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The God of Chance and Purpose
Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World
Foreword by John F. Haught
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
This brief title will pursue a triangulation of chance, divine involvement, and theology through a fundamentally Peircean lens--at least epistemologically and semiotically. The argument proceeds over five distinct chapters, and a conclusion that constitutes a sixth chapter. In Part I, I discuss the Modern Synthetic theory in evolutionary biology. In particular, I refer to what I have labeled the secular evolutionary worldview (SEW). Also in Part I, I dismiss the French physicist Pierre-Simon de Laplace's claim that a sufficiently informed intelligence could forecast everything that is going to happen in the whole universe--and, working backwards, tell you everything that did happen, not by direct citation and rebuke, but rather by implicit argumentation and demonstration of the God of Chance. In Part II of this book, I explore the God of chance and purpose, with theological assists provided by Philip Clayton and Alister McGrath over two chapters. So then, we live in a world of both chance and purpose. One may even go so far as to state that this world is designed for both chance and purpose.
Bradford McCall, who possesses four master’s degrees, is now preparing to defend his dissertation before the faculty of Claremont School of Theology in California. He is the author of A Modern Relation of Theology and Science Assisted by Emergence and Kenosis (2018); and Evolution: Secular or Sacred? (2020); and editor of God and Gravity: A Philip Clayton Reader on Science and Theology (2018). Several books are contracted, including Macroevolution, Contingency, and Uncontrolling, Amorepotent Love: How God Works in the (Late-)Modern World (2022).
“Taking advantage of the brilliant philosophical work of Charles Sanders Peirce, Bradford McCall offers here a unique, theologically adventurous interpretation of the role of chance in evolution. In doing so, he makes the universe and the story of life much more interesting and more precious than the conventional materialist interpretations of nature will ever allow.”
—John F. Haught, Georgetown University
“This book is a breath of fresh air. Steering between the Charybdis of New Atheism and the Scylla of creationism, McCall shows . . . that the time has come to see that science and religion can work creatively together to provide a provocative and stimulating understanding of God’s place and work in his world. Highly recommended.”
—Michael Ruse, University of Guelph, emeritus
“This little gem of a book offers a no-nonsense overview of the interdependence of chance and purpose. McCall condenses five previous books into an immensely readable guide to discerning God in and through the natural world, debunking the myth that biology leaves no place for teleology or transcendence. Highly recommended for college and graduate students and as an introduction to how to conceive of divine action in an age of science.”
―Philip Clayton, Claremont School of Theology
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