Drees W.B. Beyond the Big Bang: Quantum Cosmologies and God

Open Court Publishing Company, USA, 1993. — 327 p. — ISBN: 0812691180Is belief in God a reasonable option in the light of modern cosmology? Or have religious beliefs been ruled out by science? Or should we rethink the connection between these two human enterprises - perhaps even considering them as unrelated? Some writers have contended that the Big Bang can be identified with the biblical Creation, while others claim that cosmology, in Carl Sagan's words, leaves ''nothing for a creator to do''. Willem Drees subjects the arguments of both sides to a careful scrutiny. He begins by reviewing and critcizing the religious responses to the theory of the Big Bang, showing that attempts by theologians to ''appropriate'' this scientific theory neglect many difficulties. He proceeds to an examination of various quantum cosmologies in relation to the Beginning, the anthropic principles, the search for complete theories, and conceptions of contingency and necessity. Dr Drees argues that cosmology offers no certainty in religious matters, and challenges the view that theology and science are engaged in a common quest to understand reality. On the other hand, he rejects the suggestion that they are unrelated. Not all scientific and theological arguments are compatible, yet science and theology have different functions. Science describes and explains, while theology is prophetic, seeking transformation towards justice and perfection.A Common Quest for Understanding?
Theology and the Big Banc Theory
Quantum Cosmologies and 'The Beginning’
Cosmology With or Without God
Constructing Theology in a Scientific Culture
Eschatolocy and the Cosmic Future
Theology and Science: Their Relationship and Their Methods
God
Appendixes
A Brief Sketch of the Big Bang Theory
Astronomical Objects
Cosmological Observations
Cosmological Theory
General Relativity Applied to the Universe as a Whole