Book panel discussion on God and the Book of Nature: Experiments in Theology of Science, ed. Mark Harris (Routledge, 2024)

This session brings together a panel of commentators to discuss the recent volume of essays published by the “God and the Book of Nature” group. Some of the panelists are contributors to the project, others offer a critical overview. The book develops views of the natural sciences in light of the recent theological turn in science and religion and science-engaged theology. Centered around the Book of Nature metaphor, it brings together contributions by theologians, natural scientists, and philosophers who explore complementary (and even contesting) readings of the Book of Nature, particularly in light of the vexing questions that arise around essentialism and unity in the field of science and religion. Taking an experimental and open-ended approach, the volume does not attempt to unify the readings into a single “plot” that defines the Book of Nature, still less a single “theology of nature,” but instead it represents a variety of hermeneutical stances.