Thomas Torrance: Science, Theology and the Contingent Universe

Thomas Torrance is a towering figure in twentieth century theology and one of few theologians of his stature to engage in dialogue with the natural sciences. In this paper I discuss and critique three aspects of this engagement: (1) the sense in which, for Torrance, theology is itself a science; (2) Torrance’s redefinition of “natural theology” by way of an analogy from physics; and (3) some specific assumptions and findings of the natural sciences which Torrance discusses, which both accord well with the Christian doctrine of creation and also give scope for the more traditional kind of natural theology which Torrance rejects.