The Flaw in the Universe

by Hough, Adrian

• ISBN13: 9781846943447
• ISBN10: 1846943442
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-16
• Publisher: Natl Book Network

Summary

When we look at the world around us, one of the most common observations is that things have a tendency to go wrong. People make mistakes, have accidents and some of them commit deliberate acts of violence. Disease affects every single species of plant and animal on the planet. Natural disasters kill millions of people and decimate animal populations. Countless people and animals suffer through no fault of their own. Scientists explain these events in various ways depending upon whether they involve errors in human choices and actions or whether they are caused by natural events. Theologians give us a different set of religious explanations. At times it can appear as if there is a fundamental flaw in the universe. In this book, Adrian Hough uses his training and expertise as both a scientist and a theologian to approach this flaw from both directions and comes up with the astonishing result that both sets of reasoning might have the same fundamental explanation.

Author Biography

Adrian Hough has degrees in science and theology from Oxford University. After scientific research he trained for ordination and is now chaplain to the Bishop Exeter in England.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 1
Preface	p. 3
Introduction	p. 8
Sin, Disaster, Death and Salvation	p. 12
The Second Law of Thermodynamics	p. 18
The Second Law and Sin	p. 22
The Relationship between Science and Theology	p. 29
An Historical Perspective	p. 29
The Nature of the Relationship	p. 33
Similarities in Methodology	p. 43
Describing One World	p. 51
Sin and the Second Law	p. 59
The Second Law in More Detail	p. 60
Entropy and Sin	p. 65
Time and Freedom	p. 70
The Worldview	p. 75
Atonement and the Second Law	p. 81
Theories of the Atonement	p. 82
Death and Suffering	p. 92
Entropy and Atonement	p. 99
Freedom and the Cross	p. 103
Doctrine and the Second Law	p. 107
The Doctrine of God	p. 108
The Doctrine of the Resurrection	p. 117
The Doctrine of Creation	p. 127
The Eucharist	p. 137
Where Do We Go From Here?	p. 141
Experience or Faith? Science and Theology Revisited	p. 141
The Tale of Three Gardens: A Myth	p. 150
Notes	p. 154
Bibliography	p. 163
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