Cosmology: From Alpha to Omega

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 352 pages
• Published by: Fortress Press January 1, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0800662733
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0800662738
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Product Description
In ten provocative chapters Russell explores such topics as: The Contingency of Creation and Big Bang Cosmology; Does 'The God Who Acts' Really Act?: New Approaches to Divine Action In Light of Contemporary Science; Entropy and Evil: The Role of Thermodynamics in the Ambiguity of Good and Evil in Nature; The Transfiguration of the Cosmos: A Fresh Exploration of the Symbol of a Cosmic Christ; and more.

About The Author
Robert John Russell is the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and Founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) there. A leader in the religion / science field for a generation, he has also been series editor for the six influential volumes in the joint Vatican Observatory / CTNS series on scientific perspectives on divine action.

Reader Reviews
R.J. Russell is one of the leading scientists in the field of science and religion. This volume contains his papers on a number of subjects (see also product description), all of which at a very sophisticated level and by no means easy reading. It is broadly divided into three parts: the first of which deals with the beginning of the universe and its relation to the theological concept of creation, including a paper on the mathematics of infinity; the second deals with the evolution of the cosmos and life, arguing for "Non-Interventionist Objective Divine Action" - it proposes the model of continuous Divine Action in evolution, with the quantum level and its intrinsic indeterminacy as its possible locus (this latter issue is of course disputed in the science-religion debate); and thirdly, Christian eschatology and the future of the universe - Russell acknowledges scientific predictions pose a profound challenge to Christian hope, but it is also clear that the absence of such a hope only leaves one with "unyielding despair", in the words of Bertrand Russell. The key to such a hope for a new heaven and a new earth is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In short, this is sophisticated science and solid theology, and should be widely read by scientists, philosophers and theologians.