RE: [asa] Homeschool science curricula

Jack,

I run into a similar situation in that I teach an astronomy and a
paleontology elective to juniors and seniors at our local Christian HS.
I believe it is proper for teachers to express their own beliefs to
their classes, as opposed to some who hide it. I think that at the age
of my students, most think and weigh things for themselves (this is
certainly not 100% true). I think seeing that true Christians disagree
over some matters is very beneficial for younger Christians. I must
also act respectfully myself, just as I would wish to be treated by
those with whom I disagree (this is not always easy). There may very
well be some parents who will be more agitated than those parents who
wrote - just as there are some here who just don't want to re-fight
certain battles over and over again.

I would recommend three books: James Boice, Commentary on Genesis, vol
1. Boice is the late pastor of 10th Presbyterian Church in Phila. A
well respected Reformed theologian, scholar and gifted pastor. He
delivered a series of sermons in the mid '70s dealing in sequence with
Evolution, Theistic E, Gap Theory, Young Earth and "Progressive
Creation." His information is becoming dated, and I do not think he did
fair job of finding more recent living Evangelical Tees (he only refers
to Tallied). With that said - those chapters in his multivolume work
are the best and most thoughtful consideration of the topic that I know
of by a respected conservative theologian. (I use it at school sort of
as a sort of shield from potential parental concern and because I think
they succeed in opening up the discussing gracefully.)

Book number two is by Livingston and Noll, titled "Evolution, Science
and Scripture, Selected Writings by Benjamin B. Warfield." This may be
more for the teacher to select from rather than reading cover to cover.
Warfield was America's great defender of inerrancy AND very sympathetic
to TE.

Number three is "Perspectives on an Evolving Creation", edited by Keith
Miller. The authors in the book are some of the most important people
within the evangelical (stretching it that term somewhat) community
thinking deeply and sympathetically about evolution. Nobody will agree
with every author, but there's plenty of meat to chew here.

Alan McCarrick

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Received on Wed Nov 22 00:29:15 2006