SEEKING THE PRACTICING

GLOBAL GOOD AUTHENTIC

IN DIFFERENT PERSONAL VALUES
CULTURES IN PUBLIC LIFE

OLOGIC
HE

AL
T
EF

N
LECTIO

R
EDUCATING THE PASSING THE
PUBLIC TO CATHOLIC AND
February 2012, No. 102 Woodstock Theological Center Georgetown University Washington, D.C. REFLECT JESUIT INTELLECTUAL
THEOLOGICALLY TRADITION TO A NEW
AND ETHICALLY GENERATION

I If you ask most people what

science and religion have
in common, some will say
order and equilibrium to chaos
and non-linear systems; from
cause and effect to quantum
“nothing” while others will entanglement. Added to these
say, “why do you ask?” There scientific achievements is the
is a widespread sense today ascent of various technologies
that science and religion have including artificial intelligence,
nothing in common or should robotics, synthetic biology and
have nothing in common nanotechnology. In 1965, Intel
since they are entirely different co-founder, Gordon Moore,
disciplines. Despite their dif- described a trend in which
ferences, they both impact the computer capacity seemed
understanding of ourselves and to be doubling every one
our world. Science and religion to two years. This pattern
of exponential im-

Bridging the provement has con-

tinued for
than forty years and
more

Gap Between is so characteristic

of technological in-

Science and
novation that it is
described as “Moore’s
Law.” The cell phone

Religion
is a good example of
technology’s rapid
advance; once an
Ilia Delio, O.S.F. aid to human com-
Senior Fellow
munication, it is now
are the two major forces of a minicomputer and multi-
human life. media center in the palm of
We live in a scientific- one’s hand.
technological culture where While technology develops
discoveries in cosmology, exponentially, religion remains
physics, biology and biomedical fixed on abstract principles
sciences have rendered a and infallible truths. The main
whole new understanding of framework of Christian theology
cosmic and biological life. In was developed in the thirteenth
less than two hundred years, century by Thomas Aquinas who
we have moved from a closed, synthesized Greek philosophy
static, hierarchical universe of and Christian doctrine into a
absolute space and time to an unified system. Today theology
open, dynamic, evolutionary, still uses medieval language
13.7 billion year old universe of soul and body, matter and
of relative space-time; from form, even though these ideas
analytical causal systems to are obsolete in light of modern
contextual open systems; from science. Ideas about God,

Photo by Phil Humnicky/Georgetown University CONTINUED ON P4

 NEW SCIENCE, OLD RELIGION

I
n the twenty-first century, few questions divide people so passionately as how
exactly to relate advances in scientific knowledge to long-held religious beliefs.
In this Issue People of faith – especially Jewish, Muslim, and Christian believers – seem to
face increasing pressure to defend the wisdom of our sacred texts in light of new
learning in evolutionary biology, relativity theory, and quantum physics.
Page 1
In recent months, both the New York Times and The Washington Post
Bridging the Gap
published articles about the possibility that scientists were close to observing a
Between Science and
long-sought particle, sometimes called “the God particle,” using the Large Hadron
Religion
Collider near Geneva. The implied joke is that this would open up a God-like
understanding of how matter works and make the notion of God truly obsolete. To some scientists,
Page 2
religion is not just a distraction but a dangerous delusion and barrier to further discoveries. At the same
From the Director’s Desk
time, there are people of faith who are blocked by their suspicion that science – particularly its description
of evolution – will undermine their convictions. So we all face the question of whether it is possible for
Page 3
us to reconcile our new science and our old religion.
From the
In this issue of the Woodstock Report, we engage the Catholic intellectual tradition by addressing
Advancement Office
some of the issues at stake in the critical relationship between science and religion. Our theologians,
whose job it is to help us make sense of our religious traditions, offer their reflections out of their ongoing
Introducing Tom Michel, S.J.
dialogue with scientists about how we can bridge the two worlds. They continue a centuries-old Jesuit
argument that science and religion are definitely not at odds. In fact, they have positive contributions to
Page 6
make to each other.
Is Nature Enough?
In her article, Sister Ilia Delio provides historical perspective and suggests possibilities for how
science and religion can mutually enrich each other. This builds on the hard questions she asks in one
Page 7
of her brilliant books, The Emergent Christ, about religious beliefs that were embedded in pre-scientific
Science and the Common
cultures. She wonders if religion might well be a root cause of our inability to solve our global energy
Good: The Case of Climate
problems. When religions oppose matter and spirit, she says, they debunk the created world and God’s
Change
care for it. In this way they are inviting us to treat the material world as disposable.
Brother Bill Rehg, S.J. professor of philosophy at St. Louis University who currently holds the Jesuit
Page 8
Chair at Georgetown, complements Ilia’s thought by describing how the science-religion dialogue can
Jesuits and the Sciences
foster a healthy attitude towards the earth and our environment. He explores the relationship of science
and the common good (a major tenet of Catholic Social Thought) in the case of climate change. Howard
Transhumanism
University Professor Daryl Domning builds on these insights. He goes on to show us how there are “many
Project Meets with
points of convergence and synergy.”
World-renowned
This issue also includes a reprint of John Haught’s insightful description of “scientific naturalism”
Philosopher
because of its critical importance for this topic. He argues that the belief among some scientists that
“nature is all there is” works against the kind of dialogue that we have been talking about and that
Page 9
religious affirmations of the ultimate meaning of things can go hand in hand with scientific advances.
These Black Holes
Finally, theological reflection on the relation of science and religion takes the shape of poetry. “These
Black Holes” by John Haughey, S.J. recalls his lecture in the Jesuits and the Sciences series last September.
Page 10
Black holes embody the drama of death and new life – both in deep space and in our lives.
Advances in Science:
And so we continue the work of “bringing faith up to date.” All of us at Woodstock deeply appreciate
Bridges Between Science
the financial sacrifices you make to ensure that we can continue to produce essential resources for critical
and Religion
reflection and effective action during these challenging economic times.
Page 11
Activities of the Fellows

Gasper F. Lo Biondo, S.J.,

Director

2 | Woodstock Report • February 2012

WOODSTOCK SECURES LUCE GRANT
ON POINT
FOR SPRING FORUM
“Far from being a threat to faith,

T
he Henry Luce Foundation modern science is an invitation
awarded a generous grant of to get better acquainted with the
$22,500 in December 2011
force behind the universe....
in support of Woodstock Theological
Evolution means humanity’s place
Center’s next symposium, Ageless Grace:
Women in Leadership in the Church and in the universe may be more, not
in the World, featuring key speakers, less, significant. We are the creatures
Honorable Melanne Verveer, U.S. most responsible for the care of life
Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, on this planet. We will save or destroy
and M. Cathleen Kaveny, Professor of Law and Theology the earth. Our global choices will
at Notre Dame University. This grant is the second of two determine the quality of life for future
dynamic programs which Henry Luce Foundation has funded at generations.”
Woodstock on women and theology.
The first was to launch the Monika Hellwig Colloquium Richard G. Malloy, S.J.,Ph.D., Vice President for Mission and Ministry
at the University of Scranton. This quote first appeared in U.S.
in the fall of 2010. The March symposium gathers women and Catholic Vol. 76, No. 2, pages 17-21. You can read the whole article
men from all sectors of the university, the larger metropolitan at http://www.uscatholic.org/faithandscience or read more of Fr.
D.C. community and parishes and high schools Malloy’s reflections at http://jesuitjottings.blogspot.com.
to consider women’s leadership. The symposium
is part of the long term contribution Woodstock
is making to Global Human Development. The
symposium is open to the public and will take place INTRODUCING TOM MICHEL, S.J.
in the ICC auditorium on Georgetown University’s Thomas F. Michel, S.J. rejoined Wood-
campus on Saturday, March 24, at 2:00-5:00 pm. stock as a Senior Fellow in January 2012.
A reception follows the formal program. To RSVP Fr. Michel came as an International
to this event or any other Woodstock events, see Visiting Fellow in 2008 and has spent the
http://bit.ly/wtc-rsvp past two years as a member of the Jesuit
Community in Ankara, Turkey.
He is the author of A Christian View
of Islam (Orbis, 2010) and has taught for
many years in Indonesia, the Philippines,
and around the United States, Europe,
and Turkey. He is on the board of numerous institutions
and organizations, including the Academic Council of the
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown
University, the International Advisory Board of the Khalidi
Library in Jerusalem, and the Advisory Board of the Center for
Civilizational Dialogue at the University of Malaya in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. We hope you will have the opportunity to
meet him at a Woodstock event soon!

NEW BOOK!
Last October, Gasper Lo Biondo, S.J. and Rita Rodriguez (pictured above) previewed
their latest book, Development, Values, and the Meaning of Globalization: A Grassroots
Approach at a reception near the United Nations Parish in New York. In January, its
official launch was hosted by Vito Germinario and welcomed enthusiastically by Carol
Lancaster, Dean of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and students who
shared how the book had impacted their understanding of development.

Visit http://bit.ly/wtc-dvmg to order a hardcopy or download for free!

Woodstock Report • February 2012 | 3

 Bridging the
Gap Between
God and nature led Thomas to state that world by rational thought alone. Rationality
Science and a mistake about creation could lead to a trumped affectivity and the intellectual
Religion mistake about God. road to knowledge triumphed over wisdom
The first major rift between science which was considered the highest form of
CONTINUED FROM P1
and religion came when Nicholas of Cusa knowledge in the Middle Ages. As science
and later Nicholas Copernicus proposed developed between the seventeenth and
humanity and creation are still formed a theory of heliocentrism which meant twentieth century, the human person was
according to the three-tiered universe with the earth revolved around the sun. Up to not part of the cosmic story. Whereas the
God on top of the cosmological order, earth this time the earth was considered to be medieval universe gave the human person a
in the center (though fallen due to sin) and the center of a stable, cosmic order and special role in creation as image of God, the
hell as the place for the damned. How did the human person, created in the image world of modern science developed at the
these two important ways of understanding of God, was at the center of the earth. expense of the human person. The cosmos
ourselves and world become so radically The Church was not ready for the major ran like a machine according to its own
separated? upheaval of a moving earth. If the earth laws and mechanisms and humans were
moved around the sun then the human part of the machine. Essentially, nature was
A BRIEF HIST O R Y O F person was not special but simply part of a stripped of its sacred character.
SCIE NCE AND R EL I G I O N spinning planet. How could this finding be As modern science developed into
reconciled with the Genesis account where specialized areas of study, religion remained
If we turn back the hands of time to the first the human person was created on the sixth tied to the medieval cosmos. The marriage
thousand years of Christianity, we find a day in God’s image? How would sin and of Greek philosophy to Christianity gave
very different picture. It is no coincidence salvation be understood? Galileo argued rise to a system that was too neat and
that science sprang not from the Brahmin- that the Bible and the natural world both orderly to be disrupted. Christian doctrine
Buddhist-Taoist East but from the heart come from God and are meant to be in was inscribed within the framework of
of the Christian West. Historically, the harmony. Cardinal Baronius remarked that a perfect, immutable, hierarchical and
foundations of modern science are found the Bible teaches “how to go to heaven, not anthropocentric (overly focused on humans)
in the Judeo-Christian tradition, beginning how the heavens go.” Once the theory of order. By the late nineteenth century, science
with the Old Testament and its emphasis heliocentrism became the law of the planets, disclosed a world of dynamic change, while
on an orderly, rational the Church found religion remained static and personal. As
and contingent world. A mistake about itself in a vulnerable John Haught has shown, a religion built on
In the New Testament position with regard stability and immutability was not prepared
the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus
creation could lead to a to science. for a cosmic order based on change. Thus
The rise of it is no surprise that Darwin’s theory of
Christ underscored modern science, fol- evolution was seen as a “dangerous idea”
the openness of mistake about God. lowing the Protestant because it seemed to dispense with the
matter to spirit and Reformation and its need for God. As Haught notes, however,
the presence of God in creation. Patristic emphasis on sin and personal salvation, evolution opened a new window to the
writers such as Saint Augustine encouraged caused an alienation from the earth in divine mystery.
study of the natural world. Creation both Catholic and Protestant circles.
bore the footprints (vestigia) of God and Science eventually became detached from THE RI SE O F SC I E N C E A ND
understanding the natural world (scientia) its Christian roots and developed as a self- RE LI G I O N AS A DI SC I PLINE
could help deepen one’s faith. The influence sufficient discipline to explain natural causes
of Greek philosophy on Christian theology and events. The Jesuit-trained philosopher The area of science and religion emerged
peaked in the Middle Ages where, thanks to Rene Descartes tried to preserve God from in mid-twentieth century as scientists,
translations of Aristotle by Muslim scholars, the clutches of a changing world by locating theologians and philosophers began
Aristotelian cosmology was joined to true knowledge not in creation but in to grapple with the insights of modern
Christian theology in the brilliant synthesis the self-thinking subject. His famous “I science. New understandings about the
of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas studied logic, think, therefore I am” drew a strong line of origin of the universe, space-time, mass-
natural philosophy, arithmetic, geometry separation between matter and spirit and energy, human consciousness and genetics
and astronomy in addition to theology, shifted the locus of knowledge from God provided amazing insights about reality but
which was known as the “queen of sciences”. and God’s creation to the individual human also raised new questions that science alone
To know God was to know the world person. While in the Middle Ages God was could not answer. What is the purpose of
created by God. Creation was considered the source of unity, in the Enlightenment life? Where is this universe going? Why
to be the first book of God’s revelation, the power to unify was to be found in does intelligent, sentient life evolve rather
followed by Scripture. Science was necessary the self-thinking subject. This transition of than return to more primitive life forms?
for theology because the created order knowledge from object to subject imposed a The modern dialogue between religion and
revealed God. The relationship between burden on each person to make sense of the science is best described in Ian Barbour’s

4 | Woodstock Report • February 2012

Our research at Woodstock Theological
Center focuses on the level of integrating
SCIENCE AND RELIGION, recognizing
their disciplinary limits but realizing they
are TWO EYES OF ONE UNIVERSE.

book Issues in Science and Religion where the ethical and aesthetic perceptions we concerning the great systems of the universe,
Barbour developed a four-fold scheme to experience in it. Religion provides aim which is not in her power to make, the
help make sense of the relationship between and purpose to an evolutionary universe, Church nevertheless recommends these
science and religion: a cosmic order which anticipates a future doctrines for consideration by theologians
fulfillment. A world without religion finds in order to discover the harmony that exist
conflict – science and religion contradict and it hard to explain how “something of lasting between scientific truth and revealed truth”
are incompatible with each other. significance is glimpsed in the beauty of the (Science, 1980). The Vatican remains open
independence – science and religion are natural world and the beauty of the fruits to the dialogue between science and religion
separate realms of inquiry. of human creativity,” as John Polkinghorne and has instituted a new department to
dialogue – both science and religion have writes. On the other hand, modern science promote harmony and understanding
things to say to each other about challenges us to widen our beliefs, not to between scientific discoveries and matters
phenomena in which their interests become rigidly fixed in them. It inspires of faith.
overlap. us to awaken to something more awesome Those who take science and religion
integration which aims to unify science and and deep at the heart of created reality. seriously frequently come to a place of awe
religion into a single discourse. Science needs religion because theism makes in the face of the mystery that is our world
more sense of the world and of human and the even greater mystery of God to
Our research at Woodstock Theological experience than science alone but religion which the world points. With the amazing
Center focuses on the level of integrating needs science to prevent it from falling into discoveries today in big bang cosmology,
science and religion, recognizing their superstition and worship of false absolutes. evolution and quantum physics we must
disciplinary limits but realizing they are Science cannot prove the existence of God ask, how big a God do we believe in?
two eyes of one universe. Through the and religion cannot prove the existence of Both science and religion point to the
eye of science we can explain events by quarks but science can ignite “questions fundamental incompleteness of created
observation and measurement; through the of meaning” which religion can address reality and a basic openness to a level of
eye of religion we can interpret events in through revelation and Scripture. completion which does not now exist. The
light of their connectivity to something Blessed Pope John Paul II recognized questions that linger in the human heart
more than meets the eye. How can the the need for mutuality between science and today, questions of lasting values, moral
insights of science be harmonized or find religion. Openness to the modern sciences, decisions and life’s direction are questions
compatibility with religious faith? How can he said, can help the Church remain on that cannot be answered by science alone.
science and religion form a unified vision the path of truth and not wander off into We must give reason for the hope that lies
of our world? The Bible is not a science error and superstition. On the occasion within us. If Aquinas was able to construct
textbook that contains raw scientific truths of Einstein’s centenary birth, the Pope a new theology using Aristotelian categories
but insights to the mystery of God. The commended Einstein’s contribution to to speak to a world imbued with Aristotelian
cosmos and the laws which govern it do the progress of science and encouraged science, is it possible for contemporary
not form a self-explanatory system; they theologians to consider his insights for theologians to do the same in dialogue
point beyond science and call for a deeper a deeper understanding of truth: “Filled with modern science? That is our hope at
foundation that can address questions with admiration for the genius of the great Woodstock and the aim of what we seek
of ultimate meaning and value. Religion scientist, in whom is revealed the imprint to do.
speaks to us of the intelligibility of the of the creative spirit, without intervening in
universe, of its fruitfulness for life and of any way with a judgment on the doctrines

Woodstock Report • February 2012 | 5

 he book, Is Nature Enough?, was my first exploration of a fundamental question in the
dialogue between science and religion: is nature all there is? It began by contrasting Isaac
Watts’ 1715 hymn and a waggish revision by Kenneth Boulding to help readers conceptualize a
tension between worldviews that’s even more apparent today. Boulding does not say whether the sen-
timents expressed in his update are really his own, but his rendition expresses succinctly the worldview
known as “scientific naturalism.” This is the belief that nature is all there is and that science alone can make
sense of it. Some scientific naturalists are willing to keep singing the old hymns. Even though the lyrics no
longer ring true, they still warm the heart. Others, however, insist that it is time to stop singing them alto-
gether. There can be no harmonizing of Watts’ stanza with Boulding’s. Nature is enough.
Is it time then to resign ourselves to this claim? In the book, I argue that there is no good reason to
do so and that in fact the belief that nature is all there is cannot be justified experimentally, logically or sci-
entifically. In developing my response I address fundamental issues in the dialogue of science with religion.
Although this conversation has many facets, two large questions stand out: is nature all there is? And is there
any point to the universe?
The belief that nature is all there is, and that no overall purpose exists in the universe, is known
broadly as naturalism. Naturalism, at least as I am using the term, denies the existence of any realities
distinct from the natural world, an unimaginably immense and resourceful realm of being that includes
humans and their cultural creations. Naturalism either suspends or rejects belief in God and most other
religious teachings.
There are several ways of thinking that “nature is all there is,” including classic forms of pantheism,
but I focus on science-inspired naturalism. Because of the growing academic sponsorship of this belief
system, it is important that reasonable, scientifically informed, alternatives to naturalism and its burgeon-
ing influence now become more visible. However, sensible alternatives to naturalistic belief will never be
effective as long as they edit defensively whatever seems prima facie religiously or theologically offensive in
the accumulating mound of scientific information.
In the book, I lay out what I consider to be a reasonable, scientifically informed alternative to natural-
ism. It may seem that the two stanzas quoted above are contradictory, but I try to show how they can be
smoothly mapped onto each other without straining either science or religion. My approach is to embrace
the results of scientific research while simultaneously raising questions about scientific naturalism. I do so
with the deepest respect for the body of established scientific knowledge as well as the religious affirmations
of ultimate meaning.
I hope you’ll join me in continuing to reflect on this important issue for bridging the divide between
science and religion.

Adapted from the introduction to Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science (Cambridge University Press, 2006).
6 | Woodstock Report • February 2012
 By Br. William Rehg, S.J.

he idea of the common good public life outside the academy – for
occupies a central position in example, in politics, urban and environmen-
Catholic social thought. Though tal planning, and business decision-making.
concern about the common good is traditionally Sustainability questions call for scientific
associated with political philosophy, the concept itself input informed by a concern for the common good.
– something both good and shared by a group – has broad Climate change provides a prime example. The prospect of climate
application. Last fall, I offered a course on “Knowledge and the change was first brought to public attention by scientists. Initial
Common Good” that began, not with political theory, but with speculation that global warming might prove beneficial eventually
science as a social enterprise. The idea was to focus on the goals, gave way to worries about serious disruptions in the global climate
values, and institutions members of the science community share. patterns under which human civilization has flourished. Climate
These constitute a kind of common good for the science commu- change thus threatens our “planetary commons,” as the U.S. Con-
nity. But that good does not exist in isolation. Prominent critics of ference of Catholic Bishops put it in their Global Climate Change:
science notwithstanding, modern Western societies tend to as- A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence, and the Common Good (2001).
sume a positive link between the wider common good of society Drawing on Catholic social teaching, the Jesuit-sponsored inter-
and the integrity of science. In the United States, this assumption national Task Force on Ecology notes that the ecosystem, as God’s
grounds the so-called “contract between science and society” since creation, constitutes an intrinsic common good – a good that calls
the 1940s, when sociologist Robert K. Merton held that democrat- not only for our care but for contemplative appreciation.1
ic political orders foster good science, while science-policy advisor But the challenges posed by climate change are daunting, at
Vannevar Bush tied the national interest to robust basic research. multiple levels. Understanding climate change poses immensely
The increasing reliance of policymakers on expert advice attests to complex technical questions at the limits of scientific capability,
the power of that tenet, as do worries about the commercialization whose answers require a kind of global intellectual solidarity. Re-
of the biosciences. The profit motive, critics charge, undermines sponding to climate change requires a new level of political soli-
the integrity of research inside the science community, and thus darity, humanity thinking and acting together to preserve its global
threatens the availability and reliability of science as a public good future. Whereas climate scientists are proving their ability to work
for society. together as a global community, political and economic leaders
However, a more daunting challenge lurks behind issues have so far failed to respond effectively, and their capacity to do
of science and the common good. Over the last four decades, so appears in doubt. We thus face, ultimately, religious questions
I’ve noticed that a certain kind of question has become increas- for discernment: How is the Good Spirit drawing us in this global
ingly urgent, namely questions about the long-range prospects crisis? How can people of faith best respond? As with all
of our planet and its inhabitants. These kind of questions are discernment, we must begin by paying attention – not only to the
not new – Malthus worried about overpopulation centuries ago. challenges but to positive initiatives to care for the environment.
In 1972, the Italian think-tank, the Club of Rome, published a These are underway across the spectrum: on the part of individu-
report entitled, “Limits to Growth,” that firmly anchored this als, neighborhoods, schools, businesses and NGOs, cities, even
type of question in the public mind. Today, such questions have governments. Those who undertake such efforts, whether believers
coalesced into an emerging interdisciplinary field: sustainability or not, give witness to hope in the future, a confidence that even
studies. Some might suspect that a certain opportunism explains the little changes matter. They thereby display for believers the religious
sudden explosion of sustainability initiatives. But sustainability hope that God has not abandoned humanity to self-destruction.
questions are here to stay, for the simple reason that the human Our response to climate change must draw from such hope.
species has now become the most powerful force on the planet for
global environmental change. With the growing awareness of this Br. William Rehg, S.J. is a Professor of Philosophy,
fact, sustainability concerns have worked their way into the sense Saint Louis University and Visiting Professor of Philosophy,
of personal responsibility: increasingly, people examine their life- Georgetown University, 2011-2012
style choices and think “green.” Green thinking has also penetrated

1. Jesuit Curia in Rome, “Healing a Broken World,” Promotio Iustitiae 106, §44, http://issuu.com/sjssj/docs/healing_a_broken_world.
Woodstock Report • February 2012 | 7
 JESUITS & THE SCIENCES

Ilia Delio, O.S.F. discussed

Teilhard de Chardin and the
concept of “transhumanism”.

John Haughey, S.J. invited the audience to think about the “black holes” of the Jesuit graveyard
which the new Georgetown University science building rises above (see photo on the next page
which shows the buildings from left to right: McDonough School of Business Rafik B. Hariri
building, the Science Center, and the Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center - commonly
abbreviated, ICC). The accompanying poem highlights some key ideas of his presentation.

John O’Malley, S.J. (Georgetown

University) and Mordechai Feingold
(California Institute of Technology)
provided a historical overview of John Braverman, S.J. (St. Joseph’s University), Cyril P. Opeil, S.J. (Boston College), and Kevin
Jesuits and the Sciences. FitzGerald, S.J. (Georgetown University) shared their personal journeys as scientists and Jesuits.

8 | Woodstock Report • February 2012

By John C. Haughey, S.J.
Senior Fellow

Woodstock Report • February 2012 | 9

ADVANCES IN SCIENCE:

Daryl P. Domning
s Ilia Delio has lucidly outlined, the dialogue between religion and science has had its rough spots; and not a few folks on both sides doubt
its future. But I see many points of convergence and synergy (though also some friction) arising in part out of progress on the part of
science. Here I venture some predictions.

ASTRONOMY ...will discover Earth-like exoplanets, some suitable for life, intelligence, and civilization.

CHEMISTRY, MOLECULAR GENETICS, ...will continue to narrow, and ultimately erase, the gap between life and non-life, underlining the
AND GENETIC ENGINEERING potential inherent in “mere matter”.

...will continue to demonstrate how mental faculties such as “intellect” and free will have their basis in specific
NEUROBIOLOGY
parts and operations of the physical brain, also elucidating the basis of traits like homosexuality.

...will continue to widen the known diversity of animals that share behavioral, cognitive, and even cultural traits
ETHOLOGY
with humans, and demonstrate a wider extent of these resemblances than previously recognized.

PALEONTOLOGY ...will continue to fill out the fossil record of evolutionary continuity between humans and non-humans.

ECOLOGY, CLIMATOLOGY, ...will make ever plainer our absolute dependence on our planet, and the extent to which our activities
AND DEMOGRAPHY jeopardize human survival.

PHYSICS AND COSMOLOGY ...will continue enlarging the possibilities of what creation might comprise – perhaps even “multiverses”.

The effect of these advances will be a hurdles (like the origin of life or of complex recognition of anthropogenic climate change
more comprehensive, convincing picture of structures like the eye) by “intelligently de- – climate change generated by humans – is
unity and continuity throughout the created signing” these complex entities. Many Catho- almost won (doing something about it is an-
world: between energy and matter, molecules lics, for example, accept evolution, but oth- other matter!). The role in this of overcon-
and life, matter and mind, humans and all ers (including many of our bishops) still see sumption is freely acknowledged. But beyond
other living things – and the likely repetition a need for God to have had a direct hand, as this, too many politicians, economists, and
of evolutionary stories like ours, countless in creating life from non-life, or transforming religious authorities remain in deep denial
times throughout the cosmos. For theology, apes into humans. In recent years, arguments about what chiefly enlarges our ecological
this implies a “bigger God” and a grander vi- taken directly from creationists or “intelligent footprint on the gas pedal of that climate
sion of what Incarnation entails. As Dr. Delio design” proponents have gained popularity change: overpopulation. We have now blown
says, “modern science challenges us to widen even in some Catholic circles – intensifying past the 7-billion mark – when serious esti-
our beliefs”. At the same time, while clos- disagreements within the church that by now mates indicate that Earth may only be able
ing gaps like these, such discoveries will also should have been resolved. to sustain indefinitely, at a modern standard
widen other gaps, within religion and science Demonstrations of the material basis of living compatible with human dignity, 1.5
alike. of intelligence will revolutionize theologi- to 2.5 billion people (as we had circa 1950).
Regarding evolution, militant atheism cal thought about “when life begins” and the This ecological argument may be the one
may wear out its welcome in science, becom- “soul”. Even if many of the doctrinal conclu- that finally settles the contraception contro-
ing marginalized like creationism and “intel- sions survive, they will have to be re-thought versy: the Galileo case of the twentieth, and
ligent design”. As scientists note the spread of from the bottom up and put on a new, more now twenty-first, century. Observations of
evolutionary theology, they will increasingly solid foundation. Recent research indicates the heavens once falsified a literal interpreta-
have to acknowledge that science is theologi- that “intelligence” consists of distinct abilities tion of the Bible; now, we have a case of scien-
cally neutral. Among Christians, however, (mathematical reasoning, social awareness, tific observations regarding the limits of how
gaps between and within denominations may etc.) connected with different parts of the many people – or other organisms – an envi-
widen and become more neuralgic, as some physical brain, and present in different de- ronment can support calling into question a
people and even leaders flirt with “intelligent grees in other animals. Since our brains, intel- proposition in moral theology.
design” or cling to creationism. On one hand, lects, and hence our personalities come into
Daryl P. Domning, Ph.D., is a
“mainline” groups are generally comfortable existence only gradually (in evolution and Professor at Howard University
with evolution. But fundamentalists insist also from conception onward), at what point in the Department of Anatomy
on literal interpretation of the Bible, holding can “personhood” meaningfully be said to ex- where he teaches in the area of
that God directly created humans and other ist? Is there still a role for a separately-created gross and comparative anatomy
“kinds” of living things, even though this con- “soul”, or does it suffice to speak of the indi- and evolutionary biology. His
tradicts scientific evidence. Still other groups vidual, evolved, embodied “personality” being research interests include the
morphology, systematics,
allow for some amount of evolution, but granted immortality by God’s grace?
phylogenetic history, and paleoecology of fossil and
claim God intervened to get it over certain In the realm of ecology, the battle for living marine mammals.

10 | Woodstock Report • February 2012

ACTIVITIES OF THE FELLOWS
SR. ILIA DELIO, O.S.F. gave the 10th (Houston, TX) and one on “Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life”
Annual Sr. Rose McPhee Lecture at St. Edward’s at Gastonbury Abbey (Hingham, MA) as well as numerous lectures
University and led a workshop on “Leadership in in the DC area. He’s begun work on a new book with Paulist Press
an Age of Science” at the Seton Cove Spirituality entitled, Science and Faith: A New Introduction.
Center (Austin, TX). She led a workshop on The
Emergent Christ at the River’s Edge Spirituality REV. RAYMOND KEMP sat on the NAACP
Center (Cleveland, OH). She gave a keynote Panel for the NCAA and took students on
address on religious life in evolution for the numerous tours to exposure them to the reality
Archdiocese of San Diego, CA. She reviewed Joseph Bracken’s of life in DC. He gave a talk about the DREAM
book, Does God Play Dice? for Liturgical Press and wrote an Act at the Lane Center at the University of San
article on ecology and Christology for Human Development. Francisco and spoke to the National Christian
She gave Advent retreats at the Bon Secours Spirituality Center Brothers Conference that met in DC this
(Mariottsville, MD) and the Franciscan Monastery (Washington, year about Biblical Justice. He gave the Healy
DC). She took part in the Science and Religion Consortium Group Scholars Dinner Invocation and was part of a panel on Martin
at Washington Theological Union and continued her work with Luther King Junior. He continues to meet with DC Mayor Vicent
Teilhard de Chardin. Gray’s Interfaith Advisory Board, DC Central Kitchen’s Board and
numerous students. He is teaching “Struggle and Transcendence”
JOHN FONTANA took part in a panel again this semester at Georgetown University.
discussion on the “Theology of Work” at
Marquette University’s Kohler Center during DOLORES R. LECKEY taught a four-week
entrepreneur week. He led a webinar with course on Vatican II’s Theology of the Laity at
John Keyser on “The Influence of Jesuit Values St. Charles Church (Arlington, VA). She met
on Your Career” hosted by Georgetown with the Women’s Advisory Committee and
Career Services and brought together a panel produced the four-part Women Proclaiming
discussion in the Woodstock Library featuring Advent series viewable at http://vimeo.com/
Christine Porath, Robert Bies, and William Byron, S.J. A summary woodstockcenter. She wrote a Christmas
of his article from the previous issue of the Woodstock Report meditation for Catholic News Service and a
appeared on the cover of the National Center for the Laity’s reflection for the monthly collection of daily prayers, Give Us This
newsletter, Initiatives, and the summit he facilitated at Seton Hall Day. She continues preparations for the March 24 forum, Ageless
University on “A Living Wage” was celebrated by the Seton Hall Grace: Women in Leadership in the Church and the World and is
Center for Catholic Studies in December. He is currently working working on a chapter on women since the Second Vatican Council.
with new partners to expand the Woodstock Business Conference
to additional locations. DANIEL MADIGAN, S.J. has been working
on several chapters for books on Islam and
JOHN HAUGHEY, S.J. gave two talks on Muslim-Christian relations. He lectured on
The Rhetoric of Teilhard de Chardin at Loyola the study of the Qur’an in relation to Biblical
Marymount University (Los Angeles, CA), and Studies in San Francisco, and took part in a
two talks on Research as Adoration at the consultation at the Institute for Christian and
University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Jewish Studies (Baltimore, MD) on teaching
TX). He led a colloquium for Boston College’s about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. This
Lonergan Research Institute and convened a semester he is teaching two new courses – a graduate seminar on
meeting of the Transhumanism Project with “Christian Theologies Responsive to Islam” and an undergraduate
Jürgen Habermas. In November, he gave talks to the faculty and course, “Exploring the Qur’an”. He preached at Georgetown’s
administrators of Sacred Heart University and presented on “The Protestant Service during Jesuit Heritage Week.
Journey From Information to Adoration” for the Woodstock Series
at St. Ignatius Baltimore. He led a faculty orientation for the School THOMAS REESE, S.J. gave a talk on
of Continuing Education at Georgetown University. This semester, Religion and Politics at Corpus Christi (Toledo,
he is teaching a course at Georgetown University titled, “Cosmos OH), presented at the Faithful Citizenship
and Christ: Can They Be Mutually Enlightening?” Forum at Fordham University (New York, NY),
and gave a talk on the future of the Church
JOHN HAUGHT, PH.D. lectured on “Making at Saint Raphael Church (Raleigh, NC). In
Sense of Evolution” at St. John Fisher College January he presented on a panel on the Ethics
(Rochester, NY), on “Is Theology Compatible of Lobbying for the 2012 Society of Christian
with Science?” at the University of Kentucky Ethics Meeting. He continues to work on his next book, A Survival
(Lexington, KY) and “Darwin, Faith, and Critical Guide for Thinking Catholics.
Intelligence” at the annual convention of the
American Catholic Philosophical Association,
(St. Louis, MO). He met with Catholic faculty SEE PAGE 3 FOR AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR NEWEST
at Columbia University (New York, NY). He gave four lectures on SENIOR FELLOW, THOMAS MICHEL, S.J.
science and theology at Foundation for Contemporary Theology
Woodstock Report • February 2012 | 11
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REVIEWED BY WOODSTOCK’S BOARD OF TRUSTEES JUNE 4, 2007 R. M. Keelan Downton, Editor