Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes
Overview
Christians throughout history have believed that God reveals himself both through Scripture and nature. The metaphor of God’s Two Books is often used to represent these two divine revelations. The Book of God’s Words is the Bible. Scripture reveals inerrant spiritual truths. These include, the God of Christianity is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the creation is very good, and only humans are created in the Image of God (Gen. 1:1, 27, 31). The Book of God’s Works is the physical world. Nature declares God’s glory, eternal power, and divine nature (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). Through the gift of science, our Creator has blessed us with the ability to explore and understand the structure, operation, and origin of his creation. Together God’s Two Books offer us a complementary divine revelation of who created the world and how he created it.
A majority of Americans view science and religion as being in conflict, according to the Pew Research Center. Christians and non-Christians alike share this view, yet if this perceived conflict misrepresents the relationship between modern science and Christian faith, then it is both unhelpful and unnecessary today.
In Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes, theologian and scientist Denis O. Lamoureux reviews several options for embracing biblical Christianity and findings of science, including biological evolution. Holding to a high view of Scripture alongside an expert appreciation for scientific discovery, Lamoureux further outlines a way to understand passages referring to the natural world in the Bible and also demonstrates how modern science can point toward God.
Lamoureux shares his own story along the way, recounting struggles many readers will relate to on his journey toward PhDs in both theology and biology and a fruitful relationship between the two.
Key Features
- Presents a biblical model of intelligent design in nature based in Scripture
- Examines the ancient science present in the bible
- Compares different Christian views on origins
Contents
- Trapped in “Either/Or” Thinking
- Opening God’s Two Books
- Terms That Begin to Free Us
- Intelligent Design and the Book of God’s Works
- Ancient Science and the Book of God’s Words
- Moving Beyond the “Evolution” vs. “Creation” Debate
- Galileo and God’s Two Books
- The Religious Evolution of Darwin
- Let the Students Speak!
Praise for the Print Edition
Readers will be enthralled by Denis Lamoureux’s compelling personal story and his compelling evidence. His strong Christian testimony and his conviction that evolution is our best way to understand God’s creative work can be life-changing for those who feel trapped in the belief that they have to choose between creation and evolution. The evidence says they don’t, and Lamoureux’s clear presentation tells them why. Even those who are not inclined to accept an evolutionary model for creation will find a new appreciation for how committed Christians who take the Bible seriously can accept such a model and yet maintain the integrity of their faith.
—John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College
This is a successful and effective academic project, but more than this, it is an utterly convincing decades-long autobiographical account of God’s faithful revelation through the author’s attentive reading of both the Book of God’s Word, written in Scripture, and the Book of God’s Works, written in the material creation that science is privileged to consider. While arguing for an evolutionary dimension to God’s creation, the author is concerned to refute damaging skepticism towards scientific insight, on the part of theologically conservative North American Christians. The outcome provides a more vigorous witness to a scientifically savvy world . . . which includes both young people being raised in Christian communities, and unbelievers for whom the Church seeks an entrée for evangelism!
—Ian Johnston, professor of biological sciences, Bethel University
Product Details
- Title: Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes
- Author: Denis Lamoureux
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Publication Date: 2016
- Pages: 208
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Science
Sample Pages from the Print Edition
Reviews
0 ratings
Doc B
3/29/2018
The title of the first chapter gives the book away as just so much Eastern mystical thinking. So, Denis, you are telling us it is EITHER your 'both/and' way of thinking OR nothing? (That 'either/or' sure has a way of popping up, doesn't it?) I suppose there's a purpose for something like this in a few libraries, but I can't imagine it in mine. I think I'll boycott Faithlife for six months...no resource purchases...as a minor protest for publishing this drivel.
Chi Shun Cheung
3/29/2018
The title of the book is already heretical because nowhere in God's Word will support evolution unless one decides to read his own meaning into the text and twist the intended meaning of God's Word. If one claims that the Bible is God's Word and Holy, like John Rainblot says below, he needs to submit to what God says in His Word, not add his own agenda and meaning into what God had not intended to say.
Larry Craig
3/29/2018
Scripture and nature both say yes? Really? Paul thought that death entered the world through sin, and Jesus thought God created Adam and Eve in the beginning. And science only believes in evolution because it assumes that everything had a natural cause.
John Rainbolt
3/29/2018
The Word of God, the Bible is the source of truth and wisdom. God has given us nature as a witness, however "two books" is a dangerous metaphor. Your world view will dictate your since for without the grace of God you are left with your assumptions. Science should always submit to the authority of the Holy Scriptures.
