Andrew Davison, Astrobiology and Christian Theology: Exploring the Implications of Life in the Universe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), xiv + pp.407.
Year: 2025
Type: book-review
Abstract: Christian theologians have always reflected on various aspects of Christian doctrine with reference to an abundant cosmic hierarchy, from the fish of the sea to the seraphic host of heaven.Angelology, for example, is not simply a study of the nature of spiritual creatures or 'intelligences' as they are attested in scripture.By thinking about angels who lack bodies, we can thereby think about the meaning and significance of the body for theological anthropology.Are angels more in the image of God than humans because angels, like God, are immaterial?In some respects, yes, answers Thomas Aquinas.In other respects, no: the bodily nature of human beings gives the power to reproduce and thereby share more deeply in the creativity of God.Thinking about the human person in relation to another kind of intelligent life in the angelica kind of theological thought experimentyields a positive evaluation of the human body.This leads to the claim that the human person is a 'microcosm' of creation incorporating all aspects of the cosmic order, sharing the material nature of terrestrial creatures and the spiritual nature of angels.Andrew Davison's Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine is a similar kind of theological thought experiment centred on the abundant richness of creation.It is not provoked by the description of a cosmic hierarchy in scripture and early Christian writings, but by contemporary cosmology's rapidly growing ability to identify billions of galaxies and planetary systems which might harbour life.This has given rise to the field of astrobiology (sometimes known as exobiology) as the scientific study of life as a cosmic phenomenon.Although theologians have reflected on the implications of biological life beyond the earth since at least the fifteenth century, the salience of theology's engagement with astrobiology has increased with the discovery of billions of potentially life-bearing planetary systems since the 1990s.The possibility of life beyond earth, particularly intelligent life, raises interesting theological questions about the nature and extent of revelation, theological anthropology, Christology, and salvation.For example, if there is intelligent life on other planets that is estranged from God by sin, would multiple incarnations on
Source: Journal of Anglican Studies
Author: Simon Oliver
Institution: Durham University
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408535189