America's Search for a Creation Story

In Species of Origins, Karl W. Giberson and Donald A. Yerxa examine America's controversial conversation about creation and evolution. While noting that part of the discord stems from the growing cultural and religious diversity of the United States, they argue powerfully that the real issue is the headlong confrontation between two seemingly incompatible worldviews upon which millions of Americans rely: modern naturalistic science and traditional Judeo-Christian religions.

Evolution and Dogma

This 1896 volume by Reverend J. A. Zahm, a professor of physics at the University of Notre Dame, considers the Catholic theological tradition as it relates to evolution. The author discusses Darwin's theory of evolution in detail, and traces the debate between theologians and scientists back to the early days of evolutionary theory. He compares late nineteenth-century evolutionary theory and the beliefs of the Catholic church, carefully evaluating the arguments and probing errors and misconceptions in theory and terminology. He also attempts to shed light on the little-understood relations between evolutionism and Christianity as a whole, and discusses whether a person of any Christian denomination can be an evolutionist. Zahm's thoughtful work is considered to be one of the most important volumes on evolution ever written by a Catholic.

Life Evolving: Molecules, Mind, and Meaning

In just a half century, humanity has made an astounding leap in its understanding of life. Now, one of the giants of biological science, Christian de Duve, discusses what we've learned in this half century, ranging from the tiniest cells to the future of our species and of life itself.

With wide-ranging erudition, de Duve takes us on a dazzling tour of the biological world, beginning with the invisible workings of the cell, the area in which he won his Nobel Prize. He describes how the first cells may have arisen and suggests that they may have been like the organisms that exist today near deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Contrary to many other scientists, he argues that life was bound to arise and that it probably only took millennia —maybe tens of thousands of years— to move from rough building blocks to the first organisms possessing the basic properties of life. With equal authority, De Duve examines topics such as the evolution of humans, the origins of consciousness, the development of language, the birth of science, and the origin of emotion, morality, altruism, and love. He concludes with his conjectures on the future of humanity —for instance, we may evolve, perhaps via genetic engineering, into a new species— he shares his personal thoughts about God and immortality.

In Life Evolving, one of our most eminent scientists sums up what he has learned about the nature of life and our place in the universe. An extraordinarily wise and humane volume, it will fascinate readers curious about the world around them and about the impact of science on philosophy and religion.

Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins

Over the course of human history, the sciences, and biology in particular, have often been manipulated to cause immense human suffering. For example, biology has been used to justify eugenic programs, forced sterilization, human experimentation, and death camps —all in an attempt to support notions of racial superiority. By investigating the past, the contributors to Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins hope to better prepare us to discern ideological abuse of science when it occurs in the future.  

Denis R. Alexander and Ronald L. Numbers bring together fourteen experts to examine the varied ways science has been used and abused for nonscientific purposes from the fifteenth century to the present day. Featuring an essay on eugenics from Edward J. Larson and an examination of the progress of evolution by Michael J. Ruse, Biology and Ideology examines uses both benign and sinister, ultimately reminding us that ideological extrapolation continues today. An accessible survey, this collection will enlighten historians of science, their students, practicing scientists, and anyone interested in the relationship between science and culture.

Quarks, Chaos & Christianity: Questions to Science And Religion

Templeton Award winner and theoretical physicist John Polkinghorne explores the gap between science and religion. "Do we have to choose between the scientific and religious views of the world, or are they complementary understandings that give us a fuller picture than either on their own would provide?" Quarks, Chaos, & Christianity shows the ways that both science and religion point to something greater than ourselves. Topics include: chaos theory; evolution; miracles; cosmology; guest for God; how God answers prayer; our human nature; religious fact and opinion; scientists and prayer.

Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul

Few have weighed in on the nation's contentious debate over evolution as effectively as Kenneth R. Miller. In Only a Theory, Miller-the highly regarded scientist who offered expert testimony at the 2005 trial over the teaching of evolution in Dover, Pennsylvania-eloquently shows how "Intelligent Design" collapses at the very moment one begins to take it seriously. Miller shows that the attack on evolution is a broader assault on the skepticism and reason that have fueled America's remarkable scientific advances, and offers an encouraging prescription for how we can save the nation's "scientific soul" to which we owe so much.

Perspectives on an Evolving Creation

According to the authors of this book, who explore evolutionary theory from a clear Christian perspective, the common view of conflict between evolutionary theory and Christian faith is mistaken. Written by contributors representing the natural sciences, philosophy, theology, and the history of science, this thought-provoking work is informed by both solid scientific knowledge and keen theological insight. The three sections of the book address (1) relevant biblical, historical, and scientific background, (2) the scientific evidence for an evolving creation, and (3) theological issues commonly raised in connection with evolution, including the nature of Gods creative activity, the meaning of the miraculous, and the uniqueness of humankind.

God and evolution: fundamental questions of Christian evolutionism

Written by Archbishop Józef Zycinski of Lublin, this book offers an important and insightful examination of the basic philosophical questions involved in the relation between evolutionary theory and the Christian religion. It is made more valuable by its serious study of Pope John Paul II's message about evolution issued in 1996.

The book begins with a discussion of the biological and metaphysical aspects of Darwin's own conception of evolution. It goes on to reject two versions of "fundamentalism" --the Christian anti-evolutionism of authors such as Phillip Johnson and the anti-Christian scientism of authors such as Richard Dawkins--and to explore the possibility of a dialogue between evolution and Christian thought from the perspective of Pope John Paul II.

Next, Zycinski calls into question the classical opposition between the teleological and the causal interpretation of evolutionary processes. He attempts to overcome that opposition by reliance on the concepts of supervenience and an evolutionary attractor. In this way, he proposes a new approach in which teleological anthropomorphisms as well as reductionist metaphors are avoided.

The author then presents a theology of nature in which particular attention is given to the immanence of God and to Divine kenosis. Finally, the book offers a theological anthropology, including chapters on the harmonization of paleontology and theological anthropology, the limits of sociobiology, and original sin in relation to scientific knowledge of the human person. 

"Zycinski has written an original and valuable theology of evolution. It is significant that a respected Catholic bishop embraces evolution with such enthusiasm and interprets it in such a sophisticated and appealing way." --John F. Haught, Georgetown University.

Saving Darwin

How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution. Evolution Is Not the Bible's Enemy. Saving Darwin explores the history of the controversy that swirls around evolution science, from Darwin to current challenges, and shows why —and how— it is possible to believe in God and evolution at the same time.

Karl Giberson is an internationally known scholar of science and religion, and one of America’s leading participants in the creation-evolution controversy.

Evolution. The Disguised Friend of Faith?

Arthur Peacocke, eminent priest-scientist, has collected thirteen of his essays for this volume. Previously published in various academic journals and edited books, the provocative essays expand upon the theme of the evolution of nature, humanity, and belief. They are grouped in three parts:

• Natural Evolution, covering topics ranging from the implications of deterministic chaos; biological evolution and Christian theology; chance, potentiality, and God; and complexity, emergence, and divine creativity.
• Humanity Evolving in the Presence of God, articulating God’s presence in and to the world as it is unveiled by the sciences; the chrysalis of the human; the nature and purpose of man in science and Christian theology.
• Theological Evolution—the Re-shaping of Belief, dealing with science and the future of theology; public truth in religion; the incarnation of the self-expressive word of God; DNA; and the challenges and possibilities of western theism.

In the epilogue, Dr. Peacocke discusses wisdom in science and education, referring to Robert Grosseteste, a medieval scientist-theologian.

Negotiating Darwin: the Vatican confronts evolution

Drawing on primary sources made available to scholars only after the archives of the Holy Office were unsealed in 1998, Negotiating Darwin chronicles how the Vatican reacted when six Catholics-five clerics and one layman-tried to integrate evolution and Christianity in the decades following the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species.

As Mariano Artigas, Thomas F. Glick, and Rafael A. Martínez reconstruct these cases, we see who acted and why, how the events unfolded, and how decisions were put into practice. With the long shadow of Galileo's condemnation hanging over the Church as the Scientific Revolution ushered in new paradigms, the Church found it prudent to avoid publicly and directly condemning Darwinism and thus treated these cases carefully.

The authors reveal the ideological and operational stance of the Vatican and describe its secret deliberations. In the process, they provide insight into current debates on evolution and religious belief.

Evolution, Creation and Intelligent Design

In The Origin of Species, Darwin advanced a scientific explanation of the design of organisms. The adaptations of organisms are outcomes not of chance, but of a process that, over time, causes the gradual accumulation of features beneficial to organisms, whenever these features increase the organisms’ chances of surviving and reproducing. There is “design” in the living world: eyes are designed for seeing, wings for flying, and kidneys for regulating the composition of the blood. The design of organisms comes about not by intelligent design, but by a natural process, which is creative through the interaction of chance and necessity.

Organisms are pervaded by imperfections, dysfunctions, cruelties, and even sadism. The theory of evolution accounts for these mishaps by natural selection, as the outcomes of natural processes, so that they need not be attributed to God’s explicit design.

Francisco Ayala

Creation or Evolution - Do We Have to Choose?

It is often thought that an intrinsic compatibility exists between the ideas of ‘creation’ and Darwinian ‘evolution’. This misunderstanding arises from two main sources. First, since the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species (1859) evolution has frequently been used for various social, political, religious or anti-religious purposes. These ideological investments are not intrinsic to the theory, which focuses on providing an explanation for the origins of biological diversity, but have the consequence that in the public domain the term ‘evolution’ often has associations incompatible with the idea of ‘creation’. The second main reason for the supposed incompatibility arises from the US anti-Darwinian creationist and Intelligent Design movements. These movements agree with the claims of ultra-Darwinians such as Richard Dawkins that ‘creation’ and ‘evolution’ provide rival accounts for the origins of biological diversity. This lecture will draw on the traditional understandings of ‘creation’ shared by all the Abrahamic faiths to suggest that there is no need to choose between creation and evolution. Instead they provide two different provide complementary narratives for the history of living things on this planet. Both accounts are important if we are to do justice to the complex reality of life.

Denis Alexander

Francisco Ayala

Francisco J. Ayala is University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Ayala is a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), a recipient of the 2001 National Medal of Science, and served as Chair of the Authoring Committee of Science, Evolution, and Creationism, jointly published in 2008 by the NAS and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ayala has received numerous awards, including the 2010 Templeton Prize for exceptional contribution to affirming life’s spiritual dimension, and 20 honorary degrees from universities in nine countries. He has been President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and President of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society of the United States. Dr. Ayala has written numerous books and articles about the intersection of science and religion, including Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion (Joseph Henry Press, 2007) and Am I a Monkey? (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010). He teaches classes in evolution, genetics, and the philosophy of biology, which are also the subjects of his research.

Denis Alexander

Denis Alexander is Director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmunds College, Cambridge, where he is a fellow. He was previously Chair of the Molecular Immunology Programme and Head of the Laboratory of Lymphocyte Signalling and Development at The Babraham Institute, Cambridge. He is also Editor of the journal Science & Christian Belief and serves on the UK National Committee of Christians in Science. He is the author or editor of several books in the general area of science and religion, most recently Creation or Evolution - Do We Have to Choose? (Oxford: Monarch, 2008, 4th printing 2010), Biology and Ideology - From Descartes to Dawkins (co-edited with Ronald Numbers, Chicago University Press, 2010), and The Language of Genetics - an Introduction (Templeton Foundation Press, 2011).