GOD'S ACTION IN THE REAL WORLD1 |
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| Authors: | Arthur Peacocke |
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| Institution: | Arthur Peacocke is Warden of the Society of Ordained Scientists (S.O.Sc.) and an Honorary Chaplain of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, England. He is also a physical biochemist, theologian, and Anglican priest who, after a career in teaching and research in physical biochemistry, became Dean of Clare College, Cambridge (1972–84) and then founding Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre, Oxford (1985–88). His address is St. Cross College, Oxford, OX1 2LQ U.K. This article is adapted from chapter 2 of Intimations of Reality;by A. R. Peacocke, ©1984 by University of Notre Dame Press. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.) |
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| Abstract: | Abstract. The scientific and theological enterprises are regarded as interacting and mutually illuminating approaches to reality. The theological consequences of the transformation of the scientific worldview through twentieth-century physics and cosmology are considered with respect to notions of God's transcendence, time, continuous creation, determinism, and multiple universes. The theological implications of the worldview of biology are similarly assessed with respect to certain features of biological evolution: its continuity, its open-endedness, its mechanism, and the role of "chance" and law. The model of human agency for the agency of God in the hierarchy of natural systems is examined. The article concludes with some reflections on a science-informed understanding of God's relation to the world as transcendent, incarnate, and immanent. |
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| Keywords: | anthropic principle biology chance cosmology emergence evolution immanence natural systems physics theology transcendent |
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