
Theistic Evolution: The Teilhardian Heresy
Author: Wolfgang SmithPublisher: Angelico Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Format: Paperback
Pages: 270
9781597311335
But what of that heady amalgam of Science and Christianity first put together by Teilhard de Chardin, which struck the Catholic world like a whirlwind around the time of the Second Vatican Council and continues to the present day in the work of such Catholic evolutionists as John Haught and Kenneth R. Miller?
What as a rule has rendered Catholics vulnerable to Teilhardian tenets -- apart from the fact that these conform to the neo-humanist tendencies of our age -- is that the theory is clad in scientific garb: in the modern world, where Science speaks, it appears even angels will listen. In Theistic Evolution, Wolfgang Smith shows himself to be that rare person thoroughly grounded in both science and theology, and what he proves through detailed and rigorous argument is that Teilhard de Chardin has in fact sold us a veritable science-fiction theology.
This book, however, is much more than a masterful and indeed definitive refutation of theistic evolutionism: it is at the same time an incomparable introduction to long-forgotten metaphysical and theological truths. In language at once precise and lucid the author recalls teachings going back to the Greek and Latin Fathers, and explains their bearing on questions about the nature of God and man bungled at the hands of many contemporary scientists and theologians.
After graduating from Cornell University at age eighteen with majors in physics, mathematics and philosophy, Wolfgang Smith took an M.S. from Purdue, following which he spent three years at Bell Aircraft Corporation as an aerodynamicist. During this period he gained recognition for his pioneering papers on the effect of diffusion fields, which provided a theoretical solution to the so-called re-entry problem for space flight. After receiving a Ph.D. in mathematics from Columbia University, Dr. Smith pursued a professorial career in that field. Soon however his center of interest shifted from the pursuit of science to the critique of scientism and the rediscovery of metaphysics as a theological discipline. He has authored six books and numerous articles, and is today widely recognized as a leading authority in these twin fields.