Geoffrey H. FULKERSON and Joel Thomas CHOPP, editors. Science and the Doctrine of Creation: The Approaches to Ten Modern Theologians. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2021. Pp. 256. $28.00 pb. ISBN 978-0-8308-5280-2. Reviewed by Calvin MERCER, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858.

Science has played an increasing role in our understanding of the world, especially in the modern period. The planet we inhabit and our biological selves are known through science and are impacted by the technologies birthed by science. In this context, the doctrine of creation, which can inform reflection about the relationship between Christianity and science, appropriately grows in importance. This volume makes a good—though limited as I will explain—contribution to the Protestant theological discussion about creation and the natural sciences.

The ten chapters have their origin in a conference at the evangelical Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. The editors of the collection are associated with the Henry Center. Geoffrey H. Fulkerson is director, and Joel Thomas Chopp is project communications manager and editor of Sapientia, a periodical of the Henry Center. A Templeton Religion Trust grant supported the project.

The theologians chosen are William Burt Pope, Abraham Kuyper, B. B. Warfield, Rudolf Bultmann, Karl Barth, T. F. Torrance, Jürgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Robert Jenson, and Colin E. Gunton. Each theologian is introduced by a scholar who provides a biographical sketch of the theologian and then presents the theologian’s contribution to the doctrine of creation, in the context of science.

Identifying the ten Protestant theologians to put in a book like this is certainly, in itself, an interesting exercise. One could easily debate the choices made and wonder, e.g., why Paul Tillich or Langdon Gilkey, who wrote much on creation and science and religion, would not make the list over some of the lesser-known names chosen. To their credit, the editors clearly are not allowing doctrinal conservativism to rule, given that chapters are devoted to Bultmann and Moltmann, just to pick two examples.

Creation is understood as a “distributed doctrine,” that is, a doctrine interpreted as best expounded through and in context with other doctrines. The range of scientific theories addressed goes far beyond the usual concerns about human and universal origins and includes theories of time, Faraday’s field of force, and speed of light. Without exception, the chapter authors do a very good job presenting the contributions of the theologian assigned to them and interpretating those contributions in the context of science.

The limitation of this collection is its lack of diversity. First, the ten theologians are all Protestant. The editors, however, are admirably up front about that decision. Of course, no one volume can serve all purposes in addressing a topic such as science and the doctrine of creation. That said, to employ a criterion that excludes Carl Rahner, to pick just one example, ensures a limited outcome. To their credit, some chapter authors, in their exposition, discuss how the work of their Protestant theologian intersects with Catholic thought, e.g., Pannenberg uses Duns Scotus, Torrance critiques Thomas Aquinas. The dialogue with Catholic theologians is not a regular feature of the chapters, however.

Unacknowledged by the editors is a lack of gender diversity. The ten theologians chosen are all males, and the chapter authors, with one exception (Katherine Sonderegger writing on Karl Barth), are male. I am not suggesting that female theologians should be included out of some quota mentality. I would insist that the important questions addressed in this volume (e.g., identity of the Creator, natures and ends of created things) could better be addressed with increased dialogue with feminist perspectives. The Henry center is, of course, evangelical. There are, however, emerging evangelical female theologians whose work could be creatively employed in the volume. Diversifying the conversation in this way would also be consistent with and supportive of InterVarsity Press’ “longstanding commitment to women’s voices and leadership” as expressed in the “#ReadWomen Campaign” (https://www.ivpress.com/press-releases/2018/ivp-launches-read-women-campaign).

A major figure in the conversation about religion and science, Alister E. McGrath, Andreos Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University and director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion, provides a thoughtful “Afterword.” McGrath comes close to making my point about diversity when he says, “Yet this volume might also encourage its readers to extend their range to include others who have written on the doctrine of creation—for example, Athanasius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Jonathan Edwards, who all offer potentially interesting approaches.” (p. 244) McGrath makes an excellent point when he says, “With the exception of Craig Bartholomew’s discussion of Kuyper, the concept of the image of God does not feature prominently in this collection of essays. This is clearly an aspect of the doctrine of creation that is ripe for further exploration.” (p. 245)

The collection provides a valuable service in highlighting the doctrine of creation in an age where science and its technological applications play an increasing role in our lives. Hopefully, this volume will stimulate more conversation and with the needed diversity.