Creation and Humanity: A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 3

412 Pages·2015·3.283 MB·English

by  Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti

A C C T
ONSTRUCTIVE HRISTIAN HEOLOGY
P W
FOR THE LURALISTIC ORLD
1
VOLUME
Christ and Reconciliation
2
VOLUME
Trinity and Revelation
3
VOLUME
Creation and Humanity
CREATION AND HUMANITY
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
W B. E P C
ILLIAM ERDMANS UBLISHING OMPANY
G R , M / C , U.K.
RAND APIDS ICHIGAN AMBRIDGE
© 2015 Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen
All rights reserved
Published 2015 by
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /
P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kärkkäinen, Veli-Matti.
Creation and humanity / Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen.
pages cm. — (A constructive Christian theology for the pluralistic world; v. 3)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8028-6855-8 (pbk.: alk. paper)
eISBN 978-1-4674-4309-8 (ePub)
eISBN 978-1-4674-4269-5 (Kindle)
1. Creation. 2. Creationism. 3. Theological anthropology — Christianity. I. Title.
BT695.K37 2015
231.7 ′65 — dc23
2014040147
www.eerdmans.com
Contents
Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction: In Search of a New Methodological Vision for Constructive Theology
Desiderata of a “Transversal” Constructive Theology
I. CREATION
1. A New Vision for the Christian
Theology of Creation
The Doctrine of Creation in Transition
Metaphors and Participation: The Nature of the Knowledge of the Created Reality
Orientation to Part 1: Creation
2. Theology of Creation in the Matrix of Sciences, Religions, and Naturalisms
The Significance of Science for Religions and Theology
Science and Abrahamic Faiths
Modern Science and Asiatic Faith Traditions
Science and Religion in Mutual Critical Dialogue:
A Christian Theological Assessment
Naturalism in Religious and Theological Assessment
3. Nature as Creation: A Theological Interpretation
Nature in Modernity
The Postmodern Deconstruction of Nature
Nature as Creation: A Theological Account
4. A Trinitarian Theology of Creation
In Search of an Authentic Trinitarian Account of Creation
The Love and Goodness of the Father
The Mediating Role of Christ
The Life-​Giving Spirit
The Possibility and Conditions of Creation alongside the Creator
The God-​World Relationship in a Trinitarian Framework
Creation, Reconciliation, and Consummation
as the Work of the Triune God
5. Nature and Cosmology in Religions’ Imagination
For Orientation
Creation Theologies in Abrahamic Traditions
Codependent Origination:
The Buddhist Vision of the Origins of the Cosmos
Hindu Cosmologies of Origins
6. Creation in Evolution:
An Evolving Cosmos and Emerging Life
A Changed Worldview and Its Implications for Theology
The Origins and Conditions of the Universe
in Light of Contemporary Cosmology
The Theological Meaning of the “Beginning” of the Universe:
Ex Nihilo in Abrahamic Traditions
Ex Nihilo in Abrahamic Traditions
Creation’s Space-​Time in Theological Perspective
The Conditions of Life: The Biopic (Anthropic) Principle
The Emergence and Diversification of Life:
Tentative Explorations and Remaining Mysteries
Evolutionary Theory in Religious and Theological Assessments
Theological, Philosophical, and Scientific Challenges to Darwinism
7. The Trinitarian Form of Continuing Creation
and Divine Action
Providence in Theological Tradition: Reaffirmation and Revision
Divine Acts in History and Nature
Toward a Pneumatological-​Trinitarian Theology
of Divine Action and Providence
Divine Action, Miracles, and Transcending the Natural
8. The Suffering and Flourishing of Nature
Traditional Theology of Evil and Suffering
in Need of Radical Reorienting and Revision
In Search of an “Evolutionary Theodicy”
The Pollution of Creation: Ecological Resources
and Challenges among Religions
Ecology and Environment in Asiatic Traditions
Ecological Resources in Two Abrahamic Traditions
Eco-​theological Challenges in Christian Tradition
Theological Resources for the Healing and Flourishing of Creation
II. HUMANITY
9. Introduction: Humanity in a
Radically Changed Context
Theological Anthropology in a New Environment
Sciences, Religions, and Theological Anthropology
What Is Theological about Theological Anthropology?
Orientation to Part 2: Humanity
10. An Evolving Humanity: Uniqueness and
Dignity in Scientific Perspective
The Evolvement of Human Uniqueness
The Evolvement of Mental and Cultural Capacities
Evolution and Religion
11. Humanity as the Image of God:
A Theological Account
Introducing the Theme: The Constitution
of the Self and the Image of God
Image of God as Divine Destiny:
A Theological Reading of the Growth of Tradition
A Trinitarian Theology of the Image of God
Sociality, Emotions, and Embodiment:
Toward a Holistic Account of Humanity
Embodied and Emotional Human Personhood
“Male and Female He Created Them”
The Image of God among Abrahamic Traditions:
Jewish and Islamic Views
12. “Multidimensional Monism”:
The Nature of Human Nature
Introduction: The Confused State of Thinking about Human Nature
Human Nature in Theological Tradition:
A Generous Critical Assessment
Human Mind and Nature in Current
Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives
The Promise and Liabilities of the Nonreductive
Physicalist Account of Human Nature
“Multidimensional Monism”: Toward a Holistic,
Pluralistic, and Unified Account of Human Nature
13. Freedom and Determinism — Divine and Human
For Orientation: The “Necessity” of Human Freedom and Responsibility
Free Will, Determinism, and Neurosciences
Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom: A Mediating Proposal
14. Humanity and Human Nature
in Religions’ Teachings
For Orientation: The Diversity of Anthropological Visions
The Embodied Ensouled Human Being: The Jewish Vision
The Human Being as Body and Soul: The Islamic Vision
The Many Hindu Visions of Humanity
Interdependence, No-​Soul, and Dukkha: The Buddhist Vision
15. The Misery of Humanity
Challenges to the Doctrine of Original Sin in Current Theology
An Appraisal of the Growth of Traditions
Toward a Contemporary Christian Theology of Sin
Human Misery in the Vision of Abrahamic Faiths
The Human Condition in the Vision of Asiatic Faiths
16. Human Flourishing in Theological Perspective
The Beauty and Ugliness of a Good Human Life:
The Context for Flourishing
The Pursuit of Human Flourishing and Liberations as a Theological Task
Dehumanization and Desecration
Identity, Race, and Belonging in a Postcolonial World
Violence or Hospitality
Work, Economy, and Land
Epilogue: Continuing a Hospitable Dialogical Conversation in “Global” Theology
Bibliography
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
Abbreviations
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A D
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NPNF1 A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-​Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. Edited
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