Eden's Garden: Rethinking Sin and Evil in an Era of Scientific PromiseThe time is ripe for a robust discussion of human nature. In Eden's Garden: Rethinking Sin and Evil in an Era of Scientific Promise, Richard Coleman examines the notion of sin in a contemporary world that values scientific and nonreligious modes of thought regarding human behavior. This work is not an anti-science polemic, but rather an argument to show how sin and evil can make sense to the nonreligious mind, and how it is valuable to make sense of such phenomena. The author reconceptualizes sin and evil as 'indelible pieces of our evolutionary history' preventing them from being ostracized as 'too religious, without substance, mired in the past.' Coleman redeems theology for what it can offer to the understanding of sin and evil while embracing and respecting what science can offer to further the common good. Examining themes in religion, philosophy, and theology, it is ideal for use in the numerous courses that move across these disciplines. |
From inside the book
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... culture . Keep an eye on what the heart desires and the good we intend , for embedded within them is the ancient urge to know all things β a new version of an ancient temptation . And Yahweh said : " Do not desire to know all things ...
... culture . Keep an eye on what the heart desires and the good we intend , for embedded within them is the ancient urge to know all things β a new version of an ancient temptation . And Yahweh said : " Do not desire to know all things ...
Page 10
... ourselves , and the truth is not in us " ( I John 1 : 8 ) βand if the reason for our denial is not evident , our culture has " done a job on us . " Throughout this book science and theology are personified and general- 10 Introduction.
... ourselves , and the truth is not in us " ( I John 1 : 8 ) βand if the reason for our denial is not evident , our culture has " done a job on us . " Throughout this book science and theology are personified and general- 10 Introduction.
Page 11
... cultural phenomena driven by a particular kind of knowledge derived from a methodology we know as empiricism . Technology also bears two meanings : ( 1 ) the forces of production associated with machines and organized labor and the ...
... cultural phenomena driven by a particular kind of knowledge derived from a methodology we know as empiricism . Technology also bears two meanings : ( 1 ) the forces of production associated with machines and organized labor and the ...
Page 14
... circle . The cir- cle expands when the network of reciprocity expands and retracts when the sympathy knob is turned down . There are cultural and economic reasons for a changing climate . It is very foolish , for 14 Introduction.
... circle . The cir- cle expands when the network of reciprocity expands and retracts when the sympathy knob is turned down . There are cultural and economic reasons for a changing climate . It is very foolish , for 14 Introduction.
Page 17
... culture of technology rather than the human heart . It's more than coincidence that two centuries ago Mary Shelley wrote a horror story of a young philosopher - scientist who creates a creature who does not know who he is or where he ...
... culture of technology rather than the human heart . It's more than coincidence that two centuries ago Mary Shelley wrote a horror story of a young philosopher - scientist who creates a creature who does not know who he is or where he ...
Contents
Knowledge Too Powerful to Be Ignored The Good and Noble Scientist | 45 |
Knowledge Too Good Not to Be Exploited The Compromised Scientist | 79 |
THE NEW OCCASION FOR AN ORIGINAL TEMPTATION | 127 |
Sin of the Common Variety Distinguishing Sin from Evil and Sin from Sins | 129 |
Sin Uniquely Christian A Fresh Interpretation of The Fall | 161 |
Sins Genealogy The Emergence of Sin | 189 |
Science as the New Occasion for Sin When Humans Overreach | 223 |
SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY IN COUNTERBALANCE | 247 |
What Can We Expect? So Much Depends on How We Answer | 249 |
Selected Bibliography | 283 |
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295 | |
299 | |
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Adam and Eve altruism androids argument atomic bomb Auschwitz become begins behavior believe better biological biotechnology Blank Slate Boston Globe capacity century chapter Christian Cold War common create creature culture death desire distinction empiricism ence enhancement ethical everything evil evolution evolutionary expect feel Franck Report Fukuyama fundamental future genes genetic Genome global happens hope human condition human nature issue John Polkinghorne Kass kind knowledge language Leon Kass lives Manhattan Project Matt Ridley matter means mind modern moral nation Neiman never Niebuhr Oppenheimer original sin ourselves philosophers Pinker political posthuman question reality reason Reinhold Niebuhr religion responsibility Robert Oppenheimer Rousseau science and theology scientific scientists self-awareness self-transcendence sense sinful social society speak story theologians theology thing tion tradition transcend Trinity test trust truth understanding University Press writes Yahweh York
Popular passages
Page 26 - Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select β doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.β