A few months ago I have posted three author’s blog posts – all three form the Biblical Studies list. I have received some advance copies of God, Humanity and the Cosmos – 3rd Edition and then I thought that it would be good if Christopher Southgate could write a blog for this collection of essays – and here it is!
I hope you’ll enjoy reading this post and do follow it till the end as I have also included three endorsements, which are simply great:
‘This textbook for students of science and religion came originally out of meetings of those UK scholars who had won awards in the Science and Religion Course Program funded by Templeton. It became clear that there was no one book that offered a clear, lively and student-friendly account of the debate. In 2005 the book was strengthened by the inclusion of a new historical chapter, and additional material on the theology of creation. For the 2011 edition, further strengthening includes new chapters on climate change and the new atheism, as well as extensive updating of the other material and the bibliography. As the co-ordinating editor I am really grateful to my co-authors for all their insights, and for their loyalty to the book - fifteen years on from its original genesis. I'm also grateful to the members of the UK Science and Religion Forum who spent a whole day last year bombarding the authors with suggestions! Evolutionary psychology, transhumanism, and the 'dappled world' of Nancy Cartwright all get more attention as a result of their suggestions. The book has become an industry standard in countries all over the world. Check out the new edition, and feed back what you think!’ Christopher Southgate.
‘As the title says, God, Humanity and the Cosmos covers almost everything regarding science, Christianity and its critics. Not only is the scope of this textbook ambitious, but so is the variety of detailed issues addressed in many brief, readable sections that deserve careful study. For each topic discussed, the reader may come away with a fair and informed understanding as well as suggestions for further reading if one were to pursue that particular topic. Other wide ranging surveys of ‘religion and science’ tend to promote answers and play down the problems; this one also poses good questions with the answers, and thus doesn’t leave its challenging edge in easy apologetics. God, Humanity and the Cosmos is a rich survey as well as a great opportunity to come to greater depth in some of the most exciting intellectual discussions of our time.’ - Willem B. Drees, Leiden University, the Netherlands. ‘Distilling the expertise of a dozen key scholars in science and religion and containing significant new material, this third edition of Christopher Southgate’s now classic textbook continues to offer a comprehensive overview of what might otherwise seem a hopelessly large and shifting subject. In particular, the contributors are theologically literate and put theology back into the science and religion debate. Students I teach have found this textbook to be the most informative in its field.’ - David Grumett, University of Cambridge, UK. ‘I continue to enthusiastically recommend this fine textbook in science and religion. I have used the previous editions on several occasions in seminary and doctoral courses at the Graduate Theological Union, and found them to provide an excellent survey of the field, a very useful reference guide, and a stimulating set of perspectives from the spectrum of views of its editors. Key additions to this third edition - new chapters on the new atheism and climate change, a substantial rewrite of the evolution and biotechnology chapters, and a sizeable updating of the bibliography - make it all the more valuable as a textbook in science and religion.’ – Robert J. Russell, Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley, USA.
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