Cosmic Purpose
Edited by Thomas John Hastings
Series: Veritas
Imprint: Cascade Books
Thomas John Hastings is Executive Director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) in New Haven, editor of the International Bulletin of Mission Research (IBMR), and adjunct faculty at Yale Divinity School. He was formerly Senior Research Fellow at the Japan International Christian University Foundation in New York City; Director of Research, Associate Director, and Research Fellow at the Center of Theological Inquiry; and adjunct faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary. While serving with his wife, Carol, as Presbyterian Church (USA) Mission coworkers in Japan (1988–2008), he was a tenured faculty member at Hokuriku Gakuin University, Seiwa College, and Tokyo Union Theological Seminary. He is the author of Practical Theology and the One Body of Christ: Toward a Missional-Ecumenical Model (2007) and numerous articles, chapters, and translations in Japanese and English.
"Not since the writings of Teilhard de Chardin has there been a book of such awe-inspiring depth and scope as Kagawa's. He has produced a magnificently sustained argument for purposefulness in the universe. It is a single-minded pursuit of one theme that brings together an amazing array of scientific discoveries and an original blend of the human and ethical dimensions."
--Eric Scerri, University of California, Los Angeles
"Cosmic Purpose is an extraordinary example of how religion and natural sciences complement each other. In its endeavor to provide a coherent answer to the question of whether the universe has a purpose, this book is sure to ignite theological and philosophical debate."
--Luis X. Lopez-Farjeat, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City
"The history of science contains certain key books that stand above all others for their importance in shaping the public debate. One book of enormous intellectual beauty that until now has been unknown in Western circles is Kagawa Toyohiko's Cosmic Purpose, a monumental attempt to reconcile a respect for religion with a respect for science. The result is a deeply thoughtful and thought-provoking text, arguably even more relevant in the twenty-first century."
--Michael Graziano, Princeton University, New Jersey
"The book is nothing less than remarkable. Kagawa's work points forward toward features in contemporary scientific discussions about teleology, convergence, and various forms of selection, as well as opens up new discussions between science, theology, and philosophy on evil, salvation, and the nature and purpose of being human."
--Jan-Olav Henriksen, Norwegian School of Theology, Oslo
"In the interdisciplinary insights this book offers into the realities of nature, contemporary readers will discover Kagawa's deeply suggestive philosophy that integrates nature and religion."
--Kayama Hisao, Director of the Kagawa Archives and Resource Center, Japan
"From the perspective of 'ontological emergence,' this book may be read as a distinctive natural theology harmonizing the one and the many."
--Inagaki Hisakazu, Tokyo Christian University, Japan
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