Veli-Matti Karkkainen: Creation and Humanity
Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Creation and Humanity, A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World, Volume 3 (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015), pages x+554.
As a constructive theologian, Kärkkäinen works to create a coherent explanation of religious belief (in this case, Christian) by honest engagement with a variety of voices, including Christian (i.e. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, third-world, feminist, Evangelical etc.), non-Christian (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist), and scientific. In this sense, Kärkkäinen’s work is non-foundational and non-dogmatic. He says, citing Pannenberg’s Systematic Theology that, “…theology, must check the “correspondence” of its statements with both inner and external statements.” (p.3.) This text is Kärkkäinen’s third of five installments in the development of that coherent theology.
The book divides into two main parts. Part 1 discusses creation and Part 2 covers humanity. Discussion of angelic beings, demonic and sacred are not addressed in this volume. Kärkkäinen, like many Christians, believes that the historic Christian view of Creation requires reappraisal both to correct the Church’s reliance on dualism (body/spirit; secular/sacred; p.9), and to respond to the pending environmental collapse and the findings of science (p.10). After orienting the reader to his approach, Kärkkäinen discusses how science and theology should relate. In his usual way, Kärkkäinen engages the subject by explaining how various religious faiths relate to scientific inquiry. As mentioned in my reviews of earlier volumes, Kärkkäinen faithfully describes various belief systems and avoids caricatures or straw men. Readers will frequently find his rubrics to be helpful in articulating and categorizing various viewpoints. For instance, his review of the different types of scientific naturalism in Chapter 2 and perspectives on nature in Chapter 3 are particularly instructive. While this reviewer believes that Kärkkäinen can be too generous with his interlocutors, readers can be assured that when he does criticize a viewpoint, his criticisms will be well founded.
Second, the author appears to accept the truth of evolution as a given. Therefore, he is obligated to spend a great deal of ink exploring ways to harmonize creation (theology) and evolution (science). This reviewer appreciated Kärkkäinen’s commitment to a divine purpose and action in creation as well as his thoughts on understanding divine action without falling into determinism (Chapters 6-7). On the downside, Kärkkäinen’s readiness to modify classical beliefs, such as God’s timelessness (pp.129ff), is troubling and indicates an excessive willingness to be swayed by contemporary winds.
In Part 2, Humanity, Kärkkäinen’s acceptance of evolutionary theory means that he must find a way to discuss humanity’s beginning, transmission of sin, and nature that accords with Scripture and science. He holds to a dynamic understanding of the “image of God” by emphasizing its social and communal nature, while not denying essentialist ideas.
His adoption of evolutionary theory also requires that he defends the uniqueness of humanity against the notion that we are just another animal (cf. p. 235). Therefore, Kärkkäinen claims that humanity must be understood in relationship to Christ, not the rest of humanity. Likewise, he rejects dichotomy (spirit/body) in favor of multidimensional monism. Regrettably, Kärkkäinen does not adequately appreciate the principle of sufficient reason. It seems to this reader that the principle is enough to defend human uniqueness even if we cannot pinpoint what makes us uniquely different from animals. Interestingly, Kärkkäinen goes to great lengths to affirm the equality of the sexes but avoids LGBT issues by failing to say whether gender is fixed.
Kärkkäinen appears to reject the idea of original sin because the doctrine lacks sufficient biblical and scientific support. Regrettably, his conclusion draws heavily on science and philosophy to the neglect of exegesis. His use of the term “intuition,” to refer to historic Reformational teaching, insinuates that Augustine and the Reformers based their ideas on personal insight rather than on divine revelation. Kärkkäinen does not help his case when he makes comments such as, “As do contemporary Christian theologians, Jewish theologians rightly acknowledge that in the Genesis story there is ‘no doctrine of the fall of the race through Adam, of the moral corruption of human nature, or of the hereditary transmission of the sinful bias’” (p.413). I suspect many readers of this review would take exception to this statement for various reasons.
Readers looking to connect Christian thinking to those of other religions and recent findings in science, will find this volume a helpful entry way. Kärkkäinen’s ability to lay out the issues and to push for new ways to resolve old conundrums will certainly stimulate theological reflection in anyone willing to engage openly and honestly. Those interested in the ontology of humanity as it relates to cutting edge science should read Chapter 12.
On balance, Evangelical readers who are secure in their theological understanding will find much to consider in this text. But to those lacking sufficient theological depth in the issues should read other texts and return to this book after gaining theological maturity.
Reviewed by Stephen M. Vantassel
Publisher’s page: https://www.eerdmans.com/Products/6855/creation-and-humanity.aspx
Read Stephen M. Vantassel’s reviews of all five books in Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen’s series A Constructive Christian Theology for the Pluralistic World:
Volume 1: Christ and Reconciliation
Volume 2: Trinity and Revelation
Volume 3: Creation and Humanity
Volume 4: Spirit and Salvation
Volume 5: Hope and Community
