Abstract

This paper proposes a fundamental premise for the conversation between science and theology: In our experience of the natural world we encounter an excess of awareness and of meaning that overwhelm our perceptions, language, and thought. We attempt to construct the coherence of our awareness through our science, and we attempt to render it meaningful in our thoughts and language. Metaphor and symbol are primary vehicles for our attempts at meaning. Since its task is to articulate meaning, theology must acknowledge this premise, if it is to engage the sciences adequately