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Deeper Than Darwin: The Prospect For Religion In The Age Of Evolution
In his acclaimed book God After Darwin , John Haught argued that religious belief is wholly compatible with evolutionary biology. Now, in Deeper Than Darwin , he advances his argument further by saying that religious belief is even more revealing about life than Darwinism. Haught looks hard at the question of how, after Darwin, religions may plausibly claim to be bearers of truth and not just of meaning and adaptive consolation. While he assumes the fundamental correctness of evolutionary biology, he firmly rejects the non-scientific belief that evolutionary biology amounts to an adequate explanation of living phenomena. Even though Darwinism is illuminating, Haught argues, it by no means tells us everything we need to know about life, even in principle. To find the deepest, though certainly not the clearest, understandings of life and the universe, we may still profitably consult the religions of the world. Deeper Than Darwin takes up where God After Darwin left off, arguing that Darwin's vision is important and essentially correct but that we can still dig deeper in our understanding of what is going on in the life-story.
230 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2003
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About the author
John F. Haught
50 books37 followersJohn F. Haught is a Roman Catholic theologian, specializing with systematic theology. He has special interests in science, cosmology, ecology, and reconciling evolution and religion.
Haught graduated from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore,, and he received a PhD in Theology from The Catholic University of America in 1970.
Haught received the 2002 Owen Garrigan Award in Science and Religion, the 2004 Sophia Award for Theological Excellence, and, in 2009, the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Leuven.
He is Senior Research Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. There, he established the Georgetown Center for the Study of Science and Religion and was the chair of Georgetown's theology department between 1990 and 1995.
Haught graduated from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore,, and he received a PhD in Theology from The Catholic University of America in 1970.
Haught received the 2002 Owen Garrigan Award in Science and Religion, the 2004 Sophia Award for Theological Excellence, and, in 2009, the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Leuven.
He is Senior Research Fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. There, he established the Georgetown Center for the Study of Science and Religion and was the chair of Georgetown's theology department between 1990 and 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 17, 2009
John Haught argues that both scientists and theologians have a reading problem. Too many scientists take a materialistic approach (the physical universe is all that is) and thus do not go deep enough in understanding the world. Likewise, too many theologians take a creationist approach and do not realize the depth to which Darwinian evolution takes us. Haught argues that only science and theology working together give us a full view of the cosmos.
Haught's book is not for everyone. He presupposes the explanatory power of evolutionary biology. For some Christians, this will immediately negate anything else he may say. But I think this book has value for those Christians who are studying the sciences, or for skeptics who are convinced of Darwinism, for a main thesis of the book is that Darwinian evolution does not negate religion, it actually enriches faith.
Haught convincingly shows that both creationists and materialists fail in looking at the world through a too-literal lens. Materialists take the findings of evolutionary biology and make the metaphysical argument that the physical universe is all there is. But this is not a scientific argument, as much as they may say it is. Biblical creationists are stuck in a certain reading of Genesis that does not fit the scientific evidence, but they stick with it because they agree with the materialists that evolution irreversibly means the physical universe is all there is. Haught argues that the validity of evolutionary biology takes us deep into the universe, but not all the way to the bottom.
Going deeper means we do not stop too soon and argue that something that appears to be designed has no natural explanation, for science continues to seek natural explanations. Going deeper also means we do not say evolutionary science explains everything (as Dennett, Dawkins and others do), for this is a philosophical statement. Yes, Darwin's theory has changed how we understand the world but Haught argues this can enrich theology, not invalidate it. To go deeper into the world of meaning and purpose is to go beyond science alone. For Haught, theology continues to play an important, essential role in the world.
Whether you agree with Haught's view of Darwinism or not (and I believe he has other books more about that theory itself), this book is a helpful contribution to the argument against those who assert Darwinism eliminates God. I highly recommend it for people pondering issues of science and religion, especially people educated in the sciences.
The place where I think Haught falls short is the lack of a solid place for Christ in his theology. Perhaps that is because this was not a theology book per se, but a book defending a place for theology as a whole in general in a post-Darwin world. Yet when he does get to speaking of theology, and saying some thought-provoking things about God as Omega, drawing us into the future as new beings, there should be a greater emphasis on Christ's role in this.
Overall, a great book.
Haught's book is not for everyone. He presupposes the explanatory power of evolutionary biology. For some Christians, this will immediately negate anything else he may say. But I think this book has value for those Christians who are studying the sciences, or for skeptics who are convinced of Darwinism, for a main thesis of the book is that Darwinian evolution does not negate religion, it actually enriches faith.
Haught convincingly shows that both creationists and materialists fail in looking at the world through a too-literal lens. Materialists take the findings of evolutionary biology and make the metaphysical argument that the physical universe is all there is. But this is not a scientific argument, as much as they may say it is. Biblical creationists are stuck in a certain reading of Genesis that does not fit the scientific evidence, but they stick with it because they agree with the materialists that evolution irreversibly means the physical universe is all there is. Haught argues that the validity of evolutionary biology takes us deep into the universe, but not all the way to the bottom.
Going deeper means we do not stop too soon and argue that something that appears to be designed has no natural explanation, for science continues to seek natural explanations. Going deeper also means we do not say evolutionary science explains everything (as Dennett, Dawkins and others do), for this is a philosophical statement. Yes, Darwin's theory has changed how we understand the world but Haught argues this can enrich theology, not invalidate it. To go deeper into the world of meaning and purpose is to go beyond science alone. For Haught, theology continues to play an important, essential role in the world.
Whether you agree with Haught's view of Darwinism or not (and I believe he has other books more about that theory itself), this book is a helpful contribution to the argument against those who assert Darwinism eliminates God. I highly recommend it for people pondering issues of science and religion, especially people educated in the sciences.
The place where I think Haught falls short is the lack of a solid place for Christ in his theology. Perhaps that is because this was not a theology book per se, but a book defending a place for theology as a whole in general in a post-Darwin world. Yet when he does get to speaking of theology, and saying some thought-provoking things about God as Omega, drawing us into the future as new beings, there should be a greater emphasis on Christ's role in this.
Overall, a great book.
May 5, 2010
Some very stimulating thoughts about evolution, countering materialists and also intelligent design, emphasizing the widening view of reality that evolution has given us. Biggest contrib: we now know that reality is a story, a story in process.
February 10, 2016
This book frustrated me. I guess it's all in the expectations. I was hoping for a real discussion of how religion and science can coexist, but mostly I got the feeling that the book was a lengthy way for the author to reassure himself that his faith has a place in the world. Kind of a "No, no really I think it'll work. Believe me" argument. Haught likens the search for knowledge that motivates scientists (he calls this a search for depth) to the search for God that motivates theologians and then goes on to say that whether you call it depth or God it's the same thing so you might as well say God. That's not an argument that's just bad wordplay.
November 3, 2010
One of the more in-depth looks at the possible intersections of faith and Darwinism. Takes both equally seriously and argues for multiple levels of explanation in the human quest for depth/truth.
July 1, 2012
An optimistic view of how evolution fits with our highest religious longings and the nature of God.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews