Animal Suffering and the Darwinian Problem of Evil: A Rejoinder

I want to thank the contributors to this volume for taking time to review my book Animal Suffering and the Darwinian Problem of Evil. I especially thank Kevin Vanhoozer for his introductory essay. Anyone wishing to get an accurate picture of my multi-faceted discussion as a whole in concise form can confidently refer to it….
Chaos, Evil, and the Deep Harmonies of Nature

John Schneider’s Animal Suffering and the Darwinian Problem of Evil is a wonderfully rich and interactive book which advances the arguments of previous authors in interesting ways. In this short review, I welcome this chance to respond, while nevertheless acknowledging that the depths of the book would require a much longer essay. I will be…
On Lapsarian Theodicy

John R. Schneider’s Animal Suffering and the Darwinian Problem of Evil is an important contribution to an important topic—namely, the theological challenge of animal suffering. Theodicy has traditionally been more focused on human suffering, but the emergence in the modern era of what Schneider calls “the Darwinian world” (the revolutionary new picture of nature that…
Animals, Accountability, and Persons

I have major presuppositional differences from Schneider regarding Scripture and creation. Although I agree with him that theodicy is nothing without eschatology, I also believe that eschatology is nothing without protology. One cannot take the Bible seriously about the end, without taking it seriously about the beginning. Schneider sees the happy ending of a new…
It Hath Been Already, of Old Time

The foundational assumption of John Schneider’s book is that Darwinian evolution presents radically new problems for theology, for which his core proposal, which I can address only briefly, is offered as a solution. Yet of his four “interconnected unveilings,” presented as a “Darwinian problem,” only one arises from Darwinian theory itself, where it is viewed…
Naming Natural Evils

Nobody thinks that the ultimate consummation of the Kingdom God will be a place where rogue viruses kill hundreds of thousands of people, or hurricanes ravage whole communities, or cancer cuts lives short. So we Christians believe it is possible for there to be that kind of place. But was creation originally a place that…
Telling a Different Story?
Van den Brink’s Account of Human Origins

It is difficult to talk about human beings without telling a story. In a manner that transcends the existence of trees and turtles, human beings are creatures of history. Human beings come and go in history. They make history by the feats they accomplish, and they leave their mark on history in the monuments they…
Evolutionary Theory and the Story of Scripture

Gijsbert van den Brink is to be congratulated on a well-written, lucid volume on this important and controversial topic. His attention to the range of different views in Chapter three is notable and generous. In each generation systematic theology has to articulate Christian belief in relation to the major issues of the day and the…
Distinctive Stances and Layered Concepts: Reformed Theology Engages Science

The debate between science and religion is a long and contested one, often characterized in the bellicose rhetoric of conflict. At various times different scholars have claimed significant victories for science or for religion. And yet, the battle still drags wearily on. Or so it can sometimes seem. Gijsbert van den Brink has joined the…
The Genealogical Adam and Eve: A Rejoinder

The Genealogical Adam and Eve is an unusual book in that it arises out of an ongoing civic practice of science (ch. 1). My goal is a better conversation in which we might understand each other. In aspiring to humility, tolerance, and patience, we might make space for our differences. Personally, I am a Christian…
Hedges Around His Garden

Dr. Joshua Swamidass has undertaken quite a task: to persuade a wide range of readers, both Christian and non-Christian, that Adam and Eve did in fact exist. Specifically, they were created de novo by God only a few thousand years ago, placed in the Garden of Eden, fell into temptation and sin, were exiled, and…
An Invitation to Reclaim Mystery and Pursue Unity

The disruption of a pandemic clearly shows us the tension that mounts in the face of uncertainties. We also see real danger adopting and acting from dogmatic positions when the data leaves an ambiguity in how best to read and understand it. The danger posed by a reluctance to patiently wait in persistent and mounting…