Darwinism and the divine
Subtitle: evolutionary thought and natural theology
By: Alister E. McGrath
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Malden, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 298
ISBN-13: 9781444333435; 9781444333442
Description: "Darwinism and the Divine examines the implications of evolutionary thought for natural theology, from the time of publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species to current debates on creationism and intelligent design.      Questions whether Darwin's theory of natural selection really shook our fundamental beliefs, or whether they served to transform and illuminate our views on the origins and meaning of life  Identifies the forms of natural theology that emerged in 19th-century England and how they were affected by Darwinism  The most detailed study yet of the intellectual background to William Paley's famous and influential approach to natural theology, set out in 1802  Brings together material from a variety of disciplines, including the history of ideas, historical and systematic theology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, sociology, and the cognitive science of religion  Considers how Christian belief has adapted to Darwinism, and asks whether there is a place for design both in the world of science and the world of theology  A thought-provoking exploration of 21st-century views on evolutionary thought and natural theology, written by the world-renowned theologian and bestselling author"--

"There remains a widespread perception that Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection marked the demise of any viable Christian natural theology - most notably, that of William Paley. But did Darwinism really shake such fundamental beliefs to the core? Or did Darwin's "dangerous idea" instead serve to transform and illuminate our views on the relation between the natural world and the divine? Darwinism and the Divine presents a detailed examination of the implications of evolutionary thought for natural theology, from the publication of On the Origin of Species more than a century-and-a-half ago through to the present day. Integrating and extending the latest scholarly research from across a wide variety of disciplines, world-renowned theologian Alister E. McGrath first explores the forms of natural theology that emerged in England from the late 17th century until 1850, showing us how these views were affected by the advent of Darwin's theories. McGrath offers the most detailed account of the intellectual background to William Paley's natural theology currently available, and offers an informed assessment of the impact of Darwin on such approaches. He then considers how Christian belief has adapted to Darwinism, and whether there is a place for design both in the world of science and the world of theology. Journeying well beyond On the Origin of the Species, Darwinism and the Divine offers a scholarly and thought-provoking consideration of the co-existence of natural theology with Darwinism in today's world"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Contents.; title: Preface.; title: Introduction.; title: Part One: Conceptual Clarifications.; title: On the meaning of terms.; title: 1. Natural Theology: A Deeper Structure to the World.; title: Natural theology in the classic tradition.; title: The conceptual fluidity of natural theology.; title: The eternal return of natural theology.; title: 2. Darwinism: A Narrative of Evolution.; title: Darwinism: A Defensible Term?; title: Darwinism as an Ideology.; title: The metaphysical inflation of evolutionary thought.; title: Conclusion to Part One.; title: Part Two: Historical Exposition.; title: Darwin and the English natural theology tradition.; title: 3. English Natural Theology of the Augustan Age, 1690-1745.; title: The Emergence of English Natural Theology.; title: Newtonian Physics and Natural Theology.; title: The Protestant Assumptions of English Natural Theology.; title: The "Disenchantment" of Nature.; title: The Cessation of Miracles in Nature.; title: The Providential Guidance of Nature.; title: A Foundation for Consensus: The Doctrine of Creation.; title: Physico-Theology: The Appeal to Contrivance.; title: Natural Theology and the Beauty of Nature.; title: The problem of development within nature.; title: Assessing evidence: changing public perceptions.; title: 4. A Popular Classic: William Paley's Natural Theology (1802).; title: Introducing Paley's Natural Theology.; title: Paley's Source: Bernard Nieuwentyt's Religious Philosopher (1718).; title: The Watch Analogy: The Concept of Contrivance.; title: Paley on Intermediary Causes within Nature.; title: The Vulnerability of Paley's Approach.; title: 5. Beyond Paley: English Natural Theology, 1802-52.; title: The impact of geology upon Paley's natural theology.; title: Henry Brougham: A Natural Theology of the Mind.; title: Evidence, Testimony, and Proof: A Shifting Context.; title: A New Approach: The Bridgewater Treatises.; title: John Henry Newman: The theological deficiencies of Paley.; title: Robert Browning's "Caliban Upon Setebos": A Literary Critique of Paley.; title: English Natural Theology on the Eve of the Darwinian Revolution.; title: 6. Charles Darwin, Natural Selection, and Natural Theology.; title: The Development of Darwin's Views on Natural Selection.; title: Problems, Prediction and Proof: The Challenge of Natural Selection.; title: Natural Selection and Natural Theology: An Assessment of Darwin's impact.; title: Darwin's relation to Paley.; title: Darwin on Religion.; title: Design and Purpose: The Question of Teleology.; title: The Benevolence of God: Providence and Animal Pain.; title: Conclusion to Part Two.; title: Part Three: Contemporary Discussion.; title: Darwinism and natural theology.; title: 7. A Wider Teleology: Design, Evolution, and Natural Theology.; title: Directionality within the natural world.; title: Teleology: Introducing an Idea.; title: Chance, contingency, and evolutionary goals.; title: The "Wider Teleology" of Evolution.; title: The Inference of Design and Natural Theology.; title: Suffering, Evolution, and Natural Theology.; title: 8. The concept of Creation: reflections and reconsiderations.; title: The Seventeenth Century: The regnant theology of creation.; title: Creation as Event and Process: Augustine of Hippo.; title: Evolution and an Emergent Creation.; title: God's action within the evolutionary process.; title: 9. Universal Darwinism: Natural Theology as an Evolutionary Outcome?; title: The Darwinian Paradigm and Cultural Development.; title: The God-Meme: Natural Theology and Cultural Replicators.; title: Religion: Evolutionary Adaptation or Spandrel?; title: Natural Theology and Evolutionary Theories of the Origins of Religion.; title: Conclusion to Part Three.; title: Part Four.; title: Conclusion.; title: 10. The Prospects for Natural Theology.; title: Natural theology and the human evolutionary past.; title: Natural Theology, Observational Traction, and the Best Explanation.; title: A community of discernment: The church and natural theology.; title: In Quest of Meaning.; title: Index.