Interactive World, Interactive God: The Basic Reality of Creative Interaction

Since the dawn of science, ideas about the relation between science and religion have always depended on what else is going on in a society. During the twentieth century, daily life changed dramatically. Technology revolutionized transportation, agriculture, communications, and housework. People came to rely on scientific predictability in their technology. Many wondered whether God's supposed actions were consistent with scientific knowledge. The twenty-first century is bringing new scientific research capabilities. They are revealing that scientific results are not totally predictable after all. Certain types of interaction lead to outcomes that are unpredictable, in principle. These in turn may lead to a whole new range of potential interactions. They do not rule out the reality of a dynamic God who can act in the world without breaking the known principles of science. God may in fact work with "the way things really are." Human experience of God may accurately reflect this reality. Interactive World, Interactive God illustrates such new understandings in religion and science by describing recent developments in a wide range of sciences, and providing theological commentary. The book is written for intelligent readers who may not be specialized in science but who are looking for ways to understand divine action in today's world.

Carol Rausch Albright has been Executive Editor of Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science. Her books include Beginning with the End (coedited with Joel Haugen) and The Humanizing Brain (coauthored with James B. Ashbrook).

John R. Albright is Professor Emeritus of Physics at Florida State University and Purdue University. He is the coauthor of Introduction to Atomic and Nuclear Physics (with Henry Semat, 5th ed.).

Mladen Turk is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Elmhurst College. He is the author of Logic: Exercises and Solutions (1995) in Croatian and contributor to several scholarly and reference works in English and Croatian in the area of history and theory of the study of religion and religion and science.