Evolving World, Converging Man by Robert Francoeur (review)

202 BOOK REVIEWS tradition does not regard abortion as murder but, nevertheless, forbids it except to save the life of the mother. (pp.274-276) On such points Jews and Christians alike are left with the problem of traditions undoubtedly encapsulating fundamental values and yet lacking credibility to " contemporary man." More clearly relevant seem Gunther Plaut's beautiful essay on the virtue of hospitality to the stranger, Solomon B. Freehof's on Jewish attitudes to death, and Samuel G. Braude's discussion of " obeying God rather than man." It is regrettable that more essays of this latter type are not included, since they show that in Jewish ethical tradition there are many insights, forgotten or overlooked, often rich in human compassion and humorous realism, that would greatly contribute to a modern ethics that is not content with abstraction but seeks to take full account of the complexity of man's life. Institute of Religion Texas Medical Center Houston, Texas BENEDICT AsHLEY, 0. P. Evolving World, Converging Man. By RonERT FRANCOEUR. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970. Pp. 222. $5.95. This book is a popularization of contemporary evolutionary science and certain elements of recent theology. Its purpose is to trace the development of the interplay between the developing scientific image of the world and the emerging religious-philosophic image of man, and to present a simplified synthesis of the latest scientific views and modern religious and philosophic interpretations of man and his place in the universe . The author relies heavily on the basic philosophical and theological thought of the Jesuit priest and scientist, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, although, for purposes of simplification and synthesis, Teilhard's ideas are reduced to schematic concepts that have lost all nuance and subtlety. This is, then, a book for the general reader. It is not at all a scholarly work; there is no documentation, even where references would seem to be necessary-as in the case of quotations. It will be of some value, however , to the philosopher or theologian who is unfamiliar with contemporary evolutionary thinking and who wants a light, interesting, and readable essay on current ideas about evolution and what pertinence these ideas might have for Christian philosophy and theology. The first three chapters are a broad sketch of evolutionary theory. The first chapter sets the scene with a description of how man's view BOOK REVIEWS ~03 of the world and his place in it has changed since the beginning of human history; the emphasis is on the importance of the evolutionary dimension of modern man's worldview. The second chapter is a broad outline presentation of evolutionary history from the origins of the universe through the Pre-Cambrian, the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic, and the Cenozoic periods up to the appearance of man. A third chapter traces man's evolution. This chapter makes use of the most recent scientific evidence and will be especially interesting for those who are not professional anthropologists. Chapters four and five are an attempt to synthesize the evolutionary ideas of the first three chapters with contemporary Christian philosophy and theology. Chapter four is a summary of much theological re-thinking of the doctrine of creation in terms of an evolutionary framework. It depends largely on the theologies of Eulalio Baltazar, Karl Rahner, and Langdon Gilkey, as well as Teilhard de Chardin and others. The theology is very superficial, and, for that reason, not fairly reflective of the ideas drawn from several of the theologians who are referred to. But it is an interesting attempt at synthesis. The fifth chapter is less successful. Basically, the author tries to use recent theology of death and of original sin to explain the negative side of human reality in a way that is consistent with both science and Catholic doctrine. It is Catholic doctrine that suffers. Even a superficial treatment of this kind cannot afford to overlook the essential data of the Church's teaching on original sin. Further, the author shows no real understanding of, or even familiarity with, Catholic theology of original sin since the Council. Like the fourth chapter, this one depends to a great extent on Teilhard de Chardin 's thought; but Teilhard's...