Feeling humans and social animals: Theological considerations for an evolutionary account of human emotion

In an overview of God and evolutionary theory in recent thought, Barbour (2000) categorizes various proponents as representing either a conflict, independence, dialogue, or integration approach. Using an evolutionary psychological (EP) model of the social function of human emotions, these approaches are considered in terms of how one could include EP within a theological ontology. The partnership of EP with dramatic scientific advances in cognitive neuroscience, the Human Genome Project, and proteonomics represent a powerful scientific hegemony in ultimately defining the human condition. The author's Hebraic model of integration proposes a robust framework for accommodating this hegemony within a theological ontology and eschatology, but without appealing to an apologetic of "intelligent design" or an "inner-agent" superseding the natural order. It is a holistic approach based on the core assumptions of physicalism and the power of an empirical epistemology in understanding and treating emotional brokenness. It also sees redemptive emotional healing as portent of the eschatological hope of the physical resurrection, deep social renewal, and the human place in ecological restoration in the Kingdom of God.