Creation and Double Chaos: Science and Theology in Discussion

Creation is conflicted territory lately. Scientific accounts of evolution are being assailed by biblical literalists. Literalists continue to be contradicted by biblical scholars, theologians, and scientists. And evolutionary theory itself has been challenged and modified by more recent developments in science, notably chaos theory.

Scientist and theologian Sjoerd Bonting offers a new overarching framework for thinking about these issues. His book, which can serve as a primer on religion-science interaction, also offers an extended study of the key doctrine of creation. It unfolds in three steps. Bonting first offers a model for the religion-science discussion, in which each is seen as a distinct worldview on the same reality. Second, Bonting examines the creation controversy itself, including biblical perspectives, traditional doctrines, and the particular potential contribution of chaos theory. Finally, Bonting extends this perspective, a combination of chaos theory and chaos theology he calls "double-chaos," into a framework that addresses traditional questions about evil, divine agency, soteriology, the understanding of disease, possible extraterrestrial life, and the future.