ASA Recommended Books

The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Dosen’t Say About Human Origins

Jack Haas — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:32:18 +0000

Peter Enns, “The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Dosen’t Say About Human Origins,” Brazos Press, paper (2012). List: $17.99 Amazon: $11.99. Pete Enns has been at the fore of the recent Evangelical discussion of Genesis. Following the lines of his earlier “Inspiration and Incarnation,” he seeks to help American Evangelicals who “feel that a synthesis between a biblically conversant Christian faith and evolution is a pressing concern.” He argues that our view of Adam needs to be “adjusted in the light of the (1) scientific evidence supporting evolution and (2) literary evidence from the world of the Bible that helps clarify the kind of literature it is – that is, what it means to read it as it was meant to be read.”

Traditional approaches just will not do! Enns offers a new path which he lays out in two sections – Genesis: an Ancient Story of Israelite Self-Definition and Understanding Paul’s Adam. There is much that will be new to many ASA readers. It would be helpful if small groups would gather to discuss this material – perhaps with a pastor. The Conclusion, “Adam Today: Nine Theses” outlines the core issues
around which study groups might gather. As with quantum mechanics, we will need time to gain appreciation for what may appear to be an impossible paradigm shift. A well written and valuable addition to the faith-science literature.

Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design

Jack Haas — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:40:23 +0000

Deborah B Haarsma and Loren Haarsma, “Origins, Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design,” Faith Alive, Revised Second Edition (2011) Paperback List $14.99

When it comes to the history of the universe, many believe that science and faith are mutually exclusive. But in this revised version of Origins, physics professors Loren and Deborah Haarsma explore what God’s Word and God’s world teach us about creation, evolution, and intelligent design.

Clearly explaining the science, the authors focus on areas where Christians agree. They also present the strengths and weaknesses of areas where Christians differ.

Origins helps you develop a deeper understanding of the origins of the universe and sort out your own views on faith and science. Small group discussion questions follow each chapter. A companion website provides resources for further study.

Real Scientists, Real Faith: 17 Leading Scientists Reveal the Harmony Between Their Science and Their Faith

Jack Haas — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:06:59 +0000

R. J. Berry, “Real Scientists, Real Faith: 17 Leading Scientists Reveal the Harmony between their Science and their Faith,” Monarch Books (2009) Paper, (List: $14.99, ASA Store $12.00.)
“The point of the author of each of the 17 tightly-packed autobiographies (about 15 pages each) in this book is first of all a simple and explicit declaration that in his or her life there is no clash whatever between the author’s religious faith (Christianity, in every case here) and career in science (high-level research and professorships, in medicine, genetics, psychiatry, environmental studies, geology, nanotechnology, biochemistry, … ”

“Secondly, each author describes either how he maintained his childhood and adolescent Christian faith in the (usually) overtly or covertly hostile atmosphere of university and professional scientific life, or else, as is quite often the case, came fresh to adult Christian faith during his studies or career in science, after a lapse from early Christianity or else from a totally agnostic or atheistic background.”

“There is no single route, in the detail, from unbelief to belief. It is nonetheless true that in every case the `convert’ came eventually to see that faith in a Creator God (and in a suffering and resurrected divine Redeemer), and k

The Prism and the Rainbow: A Christian Explains Why Evolution Is Not a Threat

Jack Haas — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 17:36:51 +0000

Joel Martin, “The Prism and the Rainbow: A Christian Explains Why Evolution Is Not a Threat,” Johns Hopkins University Press (2010) List: $20.00, Amazon $15.00.

“..As an engineer I depend on scientists for research to support basic design ideas. Scientist Dr. Joel Martin provides the research for Christians to discuss evolution and creationism ideas. He argues convincingly that the science of evolution is not a threat to Christians. He provides researched data for discussing positions of Christian denominations, definition of terms, and extensive references for serious study of the topic. ”The Prism and the Rainbow” is a particularly valuable resource for the Sunday school teacher with questioning high school students in the class.”

“…As one who has spent the past several years engaging in public discussions about evolution and religion at various church and educational venues, I had been contemplating writing a book like this one for quite some time. Thankfully Joel Martin has beaten me to it.”

“…The author starts from the position that biological evolution is true and cites a number of very good references for the interested reader to pursue the evidence. He touches on the problem of reading the Bible too literally with an interesting example. His discussion of creationism is rather limited, but he provides a very good discussion of the problems with intelligent design. Along the way, he offers some good insights, such as “Science does not invent nature; it simply reveals nature. If this is God’s world, then science can only reveal God’s world” and “A wise reader does not get caught up in the details and lose the important message. The book does not go deeply into the theological issues involved in integrating science and the Bible. The prism and the rainbow are intended to illustrate that “a natural phenomenon be given a scientific explanation and yet be mentioned in the Bible as (and believed by Christians to be) a sign from, and a creation of, God.” (portions of three Amazon reviews)

Science and Religion Around the World

Jack Haas — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:53:17 +0000

John Headley Brooke and Ronald L. Numbers, Science and Religion Around the World, Dec 2010 Oxford University Press USA, Paperback: 236 pages, List: $29.95, Amazon $29.95 (or less)

The past quarter-century has seen an explosion of interest in the history of science and religion. But all too often the scholars writing it have focused their attention almost exclusively on the Christian experience, with only passing reference to other traditions of both science and faith. At a time when religious ignorance and misunderstanding have lethal consequences, such provincialism must be avoided and, in this pioneering effort to explore the historical relations of what we now call “science” and “religion,” the authors go beyond the Abrahamic traditions to examine the way nature has been understood and manipulated in regions as diverse as ancient China, India, and sub-Saharan Africa. Science and Religion around the World also provides authoritative discussions of science in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — as well as an exploration of the relationship between science and the loss of religious beliefs. The narratives included in this book demonstrate the value of plural perspectives and of the importance of location for the construction and perception of science-religion relations.–Publisher.

When Faith & Science Collide

Jack Haas — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:15:26 +0000

G. R. Davidson , When Faith and Science Collide: A Biblical Approach to Evaluating Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Age of the Earth, (2009) Malius Press, 292 pp. (Paperback) (Amazon: $12.50) “Dr. Davidson’s book “When Faith & Science Collide” is a refreshing addition to the spectrum of work that has been recently published on the subject Science and Creation. Davidson has focused his book on a Christian audience caught up in the warfare dichotomy stemming primarily from the interpretation of Genesis 1-11. The issues encompass the history, science and concordism of scripture written about God’s act of creation in the first book of the Bible. The book sets the stage with a young scientist torn between accepting the academic training he received in college vs. a literal interpretation of scripture offered by a friend. As with most individuals schooled in various fields of science, the young former Christian made what he thought was the only logical choice and went with reason rather than a “fundamental” Christian worldview. Here lies the purpose of the book. Davidson developed the following simple model to evaluate the conflict, “There are three questions that should be asked any time a scientific theory appears to conflict with scripture.
1) Does the infallibility of scripture rest on a literal interpretation of the verses in question?
2) Does the science conflict with the intended message of the scripture?
3) Is the science credible?
Read this wonderful book on Christian Scientific Apologetics.”–R. Buckman

Dr. Davidson earned a B.S. in Geology from Wheaton College in Illinois, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Hydrology from the University of Arizona before joining the faculty in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi in 1996. Professor Davidson teaches, consults, and conducts original research in geochemistry and hydrogeology, often employing radiometric dating methods to determine the age of groundwater and sediment.

Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, And Theological Commentary

Jack Haas — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:33:40 +0000

John C. Collins, Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, And Theological Commentary 318 pp., ISBN: 0875526195, 2006, P & R Publishing, Paperback, (List $17.99, CBD $ 14.99).

“I was privileged to read this book in manuscript form. In this commentary, Collins follows up on his intriguing insights developed briefly in his previous book, Science and Faith: Friends of Foes? For anyone searching for a thoughtful, informed, orthodox, and persuasive explanation of the first four chapters of the Bible, this book is simply the best there is.” –Jay W. Richards

“Collins has produced a truly scholarly and masterful exegesis of the opening chapters of Genesis. With careful attention to the language and conventions of the text, and with an eye towards historic Reformed theology, he argues that the narrative is an “exalted prose narrative” that is at once historically grounded in and analogical to the ordinary human experiences of the text’s original readers. This is a useful corrective to those who insist, for example,that the “days” of creation are “ordinary” days, as well as to those who hold that the text is merely mytho-poetic. He does this while addressing other views critically but respectfully. Whatever position you hold on the meaning of the Biblical creation narrative, you should admire Collins’ work for both its substance and spirit.”–David W. Opderbeck.

C. John Collins (Ph.D., University of Liverpool) is professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary. He is the author of The God of Miracles and Science and Faith.

Adam’s Ancestors: Medicine, Science, and Religion in Historical Context,

Jack Haas — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 13:33:15 +0000

David N. Livingstone, Adam’s Ancestors: Medicine, Science, and Religion in Historical Context, hardcover, 2008 320 pp. 2 halftones, 24 line drawings (List: $35.00, Amazon:$28.63).

“A great piece of scholarship and an equally great read. Particularly instructive is Livingstone’s discussion of monogenism, polygenism, and the various ways these theories of human origins were used in the social and political arena. This is a substantial contribution to the history of anthropology, of evolution theory, of race and racialist thought, and of science and religion.” –Nicolaas Rupke, Institute for Science History, Georg-August University of Gottingen.

“A remarkable achievement. It is a tightly organized and coherently packaged account of a set of ideas which mainstream scholarship now ignores. Controversial themes and explosive issues abound in Livingstone’s work, which is important, topical, and fascinating.”– Colin Kidd, University of Glasgow

David N. Livingstone is a professor of geography and intellectual history at the Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, and author of several books, including Putting Science in Its Place: Geographies of Scientific Knowledge, The Geographical Tradition, and Darwin’s Forgotten Defenders.

The Believing Primate: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections on the Origin of Religion

Jack Haas — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:03:56 +0000

Michael Murray, Jeffrey Schloss, eds. The Believing Primate: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Reflections on the Origin of Religion , 2010 Oxford University Press, 384 pages, Bibliography, Index, Paperback (List: $35.00, Amazon $30.61)

Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely as constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. The Believing Primate aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate ongoing debate on these perennial questions.–Publisher

Jeffrey Schloss is Professor of Biology at Westmont College. Michael Murray is Arthur and Katherine Shadek Professor in the Humanities and Philosophy at Franklin and Marshall College.

When Science and Christianity Meet

Jack Haas — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:45:27 +0000

David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers, editors When Science and Christianity Meet. 368 pages., 2008, Paper, University of Chicago Press. (List: $20.00, Amazon: $18.00) PSCF Review

“…The eleven authors have worked under strong editorial hands resulting in accounts that fit together ‘even reveal a pattern’ in address[ing] the varied relationships between two powerful cultural traditions attempting, sometimes, to occupy the same intellectual and social ground (pp. 4-5)… bring perspective to more recent concerns over the place of God in nature including the efforts of partisans of ID to rewrite the ground rules of science to allow the inclusion of supernatural explanations of phenomena. Notes on each chapter and a guide to further reading offer valuable supplements to the text. The chapters are well integrated and the work is accessible for the general reader. When Science & Christianity Meet should be part of the library of any Christian who seeks to understand the influence of science on faith.” – PSCF