Denis O. Lamoureux, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution (Cambridge: The Lutterworth Press, 2008), xx +493 Pps., $62.50; and Alister E. McGrath, A Fine Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009), xv + 262 Pps., $39.95.
I must admit at the onset that I approach this combined review of two fine texts with a sense of trepidation. Any review consisting of approximately 1,000 words cannot cover the depth and breadth of content covered within these texts, so I heartily recommend the purchase and proverbial ‘digestion’ of each of these texts. Having made this disclaimer, I shall now highlight salient features, as well as what I perceive to be some (important) weaknesses, of the two volumes.
Lamoureux is an assistant professor of science and religion at St. Joseph’s College, part of the University of Alberta. He holds three earned doctoral degrees – in dentistry, theology, and biology, so he is well equipped to speak on the intersection of science and theology. The book seeks to explain how a Christian can be an evolutionist; more than that, it seeks to show that Christians should be evolutionists. This is a mighty task, to be sure, and Lamoureux lays out his argument in nine (lengthy) chapters, with an attendant summative chapter. Overall, he asserts that evolution is a purpose-driven process, not one of mere blind chance. More precisely, he asserts that the Trinitarian God of Christian theism ordained, sustained, and completed the design-reflective evolutionary process; he argues that the ‘two books of God’ – i.e. nature and the bible – complement each other in revealing the glory of their Creator. The first two chapters establish the terminology that Lamoureux uses throughout the text, and outlines the weaknesses of the following four historic positions on the origin of life: 1) young earth creationism, 2) progressive creationism, 3) deistic evolution, and 4) dysteleological evolution. Pointing out these weaknesses allows Lamoureux to advocate his own conception of evolutionary creation, a process that he begins in chapter three, wherein he explores the activity of God in creation.
Chapters four through seven constitute the core of the title, and they all – to varying degrees – focus on the interpretation of Scripture. In fact, chapters four and five review the equivalents of astronomy, geology and biology within Scripture and conclude that the inspiring Spirit accommodated the level of knowledge that the human authors had at the time of composition. Chapters six and seven, respectively, examine Gen 1-11in order to determine whether concordism – the view that the biblical account of creation agrees with scientific accounts of natural history – is displayed therein. Taken together, these four chapters argue that concordism is not a characteristic of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, and that there is therefore no reason to reject the modern understanding of origins as proffered by the natural sciences. The eighth chapter transitions to the implications of what he has argued theretofore – i.e. a Christian approach to human evolution, which interfaces with some aspects of theodicy (a virtual given in science-theology books!). Chapter nine is a quasi-biography of the voyage that Lamoureux has taken in arriving at his positions that are outlined in the book. The final chapter addresses what we, as Christians, should perhaps say with regard to evolution in order to be effective witnesses to God both within and without the confines of the Church. Lamoureux has placed ten (!) appendices at the end of the book, ranging from the differing accounts of the genealogy of Jesus to similarities in skeletal remains.
Having briefly touched on the content of the book, I would now like to (with the aforementioned reservations aside) point out that I was a little disturbed that Lamoureux nearly completely ignored recent theological attempts (e.g. Process Theism) to approach the science-theology debate. Moreover, his consistent usage of the terminology of ‘intelligent design’ might, regrettably, put-off some readers of the text, causing them to miss what is otherwise a convincing argument. Thirdly, he seemingly is insistent to retain the usage of the terms inerrant and infallible in regards to the bible in their traditional senses, not only neglecting the (obvious) multiple layers of redaction, but also perhaps belying his ‘progressive’ view of science. Further, the lack of a bibliography I found to be problematic, as I had to attempt to find the first instance of a source’s occurrence in order to find the bibliographic information – a proverbial seeking of a needle within a haystack.
The second title is written by Alister McGrath, Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at King’s College, London. Similar to Lamoureux, he holds doctorates in both the natural sciences and theology. This title could be seen as an extension of his title from 2008, The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology. This latest one is a reformulation of his 2009 Gifford Lectures. In this newest title, McGrath examines the apparent ‘fine-tuning’ of the universe and its significance – if any – for natural theology. In so doing, he explores a wide range of physical and biological phenomena and draws on the latest research in biochemistry and evolutionary biology. He purports to set out an approach to natural theology within the context provided by a distinctly Trinitarian framework. Notably, he does not attempt to ‘prove’ the existence of God or the truth of Christian teaching; instead, McGrath’s claim is that there is a coherent ‘fit’ between the observable world and the resources of Christian tradition. The book is divided into two sections, the first of which sets out his ‘Trinitarian Natural Theology’ (seven chapters), and the second of which gives a case study, of sorts, regarding the apparent fine-tuning of the universe, or the so-called ‘anthropic principle’ (seven chapters). The majority of what follows will focus on the first part of McGrath’s text, note.
Of particular significance, the second chapter reviews the crisis of confidence in modern natural theology, which leads him to posit a renewed vision for natural theology in chapter three. The fourth chapter discusses possible challenges to his proposal, whereas the fifth provides his argument that natural theology should be seen as an endeavour that seeks consonance between theology and science. Chapter six purports to be a presentation of the ‘dynamics of a Trinitarian natural theology’, whereas chapter seven approaches the idea of counterfactuals. The eighth chapter, which could very well be seen as the core of the book, is a re-reading of St. Augustine, during which McGrath argues that Augustine’s creation theology provides resources for making sense of both the origins of the universe and the processes of Darwinian evolution. Chapters nine through fourteen all highlight the apparent fine-tuning and directionality present within the universe. The constructive portion of the book ends with some reflections on what the relatively recent developments within the emergence debate might entail for natural theology. McGrath promises, in a footnote, to address these issues more fully in subsequent titles.
Having laid out – briefly – the argument of McGrath, I would now like to critique his usage of the term ‘Trinitarian’ throughout the first 108 pages of the text. I counted, roughly, 300 references to the term ‘Trinitarian’ within this section of the book, more than 100 references to ‘God’, and a couple of dozen references to ‘Jesus’. That is all fine and well. However, I could find only three references to the ‘Holy Spirit’, one of which had to be inferred from a ‘two hands of God’ comment. So, how truly ‘Trinitarian’ is McGrath’s argument? From his lack of reference to the third member of the Trinity, I would have to say, in name only; whether this criticism of my own might belie his intention to lay out a ‘Trinitarian’ natural theology, someone else must adjudicate. Nevertheless, with this significant criticism aside, McGrath has produced a gem with this text, and in conjunction with Lamoureux’s text, could be very well used as a companion to philosophical theology courses at a graduate level.
Bradford McCall, Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA