Cosmology and Creation: The Spiritual Significance of Contemporary Cosmology

Paul Brockelman's Cosmology and Creation is a good introduction to contemporary trends in the relationship between religion and science. Brockelman, a professor of religious studies and philosophy at the University of New Hampshire, spends much of the book summarizing Big Bang creation theory, comparing it to traditional creation myths, and considering what the Big Bang suggests about the spiritual meaning of life. Brockelman argues that both theologians and scientists are reaching a consensus that "God is neither nature itself nor located apart from it, but is available to mystical experience within it," and he teases out the implications of this world view for transforming moral, political, and spiritual life. If Brockelman's vision of the future is somewhat short on specifics, the principles he articulates are always quite sound: "The wonder we experience before the mysterious emergence of all of reality [from the Big Bang] enables us not just to master and control nature, but also to find our meaningful home and destiny within it."