This brief title will pursue a triangulation of chance, divine involvement, and theology through a fundamentally Peircean lens--at least epistemologically and semiotically. The argument proceeds over five distinct chapters, and a conclusion that constitutes a sixth chapter. In Part I, I discuss the Modern Synthetic theory in evolutionary biology. In particular, I refer to what I have labeled the secular evolutionary worldview (SEW). Also in Part I, I dismiss the French physicist Pierre-Simon de Laplace's claim that a sufficiently informed intelligence could forecast everything that is going to happen in the whole universe--and, working backwards, tell you everything that did happen, not by direct citation and rebuke, but rather by implicit argumentation and demonstration of the God of Chance. In Part II of this book, I explore the God of chance and purpose, with theological assists provided by Philip Clayton and Alister McGrath over two chapters. So then, we live in a world of both chance and purpose. One may even go so far as to state that this world is designed for both chance and purpose.
Dr. Bradford L. McCall holds a B.S. in Biology (2000), four Master's in Religion or Philosophy (2005)-M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary; 2011-MA in Church History and Doctrine from Regent University [Thesis:
Charles Sanders Peirce, Theology, & Teleology: A (Late-)Modern Synthesis]; 2017-MA in Systematic Philosophy from Holy Apostles College and Seminary [Thesis:
A Modern Relation of Science & Theology Assisted by the Evolutionary Developmental Philosophy of Peirce]; 2020-MA in Religious Studies from Claremont School of Theology [awarded on the successful passage of the Comprehensive Exams Areas delineated below]), and a PhD in Comparative Theology from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, CA, wherein his interdisciplinary dissertation was entitled
Contingency and Divine Activity: Toward A Contemporary Conception of Divine Involvement in an Evolutionary World, which was successfully defended 22 September, 2021. His
Doktor vater & dissertation chair was the distinguished Dr. Philip Clayton (Claremont School of Theology). The other members of his committee were similarly distinguished in their areas of expertise: Dr. Ingolf U. Dalferth (Claremont Graduate University) and Dr. Roland Faber (Claremont School of Theology). McCall has written nearly 40 peer-reviewed Journal Articles and has written or is in the process of writing nearly a dozen books, including:
A Modern Relation of Theology and Science Assisted by Emergence and Kenosis (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2018); as ed.
God and Gravity: A Philip Clayton Reader on Science and Theology with an Autobiographical Chapter by Philip Clayton (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018);
Evolution: Secular or Sacred? (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020);
The God of Chance & Purpose: Divine Involvement in a Secular Evolutionary World (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2022);
Macroevolution, Contingency and Divine Activity: Divine Involvement Through Uncontrolling, Amorepotent Love in an Evolutionary World (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2023); as ed.,
Reading Ruse: Michael Ruse on Darwinism, Science, & Faith, with an Autobiographical Chapter by Michael Ruse (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 10/2024);
Theological Briefs: Triangulating Religion, Belief, & Faith in the 21st Century (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2024);
Theological Briefs: The Advent of Grace (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2025); and as ed.,
Ruminating on Ruse: Key Themes in the Evolutionary Naturalism of Michael Ruse (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2025);
Theological Briefs: A Christian Natural Theology of Chance & Contingency--Towards An Evolutionary Telos for Late-Modern Theology (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2025): Under Review; as ed., The Peacocke's Tale: An Arthur R. Peacocke Reader on Science & Faith, with a Foreword by Philip Clayton (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2026): Under Review.
John F. Haught (Ph.D., Catholic University of America) is Thomas Healey Professor of Theology at Georgetown University. He served as chair of the Georgetown Department of Theology from 1990-1995. His teaching and research interests focus especially on issues in science and religion, cosmology and theology, and religion and ecology. Also the founding director of Georgetown's Center for the Study of Science and Religion, Dr. Haught has authored more than fifty articles and book chapters and has published several books including
Science and Religion: From Conflict to Conversation (1995) and
God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution (1999). He is also the editor of
Science and Religion in Search of Cosmic Purpose.