Theology
Defending Sin A Response to the Challenges of Evolution and the Natural Sciences Hans Madueme
The conflict between the natural sciences and Christian theology has been going on for centuries. Recent advances in the fields of evolutionary biology, behavioral genetics, and neuroscience have intensified this conflict, particularly in relation to origins, the fall, and sin. These debates are crucial to our understanding of hu- man sinfulness and necessarily involve the doctrine of salvation. Theistic evolutionists have labored hard to resolve these tensions between science and faith, but Hans Madueme argues that the ma- jority of their proposals do injustice both to biblical teaching and to long-standing doctrines held by the mainstream Christian tradition. In this major contribution to the field of science and religion, Madueme demonstrates that the classical notion of sin reflected in Scripture, the creeds, and tradition offers the most compelling and theologically coherent account of the human condition. He answers pressing challenges from the physical sciences on both method- ological and substantive levels. Scholars, pastors, students, and interested lay readers will profit from interacting with the argu - ments presented here. “This is the most erudite and theologically sophisticated defense of ‘young earth creationism’ that I have read. Madueme makes a spirited defense of his position even as he admits that the evidence against it appears daunting. The result is a work that is exemplary in its humility and helpful even, or perhaps especially, for someone who (like me) has significant disagreements with the position defended.” —THOMAS H. McCALL, Asbury Theological Seminary “Working with a wealth of historical and theological material, Ma- dueme offers a comprehensive rehearsal of the historical tension between science and theology, while proposing biblical realism as a way forward. He then adeptly applies this methodology in a critique of recent proposed revisions to the doctrine of sin. This intelligent and well-researched book encourages Christians to respect scientific findings, while affirming the epistemic primacy of Scripture in our post-Darwinian age.” —MARY VANDEN BERG, Calvin Theological Seminary “This is one of the most detailed, perceptive, and well-researched critiques of theistic evolution I have ever seen. Even though at the end of the day the book’s main argument has not convinced me, I profoundly benefited from Madueme’s sound scholarship and from the countless pertinent observations he makes along the way.” —GIJSBERT van den BRINK, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
MAY 2024 • 352 pp. • paper • $36.99 • 9780801098000
Hans Madueme (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is profes- sor of theological studies at Covenant College. He previously served as the managing director of the Henry Center for Theological Understanding and the associate director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Madueme is on the editorial board of Themelios and is a senior editor for Sapientia. He is also the coeditor of Adam, the Fall , and Original Sin and Reading Christian Theology in the Protestant Tradition.
ALSO BY THE AUTHOR
ADAM, THE FALL, AND ORIGINAL SIN 9780801039928 • $34.00p
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