Albatross by C.W. Steinle
Two Skies, One Horizon: Rethinking Prophecy and Progress in Albatross
C.W. Steinle’s Albatross: Faith, Science, and the Future undertakes the ambitious task of reconciling Christian eschatology with humanity’s scientific aspirations. Structured in two parts—“The Albatross of Apocalyptic Fear” and “The Albatross of Godless Evolution”—the book argues that both fatalistic religiosity and rigid materialism weigh heavily on modern thought, curbing human potential and spiritual imagination. Through historical analysis, theological reflection, and scientific literacy, Steinle urges readers to shed these burdens and envision a faith that embraces discovery, cosmic wonder, and ethical responsibility.
With over twenty-five works spanning theology, history, and cultural commentary, Steinle writes as both scholar and teacher. His grasp of church history—from patristic interpretations of the Millennium to the 20th-century dispensationalism popularized by Scofield’s Reference Bible—is thorough and well-documented. Biblical exegesis is balanced by attention to archaeology, astrophysics, and cosmology, citing sources from patristic writings to studies of the Chicxulub impact crater. Whether discussing the Septuagint’s genealogies or the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis, Steinle engages scholarship with care, often synthesizing complex material for general readers without oversimplification.
Steinle writes in a lucid, often lyrical style. Vivid metaphors—the man beneath “two skies” of prophecy and progress, the “albatross” of eschatological fear—frame theological arguments in memorable images. While the prose occasionally leans toward the sermonic, it largely avoids polemics, inviting dialogue rather than demanding assent. Complex debates on creation, cosmology, and millennialism are presented with clarity, aided by well-structured chapters and transitional summaries that guide readers through dense historical and scientific terrain.
The book’s chief strength lies in its even-handedness: Steinle neither surrenders Christian hope to scientific materialism nor retreats into apocalyptic literalism. By revisiting neglected biblical themes—parables of delay, cosmic renewal rather than annihilation—he opens theological space for exploration, stewardship, and intellectual curiosity. Particularly compelling is his alignment of prophecy with ethics, suggesting that readiness for Christ’s return should foster cultural and scientific engagement, not resignation.
Readers seeking deep exegetical analysis or advanced cosmology may find treatments occasionally panoramic rather than exhaustive. Yet for a work aiming to shift the Overton Window on faith-and-science discourse, such accessibility is arguably its virtue.
Albatross arrives at a cultural moment marked by both apocalyptic rhetoric and accelerating scientific frontiers. In dialogue with writers like N.T. Wright on eschatology and Francis Collins on faith and science, Steinle contributes a distinctive voice calling for theological maturity in an age of space telescopes and climate crises. By reframing prophecy as promise rather than threat, he offers Christian thought a future-oriented horizon often missing in popular eschatology.
Albatross succeeds in lifting its titular burden: it neither abandons Christian orthodoxy nor fears scientific wonder but calls for a synthesis of hope, stewardship, and cosmic imagination. Suitable for pastors, lay readers, and skeptics alike, it invites all to envision faith not as a brake on progress but as wind in its sails—a book well worth reading, and discussing, in an age beneath “two skies.”
—N3UR4L Reviews
