Christopher Barina Kaiser is a noted author and scholar, with doctorates in

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

(

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

) and

Christian dogmatics Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...

(

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

). His ''Creation and the History of Science'' (1991) received an outstanding book award from the

Templeton Foundation The John Templeton Foundation (Templeton Foundation) is a philanthropic organization that reflects the ideas of its founder, John Templeton, who became wealthy via a career as a contrarian investor, and wanted to support progress in religious an ...

Henry Margenau Henry Margenau (April 30, 1901 – February 8, 1997) was a German-American physicist, and philosopher of science. Biography Early life Born in Bielefeld, Germany, Margenau obtained his bachelor's degree from Midland Lutheran College, Nebraska befo ...

and

William G. Pollard William Grosvenor Pollard (1911–1989) was an American physicist and an Episcopal priest. He started his career as a professor of physics in 1936 at the University of Tennessee. In 1946 he championed the organization of the Oak Ridge Institut ...

, by his own admission, were two writers who influenced him as a science student in the 1960s.''Towards a Theology'', Kaiser 2007, 135-136

Published works

* * * * :Citation: ''Science and Religion in the English Speaking World, 1600-1727 A Bibliographic Guide to the Secondary Literature'', Richard S. Brooks & David K. Himrod,

Scarecrow Press Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, 2001, , page 241:

This is a wide-ranging survey of the interaction of the doctrine of creation and physical science from the patristic writers of the early church to Einstein and Bohr. It is a useful volume in a series of introductory textbooks in the history of theology. His approach is similar to that of the history-of-ideas school. Kaiser argues that the basic theme in the "creation tradition" is "that the entire universe is subject to a single code of law which was established along with the universe at the beginning of time." This theme manifested itself in four flexible ideas: (1) the comprehensibility of the world; (2) the unity of earth and heaven; (3) the relative autonomy of nature; and (4) the ministry of health care and reconciliation. A majority of the book deals with theologians and natural philosophers from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries. Kaiser discusses many of the topics important for this bibliography--from
hermeticism Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical system that is primarily based on the purported teachings of Hermes Trismegistus (a legendary Hellenistic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth). These teachings are containe ...
to the Puritan thesis. For example, he has an interesting insight into the relation between Newton's Arianism and his views of space and time. Kaiser is good on the details of theological differences and theological rationale. In this, his work complements those historians of science who miss the nuances within theological debates. The usefulness of Kaiser's book is partially frustrated by a lack of footnotes, some correctable mistakes, and some overapplications of his thesis to particular figures. Overall, however, it is recommended as a replacement for Dillenberger's comparable survey.

* * In Book: ''Religion & Science: History, Method, Dialogue'' ()

Astrophysics

His astrophysics doctoral thesis was title
''The thermal emission of interplanetary dust cloud models''
published by the

in 1968.

External links

His faculty page
on the

Western Theological Seminary Western Theological Seminary (WTS) is a private seminary located in Holland, Michigan. Established in 1866, it is affiliated with the Reformed Church in America, a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. ...

website
His thank you note
to

for Pollard'
Man on a Spaceship

References

Harvard University alumni University of Colorado alumni Living people 1941 births {{christian-bio-stub