RE: [asa] Recommendation for a book on evolution?

I would disagree that the evangelical theological community (whatever that is) has been sitting on the sidelines. Many conservative evangelicals have a deep distrust of theologians (and there may be good reason for a fair amount of that distrust). So, the theologians are not going to have the same influence in shaping the thoughts of conservatives. These folks generally don't write scholarly books, but they are very vocal about their thoughts. Unfortunately, these thoughts are often treated with a certain amount of disdain and are dismissed by the scientific community (some of whom used to be dismissed themselves in the past). Pastors and the people in the pews (or folding chairs or theater seats in some churches) are not buying the arguments offered that attempt to reconcile evolution and Christian faith. Much the same picture is seen in other science-faith arenas, such as the stem cell debate.

Don Calbreath
________________________________
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of Steve Martin [steven.dale.martin@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 2:50 PM
To: David Opderbeck
Cc: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: [asa] Recommendation for a book on evolution?

Hi David,

I don't have Wilcox's book handy but from what I remember it really doesn't tackle the theological issues that deeply either. I do remember appreciating his stuff on human evolution though & thinking that it was a great complement to Falk's book. For the science perspective (which was Paul's original query) these two probably fit the bill as a good introduction - probably more so than Collins' (although to be fair, I read Collins' book last - so by the time I got to it much of the discussion was old hat).

What I find fascinating is that as of 10 years ago there were virtually no books on evolution written from an Evangelical perspective (were there any? corrections welcome.). In the recent past there have been a flurry of books on the topic, but virtually all of them have been by Evangelical scientists. There are none by Evangelical theologians that are not also scientists (eg. mcgrath, polkinghorne, george murphy "The cosmos in the light of the cross"). (Again, corrections welcome). My take on what is happening:

 * For a very long time (basically since the early 20th century fundamentalist / liberal split) Evangelicals were almost by definition anti-evolution (probably betraying my North American perspective here - might be different across the pond).
 * Although there certainly were some Evangelicals (mostly scientists?) in the mid-late 20th century who disagreed with this opposition, these voices were completely marginalized
 * Only very recently has the Evangelical scientific community become more public with their view that acceptance of biological evolution is compatible with an Evangelical expression of the Christian faith.
 * The Evangelical theological community has in my view remained on the sidelines so far. So the scientists are forced to work with the tools they have. No professional help is being provided.

My summary: I don't think we should be too hard on Evangelical scientists like Collins, Falk, and Wilcox for not demonstrating theological depth. They are doing a great service on the scientific side and doing the best they can on the theological side (believe me, its better than I could do!). Maybe we just need to be patient. Then again, maybe we should be lobbying the theologians.

thanks,

On 12/13/07, David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com<mailto:dopderbeck@gmail.com>> wrote:

I enjoyed Falk's book as well, particularly his personal story. However, I thought it was exceedingly weak theologically. He really doesn't address any of the key theological or hermeneutical issues, except with the same kind of hand waiving as Francis Collins: "it's all figurative." If people want to engage these things from an evangelical perspective, they have to do a better job on the theology. I didn't see any Amazon reviews for David Wilcox's book -- how was it on the theological issues?

On Dec 13, 2007 1:33 PM, Steve Martin <steven.dale.martin@gmail.com<mailto:steven.dale.martin@gmail.com>> wrote:

Hi Paul,

I agree with Allan. I definitely recommend Falk's book as the place to start. That being said, one aspect of Falk's book that I found disappointing was his almost complete silence on human evolution (hominid doesn't even appear in the index!). For that, you might want to check out God and Evolution: A Faith-Based Understanding <http://www.amazon.ca/God-Evolution-Faith-Based-David-Wilcox/dp/0817014748/ref=sr_1_1/702-4509785-5691256?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178932826&sr=1-1> by David Wilcox.

thanks,

On 12/13/07, steamdoc@aol.com<mailto:steamdoc@aol.com> < steamdoc@aol.com<mailto:steamdoc@aol.com> > wrote:
Paul Bruggink asks "for one recent mass market book that makes the scientific case for evolution."

No question in my mind, THE book that best fits that description is "Coming to Peace with Science" by Darrel Falk (IV Press, 2004). It isn't clear whether you were asking for a book from a Christian perspective (which this is, Falk is a biology Prof. at Point Loma Nazarene), but this is the best accessible presentation I have seen from any perspective of the evidence that evolution has happened. Maybe the lack of such "making the case" books (at least that I am aware of) from non-Christian sources reflects that it is mostly only Christians who need convincing at that basic level.
The book by Francis Collins also makes the scientific case to some extent, but Falk's book is much stronger in that regard.

Allan (ASA Member)
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Dr. Allan H. Harvey, Boulder, CO, steamdoc at aol dot com
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