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The World in His Hands: A Christian Account of Scientific Law and its Antithetical Competitors
From the moment we wake until the time we go to sleep, we are bombarded by the benefits of science in the practical elements of everyday life. Electricity, lights, hot showers, breakfast cereals, clothing, cars, cell phones, roads, security systems, computers, communications, traffic lights, climate control, and entertainment are just a sampling of the many benefits of science. In addition to technological advances, medicine and agriculture progress with science as well. Even educational, political, and marketing strategists invoke science to substantiate their claims. Science dominates the collective Western mindset, and we regard it with the utmost respect. Yet society remains generally religious, even though science and religion are frequently thought of as being at odds with one another. How do we reconcile the two?
Christians are taught to believe that God is in control of everything, including the natural elements. But how does God relate to physical laws? Is God in control of the world, or laws of nature? Could both views be correct? This book examines the Christian doctrine of divine providence and its implications for the laws of nature and the problem of induction before contrasting secular and Islamic approaches to these same topics.
Christians are taught to believe that God is in control of everything, including the natural elements. But how does God relate to physical laws? Is God in control of the world, or laws of nature? Could both views be correct? This book examines the Christian doctrine of divine providence and its implications for the laws of nature and the problem of induction before contrasting secular and Islamic approaches to these same topics.
256 pages, Paperback
Published April 17, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 13, 2024
This book is awesome
October 17, 2019
Bolt gives a philosophical and theological analysis of a Christian doctrine of providence and its relationship to the scientific enterprise while examining some secular and religious alternatives.
The first chapter establishes a specific Christian doctrine of providence over against two broad alternative theories of providence (focus is given to Edwardsian occasionalism and deism). The view Bolt defends is concurrent theistic-cosmological preservation and government. Chapter 2 examines the theological, apologetic, and scientific significance that this doctrine has been seen to have historically--but the significance of other Christian doctrines are also brought into the picture (e.g., the creator-creature distinction, 83, the goodness of God, 87). Chapter 3 looks at these Christian doctrines contribute to our understanding of what a law of nature is, in contrast to some secular and non-Christian religious alternatives. Chapter 4 shows how the doctrine of providence can solve the problem of induction where secular attempts have failed. Chapter 5 focuses on a few related issues: miracles (pp. 181-186), Islam (pp. 187-216) and apologetic applications for the content of the book (pp. 216-219). The final chapter, 6, is a three page summary.
Overall, this is a valuable contribution to a Christian philosophy of science, will give the reader a good introduction to two important issues in the philosophy of science (laws of nature and induction) and also an interesting peek at Islamic philosophy of science.
Two issues readers might want to be aware of. First, one might get the wrong impression by the title, expecting something simple and devotionally focused. Reading the subtitle or back cover might be enough to keep one from making that mistake. Even knowing that the book's topic was in the genre of philosophical theology, I was still surprised at how much rigor and attention was given to certain issues. This isn't a bad thing, it's a good thing given Bolt's aim, but I can imagine someone picking up this book without giving it a close look and then being frustrated to find that sometimes two thirds of a page is a footnote (I think this only happens twice in the first chapter though, IIRC).
The second issue pertains to how the book should be read. Although Bolt says that "this book has not focused on offering an apologetic argument per se" (216), teasing apart the apologetic application from the book would be difficult. Thus, the book could be read as making "an abductive case for a Christian theistic philosophy of science" (216).
Still, if one reads the book primarily as an apologetic work they may think it too cursory on various issues. For instance, the complexities of various historical accidents and their impact on the scientific enterprise go unmentioned. War, wealth, famine, and record keeping have all played an important role in the development (or lack thereof) of science. Or one might think that not enough appreciation is shown to the importance of mathematics (74, although cf. 89, fn. 221).
Nevertheless, viewing the book through that lens would probably be unfair. My concern here is something David Powlison mentions in his book Good & Angry. Powlison cautions the reader about how sometimes asking "but what about...?" (BWAs) too early can get in the way of understanding. "The BWAs can create a problem. They get distracting if they talk too loud and too soon in the process. We stop listening. No conversation takes place. Don’t let your BWAs hijack the process. Write them down and save them for later" (5).
In light of that, one should keep in mind Bolt's statement that "much work remains before a sound and convincing argument for Christian theism could be put forth in its entirety based solely upon the line of reasoning selected for the topic of this book" (219). Bolt has provided a great framework and filled in some of the details that, while perhaps not answering all your BWAs, will point the way forward.
My suggestion would be to first read the table of contents and then the conclusion (pp. 220-222). This will give the reader a great overview and a big picture guide as they work their way through the rest of the book.
The first chapter establishes a specific Christian doctrine of providence over against two broad alternative theories of providence (focus is given to Edwardsian occasionalism and deism). The view Bolt defends is concurrent theistic-cosmological preservation and government. Chapter 2 examines the theological, apologetic, and scientific significance that this doctrine has been seen to have historically--but the significance of other Christian doctrines are also brought into the picture (e.g., the creator-creature distinction, 83, the goodness of God, 87). Chapter 3 looks at these Christian doctrines contribute to our understanding of what a law of nature is, in contrast to some secular and non-Christian religious alternatives. Chapter 4 shows how the doctrine of providence can solve the problem of induction where secular attempts have failed. Chapter 5 focuses on a few related issues: miracles (pp. 181-186), Islam (pp. 187-216) and apologetic applications for the content of the book (pp. 216-219). The final chapter, 6, is a three page summary.
Overall, this is a valuable contribution to a Christian philosophy of science, will give the reader a good introduction to two important issues in the philosophy of science (laws of nature and induction) and also an interesting peek at Islamic philosophy of science.
Two issues readers might want to be aware of. First, one might get the wrong impression by the title, expecting something simple and devotionally focused. Reading the subtitle or back cover might be enough to keep one from making that mistake. Even knowing that the book's topic was in the genre of philosophical theology, I was still surprised at how much rigor and attention was given to certain issues. This isn't a bad thing, it's a good thing given Bolt's aim, but I can imagine someone picking up this book without giving it a close look and then being frustrated to find that sometimes two thirds of a page is a footnote (I think this only happens twice in the first chapter though, IIRC).
The second issue pertains to how the book should be read. Although Bolt says that "this book has not focused on offering an apologetic argument per se" (216), teasing apart the apologetic application from the book would be difficult. Thus, the book could be read as making "an abductive case for a Christian theistic philosophy of science" (216).
Still, if one reads the book primarily as an apologetic work they may think it too cursory on various issues. For instance, the complexities of various historical accidents and their impact on the scientific enterprise go unmentioned. War, wealth, famine, and record keeping have all played an important role in the development (or lack thereof) of science. Or one might think that not enough appreciation is shown to the importance of mathematics (74, although cf. 89, fn. 221).
Nevertheless, viewing the book through that lens would probably be unfair. My concern here is something David Powlison mentions in his book Good & Angry. Powlison cautions the reader about how sometimes asking "but what about...?" (BWAs) too early can get in the way of understanding. "The BWAs can create a problem. They get distracting if they talk too loud and too soon in the process. We stop listening. No conversation takes place. Don’t let your BWAs hijack the process. Write them down and save them for later" (5).
In light of that, one should keep in mind Bolt's statement that "much work remains before a sound and convincing argument for Christian theism could be put forth in its entirety based solely upon the line of reasoning selected for the topic of this book" (219). Bolt has provided a great framework and filled in some of the details that, while perhaps not answering all your BWAs, will point the way forward.
My suggestion would be to first read the table of contents and then the conclusion (pp. 220-222). This will give the reader a great overview and a big picture guide as they work their way through the rest of the book.
June 18, 2024
This book read like a series of book reports. I was expecting and hoping for more, as I really do resonate with the author's point of view. It was OK.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews