Cosmology, Evolution, and Resurrection Hope: Theology and Science in Creative Mutual Interaction

In his lectures Russell develops three themes at the cutting edge of theology and science. In the first lecture he explores an often overlooked the creative role of theology in the rise of contemporary natural science as evidenced in the construction of Big Bag and steady state cosmologies and the resulting debates over them. In the second lecture he turns to the problem of “natural evil” – suffering, disease, death and extinction in nature – arguing that the most compelling response to evil is a theology of redemption that embraces all of nature. In the third lecture he explores redemption through the cross and resurrection of Jesus, opening the greatest challenge to Christian theology the conflict between Christian eschatology and the future of the universe according to science. By placing eschatology and cosmology into a relation of creative mutual interaction, Russell believes that eschatology can begin to address this challenge and in turn it can raise potent