Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist

Front Cover
Island Press, Aug 1, 2006 - Science - 168 pages
Click here to visit evolutionandchristianfaith.org

"I'm an evolutionary biologist and a Christian," states Stanford professor Joan Roughgarden at the outset of her groundbreaking new book, Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist. From that perspective, she offers an elegant, deeply satisfying reconciliation of the theory of evolution and the wisdom of the Bible.

Perhaps only someone with Roughgarden's unique academic standing could examine so well controversial issues such as the teaching of intelligent design in public schools, or the potential flaws in Darwin's theory of evolution. Certainly Roughgarden is uniquely suited to reference both the minutiae of scientific processes and the implication of Biblical verses. Whether the topic is mutation rates and lizards or the hidden meanings behind St. Paul's letters, Evolution and Christian Faith distils complex arguments into everyday understanding. Roughgarden has scoured the Bible and scanned the natural world, finding examples time and again, not of conflict, but of harmony.

The result is an accessible and intelligent context for a Christian vision of the world that embraces science. In the ongoing debates over creationism and evolution, Evolution and Christian Faith will be seen as a work of major significance, written for contemporary readers who wonder how-or if-they can embrace scientific advances while maintaining their traditional values.

From inside the book

Contents

Ch1 Science with Religion
3
Ch 2 Single Tree of Life
13
Ch 3 Species Change
24
Ch 4 Taking the Bible Literally
30
Ch 5 How Change Happens
36
Ch 6 Random Mutation
42
Ch 7 Evolutions Direction
49
Ch 8 Roman Catholic Position
53
Ch 9 To Do List for Theorists
66
Ch 10 Intelligent Design
80
Ch 11 Gender and Sexuality
102
Ch 12 Future Directions
125
Index
147
Copyright

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Popular passages

Page 18 - For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
Page 95 - And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
Page 20 - And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden; and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Page 44 - Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth : And when the sun was up, they were scorched : and because they had no root, they withered away.
Page 34 - And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions ? if the LORD be God, follow him : but if Baal, then follow him.

About the author (2006)

Joan Roughgarden is professor of biological sciences and of geophysics at Stanford University. Her many books include Evolution's Rainbow (University of California Press, 2004), Primer of Ecological Theory (Prentice Hall, 1995), and Theory of Population Genetics and Evolutionary Ecology (Macmillan, 1979). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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