Circles and the Cross
Cosmos, Consciousness, Christ, and the Human Place in Creation
Foreword by Peter Harris
Imprint: Cascade Books
Circles and the Cross is an invitation to explore two mysteries. One is the miracle of the cosmos: why is there something and not nothing? The other is the miracle of consciousness: why should this collection of stardust be an I and not just an it? Our basic response to those mysteries is wonder, and from wonder have grown the three great trees of human culture: religion, art, and science. This exploration is undertaken in the light of a third mystery: the cross of Christ is the clearest picture we have of the triune Creator of both cosmos and consciousness. That self-emptying of the Creator out of love for the creation helps us understand the pleasures, paradoxes, and pains of science; it helps us understand how "evolution" can be another name for creation; it casts light on the Enlightenment and Romanticism. In particular, it illuminates the environmental movement: an ethic in search of a religion. Loren Wilkinson, drawing on fifty years of teaching and writing about our relationship to creation, invites you to join this journey into understanding how the cross of Christ sheds light on the mysteries that surround us--and gives us hope in a difficult age.
Loren Wilkinson is professor emeritus of philosophy and interdisciplinary studies at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. For more than fifty years, he and his wife, Mary Ruth, have been teaching and writing about our relation to the created world.
“A beautiful and deeply personal exploration of the meaning of the circle and the cross, bringing together the message of Christianity with one of hope for those engaged with the crisis of our mother earth.”
—Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary
“This is a wonderful, beautifully written book about ‘Life, the Universe, and Everything’ (as the fictional Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy once called it). As Loren Wilkinson himself opines (quoting Lewis), ‘“Everything” is a subject on which there is not much to be said.’ In this book he manages nevertheless to say a considerable amount about it—discourse that is rich, suggestive, and inspiring, providing a substantial outline of a Christocentric Theory of Everything.”
—Iain Provan, founder, The Cuckoos Consultancy
“Loren Wilkinson is a capacious thinker, exploring the immensity and complexity of the cosmos and the human role in it, while digging down deep to the roots of his Christian faith. This book is the fruit of a lifetime of honest reflection, teaching, and (more importantly) living an incarnational, cross-shaped, hope-filled life in the midst of a cosmos of pain and beauty.”
—J. Richard Middleton, professor of biblical worldview and exegesis, Northeastern Seminary
“This is a masterful book. Loren Wilkinson skillfully interweaves history, philosophy, science, poetry, and theology with a deeply personal story about lifelong discovery and care for the wonders around and within us. It manages to be both panoramic in scope while remaining deeply grounded in the particulars of place and of a Christian imagination. I will return to this book again and again and encourage others to do the same.”
—Bethany Sollereder, lecturer in science and religion, University of Edinburgh
“This book is superb. Rooted in a careful reading of the Bible and a deep understanding of the Christian tradition and informed by a lifetime of living the gospel on Galiano Island, this beautifully written book is full of insight and wisdom. Ranging widely from ancient philosophy to contemporary neuroscience, the book dives deeply into the mysteries of cosmos, human consciousness, and Christ. Truly a gem. Take up and read.”
—Steven Bouma-Prediger, professor of reformed theology, Hope College
“Pondering ‘Why is there anything and why are we aware of it?’ Loren Wilkinson brings to bear a lifetime of thought and an astonishing breath of knowledge on a journey from the origin of the cosmos to our life-friendly but wounded planet. Beyond an enlightenment mindset, he glories in wonder and gratitude for gifts of a loving God, self-sacrificed on the cross, as the source of worship, science, and art. This book is a classic.”
—Micheal O’Siadhail, author of The Five Quintets
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