The Universe in the Image of Imago Dei
The Dialogue between Theology and Science as a Hermeneutics of the Human Condition
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
Cosmology, anthropology, and Christology are deeply interrelated. This implies that one cannot talk about the structure of the world without human presence in it, as well as it is impossible to produce any reasonable understanding of humanity without positioning it in the universe. In the same fashion, in order to comprehend where the human capacity of predicating the universe comes from, one needs to appeal to humanity's Divine Image, that is, to its archetype in the incarnate Christ. Whereas Christians traditionally believe that the human phenomenon is unique as created in the Divine Image, such scientific disciplines as evolutionary biology, palaeoanthropology, the sciences of artificial intelligence, psychology, and others, challenge the vision of humanity as a unique formation thus challenging the doctrine of Imago Dei. All these disciplines place humans in a mediocre position in the world accompanied by the feeling of anxiety, insecurity, and non-attunement to the universe. Theology needs to respond to these challenges by incorporating into its scope the data from the sciences in order to neutralize such anxieties. The resulting dialogue of theology with science provides a hermeneutics of the human condition with no objective to change the latter. Then the sense of the universe is disclosed from within the Divine Image reflecting the predicaments of the human created condition.
Alexei V. Nesteruk is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Portsmouth (UK) and a Leading Research Scientist at St Petersburg State Marine Technical University (Russia). He holds a PhD in physics and mathematics, as well as a DSc in philosophy. He is the author of Light from the East (2003), The Universe as Communion (2008), and The Sense of the Universe (2015).
“According to hybrid physicist and theologian Alexei Nesteruk, the dialogue between science and theology is an expected expression of human existential consciousness. That consciousness, in its depth, derives from the hypostatic union in Jesus Christ. Yes, our cosmos is Christ centered, whether we can see this fact through telescopes or not. Nesteruk’s treatment takes twists and turns that are as exciting as they are unpredictable.”
—Ted Peters, Coeditor, Theology and Science
“Interestingly, it is extremely hard to find writings on science and theology that have an explicitly detectable theological value. Nesteruk’s The Universe in the Image of Imago Dei is a valuable exception. Anyone following the work of Alexei Nesteruk will recognize the signs of a genuine theological work which represents the highest point of his lifelong dedication to this topic.”
—Stoyan Tanev, Carleton University
“Rather than demarcating an autonomous enclave for theology outside scientific rationality, Alexei shows how scientific cosmology itself depends upon theological presuppositions. . . . Traversing modern cosmology, patristic theology, and continental philosophy, this work leads from cosmology to anthropology, and then Christology and soteriology, concluding that knowing the cosmos ultimately entails not the solution to theoretical problems but a practical response to divine love.”
—Bruce Foltz, Eckerd College, emeritus
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