How Can Theology Interact with Science | Christoph Schwöbel
Channel: Henry Center
Date: 2018-08-13

Lecture Title - Nature, Contingency, and the Spirit: A Conversation with Wolfhart Pannenberg

Wolfhart Pannenberg was involved in the dialogue with the natural sciences from the beginning of his theological formation. His engagement with the sciences is characterized by the determination neither simply to incorporate scientific findings into a theological account of reality nor to adapt theological reflection to the state of scientific theory, but to challenge scientific methods, hypotheses, and theories from a theological perspective. Pannenberg has attempted to develop a theology of nature in which the concept of contingency plays a crucial role—both for science and theology. In Pannenberg’s magisterial Systematic Theology (1988–1993) the different aspects of his theology of nature are integrated into the framework of a comprehensive view of the Spirit as a field of force. This essay will build on Pannenberg’s achievements and offer them as an encouragement to explore further aspects in the dialogue between theology, philosophy, and the sciences.

Christoph Schwöbel (PhD Philipps Universität Marburg) was Chair of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. His publications include Word and Spirit: Renewing Christology and Pneumatology in a Globalizing World (De Gruyter, 2014), Der entgrenzte Kosmos und der begrenzte Mensch (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016), and Luther Heute: Ausstrahlungen Der Wittenberger Reformation (Mohr Siebeck, 2017).

The Henry Center for Theological Understanding provides theological resources that help bridge the gap between the academy and the church. It houses a cluster of initiatives, each of which is aimed at applying practical Christian wisdom to important kingdom issues—for the good of the church, for the soul of the theological academy, for the sake of the world, and ultimately for the glory of God. The HCTU seeks to ground each of these initiatives in Scripture, and it pursues these goals collaboratively, in order to train a new generation of wise interpreters of the Word—lay persons and scholars alike—for the sake of tomorrow’s church, academy, and world.

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