God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution

257 Pages·2007·0.85 MB·English

by  John F. Haught

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION: H
“ Haught’s remarkable study faces without fl inching the challenge that the evolutionary character A
of reality presents to a robust and intelligent [or credible] belief in God. In a most readable and U
perceptive manner the author dissects the character of that challenge, points out the limitations G
on its understanding imposed by its prejudices, and explores an excitingly open view of God’s H
creative involvement in the processes of reality and its ecological signifi cance. This is a book full T
of illuminating insights that will stimulate and inform all those who are seriously interested in the
science and religion debate today.” —David A. Pailin, University of Manchester
“ The relationship of science and religion has once again assumed centrality among cultural and G
intellectual concerns. John Haught has encouraged this development and continues to give
leadership to the refl ection involved. This book provides an original, insightful, and exhilarating look
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at how a quite radical version of neo-Darwinian theory, usually understood as excluding any belief
in God, can in fact aid Christians in developing a more Biblical faith by replacing the God of static
design and controlling power with the God of vulnerable, self-giving love.” D
—John B. Cobb Jr., School of Theology at Claremont

“A lucid, learned, and liberating book with a new insight on almost every page … Haught’s thought- A
provoking proposals, especially his view of God as the dynamic, loving power of the future with a
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vision rather than a plan for this evolving universe, deserves wide readership and discussion.”
T AA TTHHEEOOLLOOGGYY OOFF EEVVOOLLUUTTIIOONN
—Elizabeth A. Johnson, Fordham University E
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In God After Darwin, author John F. Haught argues that the ongoing debate between SSeeccoonndd EEddiittiioonn

Darwinian evolutionists and Christian apologists is fundamentally misdirected: Both D
sides persist in focusing on an explanation of underlying design and order in the universe.
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Haught suggests that what is lacking in both of these competing ideologies is the
notion of novelty, a necessary component of evolution and the essence of the unfolding
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of divine mystery. He argues that Darwin’s disturbing picture of life, instead of being
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hostile to religion—as scientifi c skeptics and many believers have thought it to be —
actually provides a most fertile setting for mature refl ection on the idea of God. Solidly
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grounded in scholarship, Haught’s explanation of the relationship between theology
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and evolution is both accessible and engaging. Th e second edition of God After Darwin
assesses Haught’s experience as an expert witness in the landmark case of Kitzmiller v.
Dover Area School District on teaching evolution and intelligent design in schools.
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JOHN F. HAUGHT is professor of theology at Georgetown University and director e
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of the Georgetown Center for the Study of Science and Religion. He is the author of o
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Deeper Th an Darwin: Th e Prospect for Religion in the Age of Evolution (Westview Press, d
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COVER DESIGN BY WENDY HALITZER ISBN-13: 978-0-8133-4370-9
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A MEMBER OF THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP 9 780813 343709 R
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www.westviewpress.com SS
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GOD
AFTER
DARWIN
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SECOND EDITION
GOD
AF TER
DARWIN
A THEOLOGY OF EVOLUTION
John F. Haught
Georgetown University
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright © 2008 by Westview Press
Published by Westview Press,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book
may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in
the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information,
address Westview Press, 2465 Central Avenue, #200, Boulder, CO 80301-2877.
Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewpress.com.
Westview Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
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information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
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[phone], or e-mail [email protected].
Designed by Trish Wilkinson
Set in 11-point Goudy
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Haught, John F.
God after Darwin : a theology of evolution / John F. Haught. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8133-4370-9
ISBN-10: 0-8133-4370-4
1. Evolution—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BT712.H38 2008
231.7'652—dc22 2007013480
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To Evelyn
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
1 BEYOND DESIGN 1
2 DARWIN’S DANGEROUS IDEA 13
3 THEOLOGY SINCE DARWIN 25
4 DARWIN’S GIFT TO THEOLOGY 49
5 RELIGION, EVOLUTION, AND INFORMATION 61
6 A GOD FOR EVOLUTION 87
7 EVOLUTION, TRAGEDY, AND 113
COSMIC PURPOSE
8 RELIGION, ETHICS, AND EVOLUTION 129
9 EVOLUTION, ECOLOGY, 153
AND THE PROMISE OF NATURE
10 COSMIC EVOLUTION AND DIVINE ACTION 173
11 DARWIN AND GOD AFTER DOVER 193
12 CONCLUSION 211
Acknowledgments 219
Notes 221
Index 239
vii
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PREFACE
Any thoughts we may have about God after the life and work of
Charles Darwin (1809–1882) can hardly remain the same as before.
Evolutionary science has dramatically changed our understanding of the
world, and so any sense we may have of a God who creates and cares for
this world must take into account what Darwin and his followers have
told us about it. While Darwin himself beheld a certain “grandeur” in his
new story of life, instead of taking his widening of the world’s horizons as
a springboard to a more exhilarating vision of God, many of his scientific
descendents have seen in evolution the final defeat of theism. Mean-
while, theology has generally failed to think about God in a manner pro-
portionate to the opulence of evolution. I am convinced, though, that it
has the resources to do so, and in the following pages I shall attempt to
set forth some facets of a “theology of evolution.”
If the idea of God is to arouse our instinct to worship, it cannot be
smaller than the universe that science has made so conspicuous to us, es-
pecially after Darwin. But, as I shall argue, there is no good reason why the
evolutionary news about nature should not be taken as an invitation for us
to enlarge our sense of the divine. The understanding of God that many of
us acquired in Sunday School is hardly expansive enough to incorporate
the nuances of evolutionary thought. Moreover, the benign, ordering de-
ity of traditional natural theology, as Darwin himself rightly concluded,
scarcely accommodates the contingency and turmoil in the life process. A
theology of evolution, on the other hand, will take into account all of the
deviancy resident in the post-Darwinian representations of nature; and if
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