In 1919, the Jesuit scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote a major essay, The Spiritual Power of Matter, which shaped his understanding of the role of struggle and conflict in evolution--whether in the material or on the spiritual plane. For Teilhard, who labored to integrate the insights of evolution with his Catholic faith, and who experienced ongoing conflicts with authorities in the church, these insights continued to play out in the rest of his life. Focusing on the meaning of his seminal essay for Teilhard's life, Kathleen Duffy explores the major struggles that he experienced in his roles as scientist, priest, mystic, friend, and member of the church.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955), a French Jesuit priest and scientist, charted a new path in reconciling Christian theology with evolutionary science. Here, a theologian-scientist examines Teilhard's mysticism, showing how science can illuminate the mystical path while also demonstrating the compatibility between Teilhard's thought and current frontiers in scientific exploration.

Thirteen scholars--including John F. Haught, Ursula King, and John C. Haughey, SJ--"take off" from where Teilhard de Chardin "left off," opening new windows to the divine mystery, to the evolving person, and to the new energies of love needed for the forward movement of life.

"In the years since his death in 1955, the influence of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin - renowned French Jesuit theologian, mystic, and scientist - has continued to grow. A true prophets of our age, Teilhard helprd bring Christian theology into creative dialogue with science, articulated a new mysticism, and explored profound dimensions of the human condition. This ... biography is enhanced with scores of photographs that document his dramatic life - from the trenches of World War I, to his groundbreaking paleontological research in China and travels in the Gobi Desert. It explores his difficulties with church authorities, the posthumous publication of his writings and his ongoing legacy. It is the ideal introduction to the life and thought of a man whose vision and spirituality speak ever more vitally to the concerns of our time"--Publisher's description.

Behind simplified economic and political perceptions of the forces of globalization is a much more complex spiritual evolutionary process whereby the world and all creation is being drawn into being the presence of Christ a Christogenesis.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Fermat?s Last Theorem, ?an extraordinary story?( Philadelphia Inquirer) of discovery, evolution, science, and faith. In 1929, French Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a part of a group of scientists that uncovered a skull that became known as Peking Man, a key evolutionary link that left Teilhard torn between science and his ancient faith, and would leave him ostracized by his beloved Catholic Church. His struggle is at the heart of The Jesuit and the Skull, which takes readers across continents and cultures in a fascinating exploration of one of the twentieth century?s most important discoveries, and one of the world?s most provocative pieces of evidence in the roiling debate between creationism and evolution.

The metaphor of the cosmos as the Body of Christ offers an opportunity to escape the aporias of standard Body of Christ imagery, which has often proved anthropocentric, exclusivist, triumphalist and/or sexist in the analyses of classical theologies. The body motif in particular contains starting points for current body discourses of gender-sensitive and ecological theologies, especially in their mutual overlaps. This book offers a critical evaluation of the prospects and boundaries of an updated metaphor of the Body of Christ, especially in its cosmic dimension. The first part of the book addresses the complex tradition in which the universal dimension of cosmological Christologies is located, including the thinking of the Apostles Paul and John, Origen, Cusanus, Teilhard de Chardin, McFague, and Panikkar. In the second part of the book, representatives of various innovative concepts will contribute to the anthology. This is a wide-ranging study of the implications of a new cosmic Body of Christ. As such, it will be of interest to academics working in Religion and Gender, Religion and the Environment, Theology and Christology.