Resting on the Future: Catholic Theology for an Unfinished Universe

by John F. Haught

Science has now demonstrated without a doubt that we live in an “unfinished universe.” Discoveries in geology, biology, cosmology and other fields of scientific inquiry have shown that the cosmos has a narrative character and that the story is far from over. The sense of a universe that is still coming into being provides a fertile new framework for thinking about the relationship of faith to science. John F. Haught argues that if we take seriously the fact that the universe is a drama still unfolding, we can think new thoughts about God, and indeed about all the perennial themes of theology.

Science's recent realization that the universe is dramatic, however, has yet to penetrate deeply into either spiritual or intellectual life. Most Christian thought and spirituality still presuppose an essentially static universe while influential academic and intellectual culture remains stuck in a stagnant materialist naturalism and cosmic pessimism.

Resting on the Future asks about the meaning of an unfinished universe from the point of view of both Christian theology and contemporary intellectual life. Each chapter covers a distinct aspect of what Haught takes to be an essential transition to a new age in Catholic life and thought. Biology, cosmology, and other fields of science now provide the setting for a wholesome transformation of Catholic thought from a still predominantly pre-scientific to a more hopeful and scientifically informed vision of God, humanity and the natural world.

232 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2015

About the author

John 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.

Reviews

[Elise Kerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thick read, but an interesting way to put the development of the universe in a more compatible (and, perhaps truthful) light with symbolic religion. Essentially, Haught tries to put the material process focus in line with a dramatically unfolding universe described through the Bible. Very dense, but interesting.

[Ephrem Arcement · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haught brings clarity to the limitations of both materialism and a purely sacramental/anagogical metaphysics of the eternal now and argues for a metaphysics of the future. He also draws significant implications that a metaphysics of the future reveals. In doing so, his important book is charting a theology that can firmly stand in the 21st century. This book is a great gift!

[Miguel Panão · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como sempre uma obra excelente de John Haught que merecia ser traduzida.