Eden's Garden

[Coleman] points out that Adam and Eve must have already had some capacity to make good or bad decisions, else the snake's offer would be futile. Sin, then, is the deliberate transgressing of boundaries set for us…As we make the world in our own image with the tools of science, Coleman holds that we have a duty to individually and corporately guard these limits. My summary cannot do justice to his profound argument, so I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to better understand that duty. * Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith *
Can the subjects of sin and evil be taken seriously in the world of science as Reinhold Niebuhr made them credible in the world of politics? Richard Coleman, knowledgeable in both scientific and theological disciplines, makes a persuasive case for such in this fascinating work. Thus the author continues and extends Niebuhrian sobriety about the human condition into today's new frontiers of thought and experiment. Here is a fresh approach to the issues of religion and science that deserves a wide hearing. -- Gabriel Fackre, Abbot Professor of Christian Theology Emeritus, Andover Newton Theological School