Possible Topics - Ongoing Dialogue

Parent page: Call for Papers - T. F. Torrance and the Natural Sciences

Call for Papers for the Participatio issue: “T. F. Torrance and the Natural Sciences in Ongoing Dialogue”

Issue editors: Kerry Magruder and Brent Purkaple. Direct inquiries here. 
Submit title and abstract here.  

Papers for this track might examine any of the following topics, which are suggested as representative rather than an exhaustive list.

  • The relevance of Torrance's work for ongoing dialogue with respect to any of the "Torrancean Perspectives" listed on the Call For Papers page.
  • Trinitarian theology and the natural sciences / natural theology / theology of creation
    • Various sub-topics
    • Comparisons of Torrance with other writers
  • Scientific methodology
    • Various sub-topics (critical realism, methodological naturalism, etc.)
    • Comparisons of Torrance with other writers
  • Torrance’s relevance for particular themes related to science and religion, such as:
    • The scientist as "priest of creation"
    • Science and the Bible
    • The challenges and mutual benefits of dialogue between science and theology
    • The "Conflict thesis" 
    • Science, Religion, and Secularism (e.g., placing Torrance in dialogue with Charles Taylor, A Secular Age)
    • Scientific reductionism 
    • Science, Hope, and the New Creation
  • The significance of Torrance’s work for particular disciplines:
    • Astronomy and physics
    • Biology and the life sciences
    • Neuroscience; brains, minds, souls
    • Chemistry
    • Medicine, bioethics, public health
    • The human and social sciences
    • Mathematics
    • Social science, including law and jurisprudence
    • Etc.
  • The significance of specific books or articles of Torrance for ongoing and future work in science and religion:
    • Theological Science
    • Divine and Contingent Order
    • Ground and Grammar of Theology
    • Space, Time and Resurrection
    • Etc., as listed on the Call for Papers.
  • Essay review on the state of discussion of "T. F. Torrance and the Natural Sciences in Ongoing Dialogue," strengths and weaknesses of current interpretations, opportunities and challenges for further research.
  • See also the list of topics for “T. F. Torrance and the Natural Sciences in Historical Context"

Book Reviews

Reviews of significant books for the ongoing dialogue of science and religion are invited. We ask reviewers to consider in their reviews specific aspects of Torrance's theology or publications that are considered in a book, if any; or, conversely, how consideration of Torrance might have thrown light on the central arguments of the book. For this reason some books may be reviewed some years after their initial publication. Some examples of books that might be reviewed include:

  • Bruce Riley Ashford and Craig G. Bartholomew, The Doctrine of Creation: A Constructive Kuyperian Approach (InterVarsity Press Academic, 2020)
  • R. J. Berry and Thomas A. Noble, Darwin, Creation and the Fall (Apollos, 2009)
  • Elaine Howard Ecklund, Why Science and Faith Need Each Other (Brazos Press, 2020)
  • David Fergusson, Creation (Eerdmans, 2014)
  • David Fergusson, The Providence of God: A Polyphonic Approach (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
  • Geoffrey H. Fulkerson and Joel Thomas Chopp, eds., Science and the Doctrine of Creation: The Approaches of Ten Modern Theologians (InterVarsity Press Academic, 2021)
  • Peter Harrison, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
  • W. Ross Hastings, Echoes of Coinherence: Trinitarian Theology and Science Together (Cascade Books, 2017)
  • Malcolm A. Jeeves, Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience (IVP Academic, 2013)
  • Malcolm A. Jeeves, Why Science and Faith Belong Together: Stories of Mutual Enrichment (Cascade Books, 2021)
  • Christopher C. Knight, The God of Nature: Incarnation and Contemporary Science (Fortress Press, 2007)
  • Christopher C. Knight and Nancey Murphy, eds., Human Identity at the Intersection of Science, Technology and Religion (Routledge, 2016)
  • Alister McGrath, Born to Wonder (Tyndale Momentum, 2020)
  • Alister McGrath, The Territories of Human Reason (Oxford University Press, 2019)
  • Calum MacKellar, The Image of God, Personhood and the Embryo (London: SCM Press, 2017); #2017-CMK-1
  • Russell Re Manning, ed., The Oxford Handbook of Natural Theology (Oxford University Press, 2013)
  • Nancey Murphy, Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? (Cambridge University Press, 2006)
  • Andrew B. Torrance and Thomas H. McCall, eds, Knowing Creation, Perspectives from Theology, Philosophy, and Science, 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2018); #2018-PTPS-1
  • Andrew B. Torrance and Thomas H. McCall, eds., Christ and the Created Order, Perspectives from Theology, Philosophy, and Science, 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2018); #2018-PTPS-2
  • Lisanne Winslow, A Trinitarian Theology of Nature (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2020); #2020-LW-1
  • Norman Wirzba, From Nature to Creation (Baker Academic, 2015)
  • N. T. Wright, God and the Pandemic (Zondervan, 2020)
  • Etc.

Note on reviews: In a typical journal issue, book reviews (1) canvas books recently published (2) in the discipline or sub-field. The book review section of this workshop track differs on both counts: (1) Rather than being a list of recent publications, the book review section is a curated assessment of books of enduring value that cohere with the theme of the workshop track. We encourage reviewers to consider writing an essay review which places some of the older titles in conversation with recent ones. (2) Rather than canvasing books solely within the discipline of theology or which focus upon Torrance per se, these book reviews will be exercises in theological interdisciplinary dialogue. For both of these reasons, the book review section of workshop proceedings will convey a curated list of science and religion titles of enduring value for any Torrance scholar.

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