Küng - Der Anfang aller Dinge. Introduction.

I am just about to start a small series on Küng's new book, Der Anfang aller Dinge. I am not yet finished, and so I will write brief summaries of each part as I complete them. I shall quote the German, and then provide a rough English translation, thereby hopefully making it a smidgen more accessible to my non-German speaking readers.

Although I'm only 100 pages or so through, I can already report that it is an exceedingly well written book, a highly engaging. And what book by any intelligent author could be anything else when it concerns such a broad and fascinating a subject as the "Ursprung und Sinn des Weltalls als Ganzes, ja, der Wirklichkeit überhaupt" ("origin and meaning of the universe as a whole, yes, reality in its entirety")!

The book does, however, focus in on and address two primary sets of questions:

1. The key question about the "Anfang überhaupt: Warum existiert das Universum? Warum existiert nicht nichts? Die Frage also nach dem Sein des Universums schlechthin" ("the ultimate Beginning: Why does the universe exist? Why does not nothing exist? The question. then, concerning the Being of the universe, in its entirety")
2. The framing question concerning the "Anfangsbedingungen: Warum ist das Universum so, wie es ist? Warum hat es gerade diese Eigenschaften, die für unser menschliches Leben und Überleben entscheidend sind? Die Frage also nach dem So-Sein des Universums" ("the Beginning-conditions: Why is the universe the way it is? Why does it have exactly these qualities - qualities decisive for our human life and survival? The question, then, concerning the type-of-Being of the universe") (p. 16).

The book is divided into six parts including the epilogue:

A. Eine vereinheitlichte Theorie für alles? ("a unified Theory for everything?")
B. Gott als Anfang? ("God as the beginning?")
C. Weltschöpfung oder Evolution? ("World creation or evolution?")
D. Leben im Kosmos? ("Life in the cosmos?")
E. Der Anfang der Menschheit ("the beginning of the human race")
Epilog: Das Ende aller Dinge ("The end of all things")