Christ and Evolution: A Dialogue Through Wonder and Wisdom.

Christology, that is, a theological understanding of who Christ is, is at the heart of Christian belief. This research project sets out to develop a Christology that engages in dialogue with the evolutionary history of humanity and current evolutionary theories about the natural world in general. Current debates in science and religion have failed to consider adequately the impact of evolutionary ideas on Christology, focusing almost exclusively on questions about the nature of God or, more rarely, on the Trinity. This project argues that wonder and wisdom permit novel mediating strategies between evolutionary and systematic concepts about Christ; allowing a distinctive contribution to the literature in science and religion as well as Christology. Different aspects of contemporary Christology are explored in this project, drawing particularly on a rigorous critical analysis of the work of Lutheran theologian Jürgen Moltmann, and a sustained critique of the mystical theology of the Roman Catholic theologian and paleontologist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
First, the key theological concept of incarnation is addressed, God become human in Christ, and the extent to which current contemporary scholarship in this field is coherent in the light of current discussions of evolutionary biology and evolutionary psychology is discussed. An alternative approach is offered which draws specifically on a Christology that was present in early Christian literature, namely, the concept of Jesus as Wisdom incarnate. The distinctive element in this case is that now the notion of wisdom is revisited in evolutionary terms, filling out the nascent discussion that has also captivated many contemporary biblical scholars. The notion of human wonder is explored in relation to current theories of evolutionary psychology. In what sense can Christ also be understood as Wonder incarnate? Some critical attention to the theological aesthetics of Hans urs von Balthasar is relevant to this discussion.
The next major section of the project deals with the theological notion of atonement and contemporary theories of redemption. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ties the redemptive work of Christ into evolutionary categories, evolution pointing towards the Omega point in Christ. This project will distance itself from too tight a coupling between Christ as redeemer and that understanding of evolution that is found in the work of Teilhard de Chardin for two reasons. In the first place Teilhard was working with an evolutionary view of the world that is outdated and has now been superseded in evolutionary science. In the second place, too tight a coupling is inhibitive, for it has the unfortunate result of either constraining theology into scientific categories, or, moving beyond what can be recognised as scientifically valid. The resurrection of Christ and its meaning in a scientifically conditioned world has been the subject of intense theological debate for some time. The distinct approach offered here includes a critical appraisal of this literature, but it now pays much more attention to current theories about the evolved nature of creaturely being.
The third section of the project deals specifically with the significance of Christ for the human community in the light of future hope, that is, eschatology. For this section, the work of Lutheran theologian Jürgen Moltmann is of special significance; as for him all theology is written in an eschatological key, including his understanding of Christ. However, his major book on Christology and eschatology, titled significantly, The Way of Jesus Christ, only had a relatively short section (10pp out of 388pp) on Christ and evolution. This research project will both fill out and offer a critical appreciation of the theological hints found in Moltmann's work.
This work will be of primary interest to an academic audience, but will be written in such a way that it can be appreciated by non-specialists in the field as well.