Christ and the Cosmos Initiative

The movement was founded by William Gowland in 1987 as an ecumenical venture in evangelism. Its aim was to bring together current thinking in science and theology, involving those with specialist knowledge in either field. The resulting synthesis engaged the Church in present and future developments in society, supported Christians working in the sciences and presented Christ as the centre of our scientific understanding and culture. An annual consultation, usually at Westminster College, Oxford at the weekend following Easter, explored some particular aspect of science, such as the origin of the universe or the working of the human mind, together with its theological implications. The proceedings of these consultations were published, and a list of the volumes as printed in the final volume, sub-titled 'Communication in the third millennium', is printed below. More local meetings were organized at regional level. In 2005, when it merged with the Science and Religion Forum, the Initiative had a mailing list of 123.

Consultations:

1987, 1989, 1990: 'Christ and the Cosmos', vols. 1-3 1991: 'Mission and Complexity' 1992: 'Interpreting the Cosmos' 1993: 'Being Human in a Cosmic Context' 1994: 'Being Responsible in a Cosmic Context' 1995: 'Members One of Another' 1996: 'The Image of the Invisible God' 1997: 'Evolution or How Did We Get Here?' 1998: 'Observing the Cosmos' 1999: 'Risk! Life is a Risky Business' 2000: 'Time' 2001: 'Genetic Engineering' 2002: 'Building the Cosmos' 2003: 'Technology - Saviour or Servant?' 2004: 'Can you hear me…?' Communication in the Third Millennium

Sources
  • David Gowland and Stuart Roebuck (eds.), Taking the Initiative (1993)
  • The Christ and the Cosmos Initiative 1987 to 2004 (2004), Part 2, 'Remembering the Initiative'

See also

Entry written by: PAB
Category: Organisation
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