The Heart
and Hand of God:
Perspectives on Christianity and Science
a booklet by Constance K. Walker
(with William D. Walker)
Background
Late in 2003, it became clear that, while many
books dealing with the relationship between science and the Christian faith had
been published, nothing of booklet length was available. The small size and
relatively low cost of a booklet make it a resource that can be kept on hand,
especially by those in full time ministry, and given away when need or
opportunity arises. Such a resource is most useful if it provides a general
framework for understanding how the two spheres of knowledge intersect; a
framework that can then be applied to a variety of perceived conflicts.
With the encouragement of the students and staff
of Erskine Seminary, I set out to meet this need by
expanding the text of my convocation talk and transforming it into a booklet.
The result is The Heart and Hand of God;
Perspectives on Christianity and Science, in which my late husband also
participated. The first edition became available in October 2004, and the
second edition in November
The Heart
and Hand of God, while still in need of a publisher, has been printed and
distributed by the authors and has been used by churches, by campus ministries,
and in Erskine Seminary's introductory Systematic
Theology course. Individuals have also given it to interested friends and
colleagues. For students in crisis, it has served as a lifeline; for the
earnest inquirer, it has served as an introduction to more comprehensive works;
for those lacking the time or inclination for in-depth study, it has served as
a point of orientation and a source of reassurance. It has been revised and
updated several times, most recently in Spring 2008,
with over 900 copies now in circulation.
Scope and Tone of the Booklet
Since different Christians approach these issues
differently and come to different conclusions about how to relate the revealed
truths of Scripture to the uncovered truths of science, no attempt is made to
give a definitive, this-is-how-it-is recipe for reconciling the two kinds of
knowledge. The tone is more personal, explaining the approach that is the most
satisfying to us.
The booklet's thesis is that science and
biblical Christianity, far from being antagonistic, as many suppose, are in
fact complementary, harmonious, and even synergistic. The text discusses the
different roles of science and Scripture, shows ways in which they complement
and enhance one another, and then addresses apparent conflicts, both historical
and modern. The warm and personal nature of the Christian faith radiates from
its pages, along with the essence of the gospel.
The booklet's title is taken from a lovely
saying quoted in the writings of Adolphe Monod (1802-1856): In creation God
shows us his hand; in redemption he gives us his heart.
Table of Contents
(headings and subheadings)
Click here to view the Table
of Contents
The Issue of Origins
(a brief summary)
The science-and-faith issue that is of most concern
today is the relationship between the biblical account of creation and the
scientific evidence for the origins of the universe and of the human species.
Our position is that the biblical account is both accurate and authoritative
but should not be read as a science text; that was not its purpose. God created
the entire universe in a systematic and orderly process, but probably not in
six 24-hour days. Similarly, God created human beings and breathed his Spirit
into us, but that should not rule out the possibility that he used evolution to
give rise to our physical bodies. Unfortunately, the scientific evidence for
large-scale evolution has frequently been overstated (we don't yet know how
much it can explain), while evolution has too often been tightly and unfairly
linked to a naturalistic, atheistic worldview. That linkage must be broken, but
the science of evolution, when
divorced from those philosophies, need not and should not threaten our
theology. Science may eventually be
able to explain the origin of our physical universe and of the life it
contains, but only back to a given starting point. It can never have ultimate
answers. Nor can it explain the source of the fundamental scientific laws that
form its basis. Nor can it say anything about what makes humanity truly unique:
the fact that we have had God's Spirit breathed into us. Science can only
address the physical, space-time world, not the spiritual and eternal realms
where God dwells and where ultimate truth resides.
The Authors
Constance
K. Walker (Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry) is a part-time Senior Research
Scientist in nuclear physics at Duke University. She is also the editor and
translator of Living
in the Hope of Glory (Phillipsburg NJ: P&R Publishing,
2002), a nineteenth century French devotional classic by Adolphe Monod; the
principal editor of a new French edition of the same work under its original
title, Les Adieux
(Cléon d'Andran: Éditions Excelsis /
Aix-en-Provence: Éditions Kérygma,
2006); and the editor and translator of three additional works by Monod
(Vestavia Hills AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2009, 2010, and 2011).
William
D. Walker (1923-2010) was James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of Physics at
To Obtain a Copy
Printed copies of the booklet are available on a
cost-reimbursement basis. Currently this is $5 / copy, which covers printing
and mailing costs (within the
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