Science and the Search for God

Christian Century, Dec 27, 2003 by Stanley Brian Stratton

By Gary Kowalski. Lantern, 186 pp., $15.00.

GARY KOWALSKI'S target audience is "open-minded people of all beliefs who wonder how to square the findings of science with the teachings of their own spiritual traditions." Readers are encouraged to use the book for group discussions in congregations or interfaith study circles. Among the strong features that make the book useful for such groups are its clear, lively writing and a chapter length just right for providing food for thought in easily digestible portions.

Kowalski, a Unitarian pastor and author of The Bible According to Noah: Theology As If Animals Mattered and The Souls of Animals, tells stories effectively to make his points throughout the book, as in the hilarious account of his mother teaching him and his brother to remember the chemical symbol for mercury ("Hg"--and I challenge any reader to try to forget it after reading Kowalski's story). He provides a convincing summary of the work of Birute Galdikas, Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey to illustrate the value of a "passionate epistemology." The chapter "God is a Verb" is an accessible introduction to process theology. But the book's strongest feature is the "Issues for Discussion" section, in which Kowalski provides excellent "points to ponder," a good mix of intellectually and personally reflective questions which should generate lively discussion.

There are, however, two things that limit the book's usefulness. First, Kowalski's enthusiasm for the Gaia theory (that the earth is a single living organism that automatically regulates its environment so as to make it optimal for life) seems excessive. Mainstream biologists and ecologists do not accept Gaia, and even if the Gaia theory turns out to be correct, it would not support the spiritual or religious import Kowalski attributes to it. Also, Kowalski at times seems insensitive to and dismissive and belittling of Christians who hold traditional beliefs. I know well the exasperation that comes from some of my students' uninformed obstinacy about evolution. But creationists also are on a spiritual journey, and they feel the threats of secularism severely. They need to be respected, nurtured and included in the dialogue so that they may learn and grow. Despite these limitations, however, Science and the Search for God deserves and should find an appreciative audience.

Reviewed by Stanley Brian Stratton, assistant professor of religious studies at Alma College in Alma, Michigan.