From Big Bang To Big Mystery

Introduction
PART ONE: A Conversation Between Myth, Philosophy And Revelation On The Human And On Nature
Chapter One: Is There A Barcode For Humanity?
Chapter Two: ‘In The Beginning…’
PART TWO: The Scientific Partners In The Conversation: What Science Is And How It Can Complement Rather Than Replace Or Invalidate Philosophy And Revelation
Chapter Three: ‘The Universe Must Have Known We Were Coming’
Chapter Four: Darwin And The Evolution Of Evolution
PART THREE: How We Belong And Yet – Because Of The ‘human Revolution’ – Don’t Fully Belong To The Hominid Sequence
Chapter Five: Hanging By Our Ancestors’ Tails?
Chapter Six: On The Threshold Of The Human Mystery: Was There A ‘human Revolution’?
PART FOUR: The Seven Grace Notes In The ‘Sonata For A Good Man’
Chapter Seven: The First Three Grace Notes In The Human Sonata
Chapter Eight: Two More Grace Notes In The Human Sonata
Chapter Nine: The Last Chords In The Human Sonata
Chapter Ten: The Human Person’s Limitless Orientation To Horizons Of Beauty, Meaning, Truth, And Goodness
PART FIVE: Meeting You Face To Face – The Human Person As Communion
Chapter Eleven: From Big Bang To Big Mystery
Bibliography
Author Index
Acknowledgments

Additional Info
In a fascinating, accessible and thorough study, renowned priest Brendan Purcell explores the question of human origins. Covering a phenomenal range of material, Purcell moves easily between analysis of the various scientific perspectives on how humans are unique (emerging from a perhaps seven million year hominid sequence) and his suggestion that what is really needed is a look at why humans are unique. This pushes the zoological/paleontological discussion into the realm of philosophy and theology and gives new life to considerations of human emergence suggesting, even, that humans are better understood as an unprecedented cultural and spiritual event.