Dawn: A Proton's Tale of All that Came to Be (Cees Dekker, Corien Oranje, & Gijsbert van den Brink) - A Review


DAWN: A Proton’s Tale of All That Came to Be. By Cees Dekker, Corien Oranje, and Gijsbert Van Den Brink. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2022. 176 pages.

Is the universe the product of evolution? Is it the result of an act of a Creator? Some insist that it's an either/or issue. Others, like myself, believe it can be a both/and situation. I did go through a "young earth" phase, and then an old earth phase, before ending up as a “theistic evolutionist.” In other words, while I fully embrace evolution, I didn’t give up my belief that God is somehow involved in the process. You can find my thoughts on the matter in my book Worshiping with Charles Darwin (Energion Publications). Fortunately, there are numerous books and resources that seek to find a path forward that, like my book, seek to demonstrate the compatibility of religion and science. There are different ways of exploring these possibilities, as we see in major works by religiously inclined scientists—see the books by John Polkinghorne—and by theologians such as Philip Clayton. On a more popular level, there is this book: Dawn: A Proton's Tale of All That Came to Be.

Authored by Cees Dekker, Corien Oranje, and Gijsbert Van Den Brink, it's a fictional tale that seeks to integrate the scientific story of evolution with the biblical story by taking us, imaginatively, from the Big Bang to the Second Coming of Jesus and beyond. In other words, this version of the story has an eschatological element to it. While the basic plot line is fairly straightforward, I should offer a spoiler alert here. If you don't want to know the ins and outs of the story but are intrigued, go order a copy for yourself, and skip my review. Nevertheless, if you would like to know whether it’s worth your time and investment, continue reading.

I should first note that my review is based on an Advanced Reader’s Copy, so pieces are missing. Nevertheless, I had enough to get the plotline down. Secondly, I should say something about the authors of the book, all of whom hail from the Netherlands. Cees Dekker is a physicist who serves as the director of the Kavli Institute of Nanoscience at the University of Delft. Corien Oranje is a Dutch children’s author. Finally, Gijsbert Van Den Brink is the Chair of Theology & Science at the Faculty of Religion and Theology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The three authors bring their expertise together to provide an intriguing look at the origins and evolution of the universe from the perspective of a proton created in the first moments of the Big Bang.  

As I noted, this story features as its central character, a proton named Pro. This proton is created as part of the Big Bang. The rest of the story is written from Pro’s perspective. While initially, Pro is alone, over time this proton becomes connected to another proton named Solon (the wise one), along with a couple of neutrons and electrons, ultimately forming a carbon molecule. Over time they become integrated into different things that range from a sheep's intestine to a stick that Jesus carries as he traverses the Holy Land. In the course of time, as they experience the evolutionary reality, they observe the biblical story. At times the characters of the biblical story are reworked to reflect an evolutionary pathway. Thus, in this version of the story, there isn’t a garden of Eden with an Adam and Eve from whom all humans descend. Rather, the authors envision God appearing to and speaking to two humans named Womuntu and Maisha, reflecting the scientific assumption that the first true humans emerged in Africa. God meets with these two people, a man and a woman, and imparts the initial commandments, thereby offering the first spark of spiritual life. Of course, in this version of the story, written from a Reformed perspective, we have a Fall (rebellion) that is imaged not in terms of eating forbidden fruit but drawing water from a forbidden well. As you might expect, if you know the Genesis 2-3 story, everyone decides to use the forbidden well, including, ultimately, Womuntu and Maisha. This leads to disaster as well as the beginning of a movement toward redemption. Along the way, we meet familiar characters such as Abraham and Sarah, Moses, and of course Jesus. While we don't get a full rendition of the biblical story, we get enough to keep us moving forward toward the present and to an as-yet experienced future that includes the Second coming of Jesus.

Since this is an IVP book that is connected to the BioLogos organization, it is geared toward a moderately evangelical audience that remains open to evolutionary theory while also envisioning the need for redemption in Christ and a future return of Jesus. At the close of the book the three authors, a group that includes a Dutch physicist (Cees Dekker), a Dutch professor of theology and science (Gijsbert van den Brink), and the author of children's books (Corien Oranje) gather as part of a larger group of theologians, scientists, and authors, to discuss the interrelationship of religion and science. Ultimately this book is the product of that conversation. While Dekker and van den Brink provide the theological and scientific expertise to the effort, it is Oranje, an experienced writer of fiction, who serves as the primary author, making this an informative and interesting read.

I enjoyed reading the book, which again came to me as an advanced reader's copy from the publisher, so parts are missing, including Afterword. While there are parts of the story, because of the nature of the effort, that I might quibble with, overall, it is a helpful work. As for the parts I might quibble with, one piece is the effort on the part of the authors to integrate elements from all four gospels to present the story of Jesus. It’s a harmony of the Gospels effort that blurs elements in a way that obscures the differences in the four perspectives. Nevertheless, I understand why they took this path. As for the vision of a future second coming of Jesus, some might have problems. Fortunately, they keep the millennialist dimensions to a minimum. In fact, I would suggest that they offer an amillennialist perspective, which makes sense since the authors have a Reformed background.

Regarding the decision by the authors of  Dawn to use a proton to serve as an eyewitness is quite imaginative. It’s an anthropocentric vision, but still, it’s creative. That creativity will draw in readers. While this is published by the academic arm of IVP, the publisher envisions its use in congregational settings as a discussion starter as a discussion guide is included in the book. My hope is that this book will penetrate its intended audience so that we can have more fruitful science-religion conversations. 

Comments

Popular Posts