- LeRon Shults, Christology and Science (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2008), x + 171 Pps., $29.95.
- LeRon Shults (Ph.D., Princeton University; Ph.D., Walden University) is professor of Systematic Theology at University of Agder in Kristiansand, Norway, and the author of several books, including Reforming the Doctrine of God and Reforming Theological Anthropology. He contributes this title to the Ashgate Science and Religion Series, the aim of which is to advance interdisciplinary studies, and research key themes in the science and religion dialogue. While much ink has been spilt in recent decades regarding the relation between science and religion, the particular beliefs about Jesus Christ have not often been brought to the forefront of this interdisciplinary discussion even in explicitly Christian contexts. This volume pushes the conversation to new heights, bringing the specific themes of Christology into dialogue with contemporary science. In what follows a cursory review of the material shall be provided.
The book is broken into four distinct chapters, with an attendant epilogue. The first chapter, ‘Reforming Christology’, lays the groundwork for the entire book, and sets forth the task for Shults to achieve within the pages of the book. Herein, he asserts that reforming Christology will require the reconstruction of previous doctrinal formulations, something that the church at large has done throughout its history as it seeks to engage its own cultural context. He notes that bringing Christology and science together in mutual dialogue will have disturbing effects upon many of our long-held assumptions about Christology, but the risk is well worth the reward. He proposes that we think of theology and science as lovers, of course without the sexual innuendo, for this imagery evokes images of the loss of control over the other, as well as the notion that lovers respect the complete otherness of their beloved. The way in which Shults pictures this involvement between theology and science is with the mediating role between the two being played by philosophy, for all three seek to make sense of the human experience of life within the cosmos. In this sense, then, Shults engages in philosophical theology within this book.
Also within this first chapter, Shults explores three different ways of configuring this triangular, reciprocal relation between these disciplines: 1) Jesus Christ and the Philosophy of Science, 2) Philosophy and the Science of Jesus Christ, and 3) Science and the Philosophy of Jesus Christ. In regards to the first way of configuring this relation, Shults notes that the growing appeal of relationality in the philosophy of science has great import to modern formulations of Christology (6). Moreover, the realization of the contextuality of all scientific inquiry also has great bearing upon Christology (7). The third area that bears on the task of reforming Christology today from the philosophy of science is the emphasis, of late, being placed upon interdisciplinarity (9). Shults asserts that if we use the term ‘science’ to refer to organized modes of contextual inquiry, then we may think of Christology as the science of Jesus Christ, the second manner of configuring the reciprocal relation noted above. Within this science of Jesus Christ, the shift from substantialist and functionalist Christology to relationality provides us with the opportunity to develop a more integrative presentation of Christological doctrine (13). The third way of configuring this reciprocal mediation focuses upon the philosophy of Jesus Christ, wherein Shuts highlights the New Testament emphasis on following the way of Jesus Christ.
As a first step toward a more holistic presentation of themes in Christology, Shults has incorporated treatments of the doctrines of incarnation (chapter 2), atonement (chapter 3), and the parousia (chapter 4) within this book as practical applications of his reciprocal mediation between Christology, philosophy, and science. Chapter two, ‘Incarnation and Evolutionary Biology’, explores some of the shifts in the late modern discourse that shape the contemporary landscape in which the doctrine of the incarnation and evolutionary biology operate. He notes, for example, that many developments in this period have challenged the notions of embodied personhood that were assumed in early formulations of Christology. Herein, he rejects the explanatory power of substance metaphysics, and embraces the relational identification of Jesus with God (57–59).
In chapter three, ‘Atonement and Cultural Anthropology’, explores the challenges and opportunities that emerge when one attempts to articulate the biblical tradition regarding atoning work of Jesus with contemporary scientific insights about the cultural and social dimensions of human life. Within this chapter, Shults identifies promising new directions for the reconstructive articulation of the Christian understanding and experience of Jesus’ agency in atonement. He suggests that that this task can be facilitated by attending to some of the existential concerns that the two disciplines hold in common. Chapter four, ‘Parousia and Physical Cosmology’, explores the possibility and promise of bringing Christian thinking about the eschatological experience of Jesus Christ into explicit dialogue with physical cosmology. Therein, he engages physics, quantum theory, and the sciences of emergent complexity. He notes that whereas most scientists and philosophers are hesitant (understandably so) to reintroduce Platonic vitalism or Aristotelian entelechies into their theories, there is nonetheless a growing recognition of the importance of accommodating the intuition behind these ancient models into contemporary scientific developments (124). He also ventures into discussions regarding the promising new theories of emergence within this chapter.
Shults notes that his hope is that this book will evoke a sense of fascination of how weaving these various disciplines together can enhance our self-understanding (19). After reading through this title, I deem his hope to be fulfilled. As such, I recommend this title without reservation to scholars who have interest in the science and religion dialogue, and particularly to those who desire to understand how the two disciplines reciprocally interact and shape each other.
Bradford McCall
Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.