Goodreads asked Samuel M. Powell:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Samuel M. Powell For me on my most recent book, go to: http://samuelmpowell.com/impassioned-...

I wanted to produce a study in the Christian doctrine of creation, and specifically theological anthropology, and I was not satisfied with the general state of scholarship in this area. Many books treat the doctrine of creation in a strictly theological way–without incorporating the results of scientific study. I was convinced that today theological engagement with the sciences is both necessary and salutary. Other books on creation do engage the sciences; however, the majority of these deal with cosmological issues (Big Bang cosmology, quantum physics) or with evolutionary theory. As important as these studies are, they don’t address the concrete realities of human nature. I was initially interested in the Christian idea of freedom and then realized that, relative to freedom, the main theological and pastoral concern of the Christian tradition is emotion (construed broadly enough to include feelings, affects, impulses and desires). It is emotion that is morally and spiritually problematic. Human rationality, on the contrary, is rarely regarded as a problem. Quite the contrary, the Christian tradition has usually identified the image of God with rationality. So, I thought I could contribute to Christian thought by reviewing the concept of emotion in the formative centuries of Christianity and by incorporating the insights of scientific research into a theological understanding of emotion and its relation to reason.

Thanks for asking.

Sam Powell

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