News Release
July 2004
Bethlehem, PA—A collection of critical and
interpretive essays about a controversial French Catholic priest,
co-edited by a Moravian College professor, has received an award
from the Catholic Press Association.
Teilhard in the 21st Century: The
Emerging Spirit of Earth (Orbis Press, 2003. $28. 256 pp.), edited by Donald St.
John, professor of religion at Moravian College, and Arthur Fabel,
engineer and philosopher, includes articles by 13 writers exploring
the implications of Teilhard’s
thought for current issues in cosmology, evolutionary biology, and
theology, as well as the emerging discipline of ecological theology.
The essays are drawn from 25 years of Teilhard
Studies, the journal
of the American Teilhard Association, of which St. John has been editor
since 1994, succeeding Fabel, who held the post from 1983 to 1993.
The writers include such eminent Teilhard scholars and ecological
theorists as Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, Ursula and Thomas King, John
Haught, Donald Gray, William Rees, Eulalio Balthasar, Eleanor Rae,
and Joseph Grau. There is a biographical essay by John Grim and Mary
Ellen Tucker.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) was a Jesuit
priest and paleontologist who spent almost 25 years excavating and
interpreting paleolithic remains in Africa and China. He was present
at the discovery and excavation of Peking Man in 1927. After years
of study and scientific exploration, he theorized that evolution
was the working-out of God’s plan
for the universe and that humankind was in a state of continuous evolution
toward a perfect spiritual state.
Throughout his lifetime he struggled to reconcile his roles as scientist
and priest, publishing numerous scientific papers as well as essays
that considered the religious meaning of the universe, especially with
regard to what is now known as evolutionary biology. Censored by the
authorities of the Church in Rome, he eventually was vindicated after
the posthumous publishing and evaluation of his religious works, particularly
the summation of his theories, The Phenomenon of Man (1940).
The essays in this volume update and broaden the thought of Teilhard
to provide context and encouragement for human efforts to create a
socially just and ecologically flourishing world. Next year marks the
50th anniversary of Teilhard's death, and observances are planned in
his native France and in the United States, where he spent the last
five years of his life.
Teilhard’s supporters believe that his evolutionary cosmology
and a phenomenon that he called the “noöphere” predicted
the Internet more than half a century before its creation. He described
the noösphere as a global network of trade, communication, and
the free exchange of knowledge and cooperative research, which would
ultimately weave itself into an atmosphere or surrounding membrane
of collective thought, fueled by human consciousness. He imagined this
membrane as the next evolutionary stage of humanity. He went so far
as to state that the sum of humankind’s combined achievements
was the only realized purpose of the universe. Catholic doctrine states
that the ultimate purpose of the universe is the salvation of souls
through the advocacy of Jesus Christ.
The Catholic Press Association awarded St. John’s and Fabel’s
book first place among works on spirituality (soft-cover). Second-place
went to The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life by Paula Huston.
Third place was shared by Flannery O'Connor: Spiritual
Writings by
Robert Ellsberg and Dynamics of Spiritual Direction by Adrian van Kaam
and Susan Muto.
Donald P. St. John has been a member of the faculty of Moravian College
since 1981. He holds a B.A. from St. Francis College, an M.A. from
Temple University, and a Ph.D. from Fordham University. His interests
include Asian and Native American religions; the interaction of science
and religion, particularly religion and the ecology; and contemporary
spirituality (religious and nonreligious). He has written extensively
on the Catholic monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton.
