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| Review of Karl Schmitz-Moorman's "Theology of Creation in an Evolutionary
World"
In the half-century since Pierre Teilhard de Chardin completed his writings, modern science has give us DNA, chaos, the standard cosmological model, and much more. During that time there have been countless "Teilhardian" commentaries published, but it is rare to find instances where Teilhard's ideas have been utilized comprehensively. With Theology of Creation in an Evolutionary World[1], Karl Schmitz-Moorman has done just that, starting from contemporary science to formulate a theology of creation from a Teilhardian point of view. All those who are asking "where is theology heading?" need to become aware of this book.
During his lifetime, Karl Schmitz-Moorman was a leading interpreter of Teilhard de Chardin, and translated Teilhard into German. This book (completed after his death by Nicole Schmitz-Moorman and Rev. James F. Salmon,S.J.) presents the synthesis of modern science and theology that Karl achieved over many years of teaching, writing and speaking. That synthesis may be summed up as "Theology now must adopt a new view, in which this evolving universe is perceived as the continued self-revelation of the Creator."
The most striking feature of this book is that it conveys a message that "it all makes sense" - that theology is capable of adapting to contemporary scientific knowledge without abandoning any fundamentals. Schmitz-Moorman's optimism toward this objective is evident throughout; the phrase "be not afraid" comes to mind. He does not evade controversy, and is quick to say so when an unresolved loose end appears. That openness is very helpful to the non-specialist, and is a key motivating factor to continue reading. To anyone who wonders "What would Teilhard have thought about [insert topic ...]," this book offers plausible answers.
Unlike many other books on science and religion written by scientists, this book is clearly Christian in its outlook, respects theology, and is aimed more toward one who enters the subject through the door of religion, as contrasted to science. Revelation is not a second-class citizen in theology. The first word of the title tells the reader to expect something different from other books on evolution. And the book is accessible: parts are devoted to explaining scientific concepts to a non-technical audience, and those parts make an easy read for a scientist.
It is not mandatory to have read Teilhard de Chardin's The Human Phenomenon[2] prior to reading this book. Karl Schmitz-Moorman acknowledges his debt to Teilhard throughout. Like Teilhard, Schmitz-Moorman always starts with human experience and reasons from there. The reader unfamiliar with Teilhard will not be left behind, because the presentation here is free-standing - not a supplement or commentary on Teilhard. Concepts are presented and explained in a way that readers from either the scientific side or the theological side can understand.
Table of Contents:
1. Theology of Creation as a Permanent Task 2. The Universe as Process of Becoming God's Creation 3. Consciousness in the Universe - of the Universe 4. The Evolution of Information: a Hallmark of God's Creation 5. Evolution of Freedom in God's Creation 6. God, Creator of the Evolving Universe
These six chapters occupy 145 pages.
The first chapter introduces the theological issues to be considered. The historical context is reviewed clear back to the middle ages, and he gently reminds his theology-based readers that in the old days, theologians studied science. The scientific reader finds in this chapter a comfortable introduction to several important concepts in Christian theology, and is reassured to read "Taking evolution seriously forces theology and humankind in general to refrain from fixing truths in unchangeable doctrines."
The next three chapters contain the most important scientific components of the book, and shows their relevance to theology. Chapter 2 deals with initial creation and subsequent evolution. Chapter 3 presents (and updates) Teilhard's key theme that the direction of evolution is toward increasing consciousness. In chapter 4 (about Information) Schmitz-Moorman goes well beyond Teilhard's notions (circa 1940) but retains the same principle of seeing everything (including information) as part of creation. He says "In an information-dominated universe an evolved mind able to create new immaterial information should be able to enter into some kind of communion with pure spirit, which the mind can recognize as the Creator ...." One gets the feeling that if Teilhard had lived into the 1990s, he might have written very similar words.
Chapter 5 is the book's strongest chapter, because it explains that freedom and evil come together, since the universe is not determined. Determinism is completely dismantled within this chapter, and predestination is shown to be incompatible with God's wish to give people freedom. "The price for the ability to love God in freedom, the only way love is possible, is the enormous amount of suffering we find in creation." In addressing the problem of evil, Schmitz-Moorman's presentation goes well beyond the brief appendix about the topic that appears in The Human Phenomenon.
Among other things, writing several years before Islamic fundamentalism gained notoriety, he says "Any fundamentalism that claims to know precisely God's will is not a viable church structure within God's evolving creation, which brings forth ever greater freedom."
Chapter 6 completes the circle and returns to Christian theology, now understood within the dynamic structure of an evolving universe, as contrasted to the static picture of the middle ages: God created a universe that is becoming, not fixed. Top-down causality is discussed in detail. At the end, it is comforting to find that God's creative love is at the heart of the evolving universe: "The creation that exists only because it is called forth by the loving Creator reaches in the human being the ability to answer or to refuse God's offer of love."
Theology of Creation in an Evolutionary World is an excellent book that deserves much more attention than it has gotten so far. (The author's death precluded the usual lecture-circuit publicity boost.) The material in it has been used in college classes composed of undergraduate non-technical students. It is easier than such classics as Ian Barbour's Religion in an Age of Science, and less foreboding to the non-technical reader.
One of the major advantages of this book for use in teaching classes is an appendix containing nine pages of "Study Questions", which are keyed to the consecutive chapters. The questions span a wide range of difficulty, and hence can be used for classroom discussion, homework assignments or even term papers in some cases. A book club at a church could select some of the questions and thereby get a lot more out of reading it. Some examples: "Why should the theologian be aware of how contemporary science understands the universe?" and "Explain the difference between predeterminism and propensity toward complexification in biological evolution." This appendix provides a real head start to a professor designing a course on this subject.
The notes and bibliography are very thorough, and allow the interested reader to read more on almost any subject; in fact, many of the scientific citations are to the magazine Scientific American, noted for its accessibility by non-technical readers.
Both theologians and scientists who respect each other's disciplines will find merit in this book. I would readily use it myself as a text for a course aimed at non-scientists. I am pleased to highly recommend Theology of Creation in an Evolutionary World.
1 ISBN 0-8298-1215-6, Pilgrim Press, Cleveland Ohio 44115, (c) 1997 by Nicole Schmitz-Moorman 2 ISBN 1-902210-29-8, Sussex Academic Press, (c) 1999
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Published 2002.09.06
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