How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science (BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity)

The contributors to this book do the Christian church a great service by revealing their struggles with an issue that has created unnecessary division within the church. The essays are not designed to convince the reader by using logic and arguments. Rather, they reveal the impact of lack of humility in the interpretation of scripture and fear of science. As a Christian physician, I was extremely impressed with the quality of the authors and their willingness to share their journeys. I have had similar concerns with the impact that young earth dogma can have on our youth and scientifically literate seekers who may be turned off to a belief system that requires them to reject some basic tenets of science. Give a copy to pastors, youth leaders, and anyone who struggles with the "faith vs science" false conflict.

Many readers will have similiar experiences and questions along their own journeys as did this contributingwriters. The value of these is to help readers think of all the relevant questions to ask and to know theyare not alone.

Testimony after testimony of brothers and sisters in the faith who needlessly suffered a crisis of faith. No matter your view on origins, this is an important call to end the war between science and faith that produces strife among the brethren, obstacles before the skeptics, and a giddy satisfaction for Screwtape.

Growing up in an evangelical home, I imbibed early on young earth creationism. After I moved to the UK, I began to grasp that this was principally an American phenomenon, rooted in the unique religious history of the United States. However, upon returning to the States, I despaired until I began to discovered the significant body of evangelical literature that has embraced both sound theological and scientific scholarship.This book captures the stories of twenty-five of these theologians and scientists. This is an important book to pass along to those who think conservative theology or a high view of scripture requires an acceptance of young earth creationism, whether because they are struggling with the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, or, happy in their assumptions and hermeneutics, disprove of those who see no contradiction between vibrant, living faith in Jesus and a creation that took place gradually over billions of years. Testimonies like these are particularly important in an era where the Church has lost most of those aged 18-30 - especially those with a modicum of post-secondary education.

Evolution and Christianity are not in conflict. That is one very important thing that I have learned from BioLogos in general, and from this book. This book isn't a science textbook, nor is it a theology textbook. So, if you're looking for a book like that, this isn't for you. This book is a compilation of personal testimonies of Christians who struggled to reconcile what they believed was true theologically and what they believed was true scientifically, and how these people came out on the other side with their faith intact. They found that they didn't have to throw out what scientists said nor did they have to throw our their Bibles. Science and Faith can exist in harmony.I recommend this book to both Christians and Non-Christians. It is an easy read. The chapters are only a few pages long. And it will make you think about whether or not Charles Darwin really was the big scary threat to faith so many people made him out to be.

Great service good seller. Bad book it’s propaganda don’t waste your money.

In this collection of personal stories of Christians who have come to accept biological evolution, I thought that it was rather odd that the very first essay was by James K. A. Smith, professor of philosophy at Calvin College, who is such a lukewarm supporter of evolutionary creation: “Indeed, I began to realize that while some of my friends and colleagues who were evolutionary creationists affirmed a very different sort of science from what I’d been taught at Bible college, they actually mirrored my Bible college professors in so far as they were using science in a similar way. While they had swapped positions (and many of them had been former young-earth creationists), they hadn’t given up the culture war stance that comes with such positions. Science was still a weapon used in a war. The point was winning, not witness. And it seemed to me that this stance was fostered by fear. If young-earth creationists feared the erosion of biblical faith and a compromise of the gospel—a fear that drove their “culture war” stance—then some of my evolutionary creationist colleagues seemed to fear being perceived as hicks and fundamentalists, losing the respect of their colleagues in the academy or opinion-shapers in culture” (p. 27)Several other essays would have been better choices for Chapter 1, such as the essays by Deborah Haarsma, Jeff Hardin, Francis Collins, Justin Barrett, Denis Lamoureux, or Kathryn Applegate.Additionally, the essays by Amos Yong and Richard Dahlstrom were particularly good.Prof. Amos Yong summarizes his current Pentecostal Christian position very nicely: “But as a Christian who is committed to a high view of Scripture, I still have to understand how the Bible is compatible with, if not complementary to, what science tells us. In particular, I urge that we rely on the work of biblical scholars to help us understand that the ancient narrative of Genesis ought to be read in its historical and cultural context rather than as a (modern) scientific account. I am now convinced that the Scriptures affirm only that God created the world, while science fills in the details of how that happened. Surely, again, this does not mean that no difficult questions remain. For instance, how should we think about Adam and Eve in relation to evolutionary theory? I look forward to developments in the field of biblical scholarship that will increase our understanding.” (p. 171)Richard Dahlstrom states: “It’s as if the church has created a Y in the road: intellectual integrity one way, faith the other. Thousands stand at this crossroads that the church has unwittingly created and walk away from their faith. The greatest tragedy of this departure is that the Y in the road is a fabrication of religionists, not a construct of either God or the Bible.” (p. 174)Unfortunately, this collection of interesting personal stories does not go very far into how evolution and Christian theology are compatible. For that, I would recommend Denis Lamoureux’s book “I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution” and/or Peter Enns’s book “The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say About Human Origins.” For additional personal stories, I recommend “Christians and Evolution: Christian Scholars Change Their Mind”, edited by R. J. Berry and/or "Nazarenes Exploring Evolution," edited by Sherri B. Walker & Thomas Jay Oord.

Good, brief bios of theologians, scientists, and ministers on how they reconcile evolution with Christian faith. Not all were as engaging or profound as others. But especially notable were the chapters from James K. A. Smith, Amos Yong, Dennis Lamoureux, Kathryn Applegate, and Richard Mouw. The book is helpful not so much by way of providing evidence for belief in evolution, but in exploring the spiritual, psychological, and even emotional journies involved in coming to decisions involving science and faith. Those wrestling with such matters will be encouraged to know they are not alone.

Great book