: Dostoievski: The Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers Karamazov

EschatologyEschatology: the only possible context for : the only possible context for responding to theodicyresponding to theodicy The overall goodness of creation lies not in The overall goodness of creation lies not in

the present, as with Augustine, but in the the present, as with Augustine, but in the eschatological future.eschatological future.


5.5. Frontier Challenge: Frontier Challenge: eschatology and cosmologyeschatology and cosmology

The ‘far future’ of the universe according to The ‘far future’ of the universe according to science:science:

‘‘freeze’ or ‘fry’ --- freeze’ or ‘fry’ --- expand forever or recollapseexpand forever or recollapse the extinction of all life in the universe in the ‘near’ the extinction of all life in the universe in the ‘near’

futurefuture

Scholars in ‘theology and science’:Scholars in ‘theology and science’: some acknowledge the challenge, very few respond to itsome acknowledge the challenge, very few respond to it

Key area for ongoing research in theology and Key area for ongoing research in theology and sciencescience

Lecture 3 tomorrowLecture 3 tomorrow


The frontier challenge:The frontier challenge:

Evolution Evolution

theistic evolution theistic evolution

theistic evolution + NIODA theistic evolution + NIODA

Theodicy Theodicy

Eschatology and Eschatology and CosmologyCosmology


Thank you…Thank you…

Slides taken from:Slides taken from:

– http://www.smipp.com/ICHNEMOD.HTMhttp://www.smipp.com/ICHNEMOD.HTM– http://www.geocities.com/brisbane_wasps/ICHNEUMONIDAE.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/brisbane_wasps/ICHNEUMONIDAE.htm

http://www.smipp.com/ICHNEMOD.HTM

copyright r. j. russell 2005 1 theology from creation to new creation goshen lectures overview

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