Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist - Hardcover

Roughgarden, Joan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1597260983 ISBN 13: 9781597260985

Publisher: Island Press, 2006

Synopsis

"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 seeing 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.

About this title

Review:

"Joan Roughgarden is more than an accomplished evolutionary biologist; she is also brave. Combining lucid evolutionary reasoning with personal Christian faith, she builds a remarkable bridge across the cultural chasm between science and faith in America today. Roughgarden rejects both junk science based on spurious metaphors and junk religion based on spurious theology. In their place, she offers an inspiring accommodation between thoughtful science and compassionate religion."
--Michael Rose, Professor of evolutionary biology, University of California, Irvine

"Clear and brilliantly concise, Dr. Roughgarden's thoughtful analysis sheds much-needed light on the contemporary debate over the compatibility of Christian belief and evolutionary biology. Eschewing polarizing rhetoric and antithetical claims, she demonstrates that there is no contradiction between Christian faith and the facts of evolution and that it is false to suggest such dichotomous thinking is required by either faithfulness to the Bible or scientific evidence. Roughgarden's fresh approach suggests that much in the Bible invites Christians to recognize God's good creation precisely as a universe in evolution."
--Patricia Beattie Jung, Professor of theology, Loyola University Chicago

About the Author:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1597260983
• ISBN 13: 9781597260985
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 168