Renewing the Process of Creation
“No religious faith that flies in the face of scientific data can stand for long, nor should it,” writes Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, who brings Judaism, process theology, and modern understandings of the cosmos together in this thoughtful, provocative, and eminently readable book. Beginning with an accessible scientific explanation of the world and our place in it, Rabbi Artson moves into an exploration of how science and religion can come together to serve human and planetary thriving and allow us to create meaning from “what actually is, rather than from flights of imaginative fancy.” Especially liberating is his assertion that “God’s primary mode of power is persuasive, not coercive,” and that loving and deeply knowing us, God lures us, and all of creation, in the direction of our highest good.
Rabbi Artson’s profound, lucid, and hopeful book celebrates religion’s ability to empower and inspire, the beauty and complexity of science, the sacredness of life and freedom, and our calling to love and care for our planetary home. “At the end of it all,” he writes, “our task remains to fashion lives of meaning and integrity, to strengthen communities of love and justice knowing what we do about the cosmos we inhabit and embody. … We are all participants in a cosmic drama whose next act has not yet been written,” he writes. “Through our choices and our actions, we will help create tomorrow’s promise.”
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
