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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Page 2
... discussion with President Harry S Truman , the language of guilt is blatantly absent . 1 The scientists who created " the Bomb " had few regrets — few at first and more in time — for they had done what was necessary , the right thing at ...
... discussion with President Harry S Truman , the language of guilt is blatantly absent . 1 The scientists who created " the Bomb " had few regrets — few at first and more in time — for they had done what was necessary , the right thing at ...
Page 10
... discuss sin , they are making truth claims about human nature . Evil opens another door to the nature of the universe . As long as sin and evil are strictly theological understandings , only a minimal form of intersection can be ...
... discuss sin , they are making truth claims about human nature . Evil opens another door to the nature of the universe . As long as sin and evil are strictly theological understandings , only a minimal form of intersection can be ...
Page 12
... discussion of human nature has never been more timely" ( xi ) . Pinker , a psychologist at MIT and relentless sleuth ... discussing human universals , such as empathy , snake wariness , and thumb sucking , but cannot force him- self to ...
... discussion of human nature has never been more timely" ( xi ) . Pinker , a psychologist at MIT and relentless sleuth ... discussing human universals , such as empathy , snake wariness , and thumb sucking , but cannot force him- self to ...
Page 13
... discussing human rights or a just society , you " cannot escape making certain judgments about what is naturally best for human beings " ( Posthuman Future , 120-22 , emphasis added ) . Fukuyama is definitely swimming against the ...
... discussing human rights or a just society , you " cannot escape making certain judgments about what is naturally best for human beings " ( Posthuman Future , 120-22 , emphasis added ) . Fukuyama is definitely swimming against the ...
Page 14
... discussion of sin and evil . Take a second look at the state of the world and one can see how easily we fall back into barbarism even as we grow in moral sensitivity . Where in this or any optimistic picture do we fit the assault on ...
... discussion of sin and evil . Take a second look at the state of the world and one can see how easily we fall back into barbarism even as we grow in moral sensitivity . Where in this or any optimistic picture do we fit the assault on ...
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 |
293 | |
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 — 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.