Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Holy Writ: A Boy-Turned-Scientist Journeys from Fundamentalism to Faith
Ebook
Overview
An earnest young boy who loves nature grows up the son of a fundamentalist pastor. He goes to college, trains as a biologist, and becomes a successful university professor. In the process he finds some of the religious beliefs that carried him through childhood and adolescence indefensible in the face of evidence from biology and geology--and even from Scripture itself. What’s he to do? This is the journey of a boy-turned-scientist who finds a path away from “the idols of fundamentalism” and toward a universe rich with process, intrigue, and mystery. Along the way, he discovers a faith consistent with physical reality, one open to beauty, kindness, and hope.
”In this thoughtful memoir, ecologist Jim Hayward traces his
personal path of discovery as he came to realize that he was
observing scientific truths that conflicted with what he had been
taught to believe as a young Seventh-day Adventist. In the end, he
emerges both as a credible scientist and a man of faith. This is an
important book for readers who have difficulty resolving their own
conflicts between science and religion."
--Kirk Johnson, Sant Director, National Museum of Natural History,
Smithsonian Institution
“Beautifully and empathically written, this memoir by zoologist
James L. Hayward tells the story of the author’s evolution from
young-age creationism to a scientifically informed, spiritually
sensitive worldview."
--Ronald L. Numbers, Hilldale Professor Emeritus of the History of
Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"How refreshing to find an accomplished biologist who writes with
equal authority and passion about nature and spirituality. And
that’s what Jim Hayward does as he takes us on his fascinating
journey from fundamentalist creationism to the wonders of
evolution, reminding us along the way that there need be no
inherent conflict between science and religion."
--Ross Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Port Townsend,
Washington
"Compellingly and reassuringly explores the crises of faith that
await research-trained Christians who choose to pursue scientific
questions to their furthermost extent."
--Brian Bull, co-author of God, Genesis, & Good News
"Beginning with his experience studying ring-billed gulls on a tiny
island in an eastern Washington lake--the day Mt. St. Helens
erupted--James Hayward takes us back over his life from adolescent
collector of natural specimens to mature scientist and university
professor. His clear, compelling engagement with the scientific
evidence and Scripture shows how he progressively abandoned a
narrow, literalist reading of the biblical creation accounts for an
honest, mature perspective embracing both evolution and personal
faith."
--Jerry Gladson, Senior Adjunct Professor of Religion, Richmont
Graduate University
"The author provides a clear, engaging narrative of the
transformative intellectual path he travelled from the worldview of
childhood to that of a mature, distinguished scientist. In the
process he introduces numerous examples from the explosive
expansion of scientific advances in the last one hundred years that
revolutionized our understanding of physical reality. He
demonstrates how his innate curiosity and intellectual honesty
forced him, sometimes painfully, to embrace the compelling and
powerful paradigms of modern science."
--Alvin L. Kwiram, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of
Washington
Product Details
- Title : Dinosaurs, Volcanoes, and Holy Writ: A Boy-Turned-Scientist Journeys from Fundamentalism to Faith
- Author: Hayward, James L.
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Publication Date: 2020
- ISBN: 9781725257719
James L. Hayward is Professor Emeritus of Biology at Andrews
University. He is the author of The Creation-Evolution
Controversy: An Annotated Bibliography (1998), selected as an
Outstanding Academic Title by Choice.