ABSTRACT
The enormous appeal of classical theological metaphysics is that it provides a pillar of permanence to which the people can always fasten their lives, and indeed the entire temporal world, in the midst of their perpetual perishing. Ironically, the hierarchical cultivation of an eternal present locks hands under the table with modern scientific materialism in neutralizing the dimension of futurity to which the promise of evolution awakens the reader once again. A biblically inspired vision of the future provides a most suitable framework for both evolutionary science and the religious quest for meaning. An evolutionary theology encourages the reader to feel with St. Paul the Spirit of God sharing in nature’s own longing for the consummation of creation. A world in evolution does not follow a strict plan but is nonetheless given its being, value, and meaning by God’s vision for it. The God of evolution does not fix things in advance, nor hoard selfishly the joy of creating.
