The Author of the Epic: Tolkien, Evolution, and God's Story

Zygon 56 (2):500-516 (2021)
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Abstract

I argue that, because God is the author of history and has a purpose for his creation, evolution has a plot and can be analyzed with tools drawn from literary criticism. This necessitates engagement with the “epic of evolution” genre of scientific literature. I survey several prominent versions of the epic and distinguish between a purely naturalistic epic of evolution and a goal‐oriented Christian epic of evolution (CEE). In dealing with CEE, I use the thought of J. R. R. Tolkien, along with Kevin Vanhoozer and Dorothy Sayers, to discuss the ways in which we can theologically legitimate speaking of God as the “author” of evolutionary history.

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10.1111/zygo.12701

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Nonoverlapping magisteria.Stephen Jay Gould - 1997 - Natural History 106 (2):16--22.
What are narratives good for?John Beatty - 2016 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 58:33-40.
Can evolution be directional without being teleological?George R. McGhee - 2016 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences 58:93-99.

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