Robert J. Russell
Robert J. Russell was a prominent figure in the intersection of science and theology, serving as the founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS). He held the position of Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), where he contributed significantly to discussions on the compatibility of scientific inquiry and Christian belief. With an impressive academic background, Russell earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and held degrees in physics from Stanford University and UCLA, as well as advanced theological degrees from the Pacific School of Religion. Throughout his career, Russell wrote and edited numerous works that explored the scientific mechanisms underlying Christian faith, making him a key voice in the dialogue between science and religion. His teaching experience included a tenure at Carleton College and collaboration with Ian Barbour, a pioneer in the field of science and religion, before he joined the GTU in 1981. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, Russell's work not only advanced academic discourse but also provided a framework for understanding how faith and science can coexist, leaving a lasting impact on both theological and scientific communities.
Famous Quotes
View all 3 quotes“If ours is a world of epistemic distance, then just as historical and personal events can be interpreted both theistically and atheistically, so should science, the theistically neutral epistemic tool for discovery in nature, be interpretable both theistically and atheistically. Thus ours is a world in which “theology and science” is not only intellectually possible but actually required if we are to make a scholarly and convincing case for a theistic interpretation of natural science that is more robust than its atheistic interpretation. In sum, a world created by God for the possibility of moral growth is also a world in which science is possible and a world in which the field of “theology and science” is required to produce a convincing theistic interpretation of science against its competitors.”
“Pannenberg understands God as Trinity to be at work in the world, both continually appearing in history as the “arrival” of the immediate future and as reaching back from the eschatological future to the Easter event in order to transform the world into the New Creation. In a breathtaking move, Pannenberg thematizes the latter as “prolepsis”: although the New Creation still lies in our future, or more correctly in the “future of our future,” the Easter event is already and normatively a manifestation in our time and history of what is the not-yet still-future eschatological-apocalyptic destiny for all the world.”
“Pannenberg thematizes the latter as “prolepsis”: although the New Creation still lies in our future, or more correctly in the “future of our future,” the Easter event is already and normatively a manifestation in our time and history of what is the not-yet still-future eschatological-apocalyptic destiny for all the world.”
Books from the author
