Science and Wisdom. By Jűrgen Moltmann. Translated by Margaret Kohl. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2003. xi + 219 pages. $20.00 (paper).

Abstract

Science and Wisdom is a collection of twelve essays written over a span of forty years. Arranged in a three-part structure (introductory essays, "Theology and Cosmology," and "The Wisdom of the Sciences"), some appeared previously in journals and in collections edited by others. Three are lectures published for the first time. In the preface Moltmann provides the reader with a rationale for the collection. Drawing attention to the neglect of science by [Protestant] theologians, attributable at least in part to Karl Barth's infamous "no" to natural theology in 1934 (xi), Moltmann argues that this "no" must be set aside in our current situation of worldwide ecological crisis. Although the collection does not have a central thesis, it does have a stated purpose, which is to bring Christian faith to understanding in ways compatible with findings of the sciences (xii). While this may be Moltmann's overriding desire, those accustomed to reading the theology-science monographs and essays written by North American (e.g., Ian Barbour) and British (e.g., Arthur Peacocke) scholars will likely be struck by how little specific scientific theories and findings are addressed in the essays. Nevertheless, there are many good reasons for giving this collection consideration. I draw your attention to three of them. The tenth essay, from which the collection gets its name contrasts the pattern of destruction made possible by modern science with the God-created wisdom structure of the world (141-57). Moltmann argues that this wisdom structure and the wonder it evokes provide the pre-rational basis for scientific reason and ethical responsibility. To end the destruction scientists must incorporate ethical wisdom in their research in order to integrate human civilizations into the geosystems of the earth. The fourth essay is worthy of note for the contribution it makes to creation theology from the standpoint of kenosis. Finding early and nineteenth century Lutheran kenotic theology wanting, he builds on Jewish Shekinah theology, concluding that, in creating, God self-limits God's own infinity and omnipresence to provide a space for finite, contingent creation. The kenotic God acts by giving creatures space to unfold, time to develop and power for their own movement (65). Eschatology is also given attention in several essays. The most sustained treatment is found in the fifth one in which Moltmann provides helpful appraisals of the Lutheran (annihilatio mundi), the Roman Catholic (transformatio mundi) and the Eastern Orthodox (deificatio mundi), exploring how these theological eschatologies do or do not relate to the astrophysical scenarios of cosmological eschatology (75-84). While I would not require this book for an undergraduate or graduate Theology and Science course, I do recommend its purchase for a college or university library and would likely refer students to the essays highlighted above and others in the collection.