Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action (Series on Divine Action in Scientific Perspective, V. 1)

Rating:
Summary: getting religion and cosmology together
Review: Finding intersections between religion and science is tricky business, given that they haven't been on serious speaking terms for a couple of hundred years. I thought this book, in the area of cosmology, did an excellent job of making connections between quantum cosmology and orthodox christianity. While it does not propose pat answers, and refuses to sign up to anyone's dogma, it offers some fascinating ideas. Who would have thought, for example, that the no-boundaries condition that Hawking proposed for his explanation of the early universe, far from denying the existence of God (as Hawking and Sagan say) actually provide an interesting model for the operation of the timeless Trinity in a temporal world? The religion here is perfectly orthodox, though it does not kowtow to fundamentalism, and is perhaps a little too reverent to process theology ideas. There are some excellent and (as far as I can tell) accurate summaries of some very tough and interesting scientific ideas. Excellent reading if your mind isn't already made up on science/religion issues. And if you are willing to work at it some.

Rating:
Summary: getting religion and cosmology together
Review: Finding intersections between religion and science is tricky business, given that they haven't been on serious speaking terms for a couple of hundred years. I thought this book, in the area of cosmology, did an excellent job of making connections between quantum cosmology and orthodox christianity. While it does not propose pat answers, and refuses to sign up to anyone's dogma, it offers some fascinating ideas. Who would have thought, for example, that the no-boundaries condition that Hawking proposed for his explanation of the early universe, far from denying the existence of God (as Hawking and Sagan say) actually provide an interesting model for the operation of the timeless Trinity in a temporal world? The religion here is perfectly orthodox, though it does not kowtow to fundamentalism, and is perhaps a little too reverent to process theology ideas. There are some excellent and (as far as I can tell) accurate summaries of some very tough and interesting scientific ideas. Excellent reading if your mind isn't already made up on science/religion issues. And if you are willing to work at it some.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This book deals with Quantum cosmology, time (most contributors think that god is not eternal), the laws of nature, the problem of mind (they have a reductionist and evolutionary view) and the anthropic principle. The overall view of the book is neotheist. The authors are scientist or theologians.
It is incredible that there is no contribution and no consideration of the many works of the philosopher William Craig, who is the authority in the matter. Many of his articles can be found at leaderu.com, and his book is more serious than this one (the debate with Smith: "Theism, Atheism and Big Bang Cosmology"). Concerning the mind, Moreland's "Immortality" or Swinburne's "The Evolution of the Soul" are better works.