It is widely believed that contemporary science has ruled out divine action in the world. Arguing that theology can and must respond to this challenge, Philip Clayton surveys the available biblical and philosophical resources. Recent work in cosmology, quantum physics, and the brain sciences offers exciting new openings for a theology of divine action. If Christian theism is to make use of these opportunities, says Clayton, it must place a greater stress on divine immanence. In response to this challenge, Clayton defends the doctrine of panentheism, the view that the world is in some sense within God although God also transcends the world. God and Contemporary Science offers the first book-length defense of panentheism as a viable option within traditional Christian theology. Clayton first defends a postfoundationalist model of theology that is concerned more with the coherence of Christian belief than with rational obligation or proof. He makes the case that the Old and New Testament theologies do not stand opposed to panentheism but actually support it at a number of points. He then outlines the philosophical strengths of a panentheistic view of God's relation to the world and God's activity in the world. The remainder of the book applies this theological position to recent scientific developments: theories of the origin of the universe; quantum mechanics, or the physics of the very small; the debate about miracles; and neuroscientific theories of human thought.

This series relates past thought from the history of Western theological traditions to areas of contemporary concern in fresh, innovative, and constructive ways. Designed for those with no formal theological training, these student-friendly volumes guide readers through core theological issues in a systematic and accessible way.<P>Winner of the 1998 John Templeton Foundation Prize for Outstanding Books in Theology and the Natural Sciences, this superb study draws on biblical, scientific, and philosophical sources in defending panentheism, the widely discussed yet controversial approach to the doctrine of God. Philip Clayton's provocative work promises to shore up the traditional rift between science and religious belief.

Systematic theology and postmodernism — What is this world which Thou hast made? : God's relation to the world in the Hebrew Bible — Christology and creation : struggling with the particularity of the Christian story — Rethinking the relation of God and the world : panentheism and the contribution of philosophy — Creation and cosmology : what theologians can and cannot learn from scientific cosmology — The presumption of naturalism — Scientific causality, divine causality — Understanding human and divine agency.