John Haught - An Unfinished Universe

“By anybody's standards, there's a world of difference between the human brain and human culture on the one hand, and the primordial radiation that the universe began with. Something has happened. Something is working itself out in this universe and the question is, what is that?” --John Haught

John Haught is a theologian and author who looks at life, the world, and the divine in terms of infinitude and the evolution of being and consciousness itself. He seeks a coherent sense of purpose and divine plan within the grandest strokes of cosmic creation, and is particularly interested in issues pertaining to science, cosmology, ecology, and religion. In his open-minded inquiry, Haught has pursued such edgy theological questions as, What would happen to the idea of God if extraterrestrial life appeared on earth?

Interviewed at the annual Metanexus Conference, Haught was asked by EnlightenNext's Amy Edelstein to elaborate on some of the central themes of his work. Why is the standard Darwinian recipe for evolution not enough to explain everything that exists? Why do human beings harbor an innate desire for infinitude? Is our sense of God evolving as we evolve?

Haught beautifully articulates the potent terrain between—and above—the worlds of science and religion. Viewing the evolution of consciousness as fundamental to the purpose of our universe, he sees human evolution not as an end in itself, but as one step along a greater all-consuming path toward an infinite, unknowable, yet wholly positive conclusion.

BIO

John F. Haught, PhD, is a Roman Catholic theologian and the Landegger Distinguished Professor of Theology at Georgetown University. His area of expertise is systematic theology, with a special interest in issues of science, cosmology, ecology, and reconciling evolution and religion.

Haught, who established the Georgetown Center for the Study of Science and Religion, is the author of many books on the evolution debate, including Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science (2006), Deeper Than Darwin: The Prospect for Religion in the Age of Evolution (2003), and God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution (1999). In 2005, Haught testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the famous Intelligent Design case of Kitzmiller vs. the Dover Area School District in Pennsylvania, arguing against the school board’s plan to allow Intelligent Design to be taught as an alternative to evolution in public schools.