Knowledge and Evolution: How Theology, Philosophy, and Science Converge in the Question of Origins

The question of the origins of the universe is probably one of the most dwelled upon and argued about over the last couple of centuries. Ever since Charles Darwin proposed his theory, evolutionists and creationists want to settle the issue on their sides. But science did not stop at Darwin’s time. It progressed enormously, creating significant problems for Darwinian explanations. Is there a better answer than the dominant neo-Darwinian synthesis? Even more fundamental is the question of whether natural science, by itself, can explain the origins of nature. What are the limits of science and where should we turn to philosophy and theology? How do these three domains—science, philosophy, and theology—relate when addressing the question of origins? Theistic evolution, the idea of God using evolution as a means of creating the universe, faces problems from both classic Christian theology as well as classic metaphysics. Today things do not look good for the dominant views. The time has come to propose a new faith and science synthesis, one that offers a serious approach to the Bible on the one hand and an honest look at biological findings on the other. This book sets a path to such a new synthesis.

Michael Chaberek is a Dominican priest and holds a doctorate in fundamental theology from Card. Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. His academic focus includes faith and science dialogue, the theory of intelligent design, and Aristotelian-Thomistic philosophy. He is the author of Catholicism and Evolution (2015) and Aquinas and Evolution (2017).