In the second half of our conversation with theologian Andrew Davison, we ask what the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe would mean for Christian faith and teaching. Whether it is single-celled organisms or fully-fledged intelligent sentient life, would its discovery change how we think about God as creator? Are aliens also made in the image of God? And if so, do they have their own Jesus and incarnation and redemption story, just as we do?
In each episode of Matters of Life and Death, brought to you by Premier Unbelievable?, John Wyatt and his son Tim discuss issues in healthcare, ethics, technology, science, faith and more. John is a doctor, professor of ethics, and writer and speaker on many of these topics, while Tim is a religion and social affairs journalist. We talk about how Christians can better engage with a particular question of life, death or something else in between.
This week we have another classic episode of Matters of Life and Death from the archive. We invited theologian Andrew Davison to join us to talk through the spiritual ramifications of cosmology and what light thinking about the wider universe sheds on vital doctrines such as creation and incarnation. We then talked about the subject of his book, which is out now, on astrobiology – what would the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe mean for us as Christians and for what we believe about God?
– Andrew’s new book, ‘Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine’, is available to order now: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Astrobiology-Christian-Doctrine-Exploring-Implications/dp/1009303155
– Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173
– If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John’s website: http://www.johnwyatt.com
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