Resources -- Evolution and Faith

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The Case For A Creator, Hardcover By Lee Strobel / Zondervan Corp. Do recent scientific discoveries provide definitive proof of the existence of God? In his characteristic narrative style, Strobel brings this complex topic to vibrant life as he demonstrates how science undergirds Christian beliefs. His conclusions are certain to bolster your faith, as well as break down barriers between seekers and God! During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was outmoded, a belief that colored his ensuing career as an award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune. Science had made the idea of a Creator irrelevant - or so Strobel thought. But today science is pointing in a different direction. In recent years, a diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason. Has science discovered God? At the very least, it's giving faith an immense boost as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe. Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling and highly readable account, you'll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present astonishing evidence in The Case for a Creator.

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Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution By Michael Behe / Simon & Schuster Trade Sales Darwin's theory of evolution has impacted almost every area of our lives. But, as Michael Behe so eloquently asks, "Can all of life be fit into Darwin's theory of evolution?" Particularly, does evolution through the process of natural selection adequately explain the development of life at the molecular level? Behe's (startling) answer: "Although Darwin's mechanism - natural selection working on variation - might explain many things...I do not believe it explains molecular life" (emphasis added). Why is it important for evolution to explain molecular life? According to Behe (and most biochemists), the foundation for evolutionary changes must occur at the molecular level before they can change an organism, and by extension a species. If this is not occurring, as Behe persuasively argues, then natural selection is now incapable of guiding the process, and a designer must be posited to explain the development of life on the molecular level. Though Behe is not a creationist, and stops short of calling the designer God, he has provided a very compelling argument for the necessity of an intelligent design behind the universe, and for the presence of a creator. How does Behe make this argument? He looks at the so-called machines that are responsible for processes like vision or bloodclotting, and examines whether they can be explained by random mutation or natural selection. His answer, from years of study, is that the complexity involved in each process is too great; the development of each process involves knowledge of what is necessary at the present step and knowledge of what will be needed in future steps. Natural selection cannot and does not have the ability to see into the future; in fact, natural selection would tend to remove anything (on the molecular level) that is not currently used or needed. The implications of Behe's argument are amazingly far-reaching. If Behe is correct, and evolution really can't explain molecular development, then natural selection is not enough to explain the development of life. Since natural selection is not enough, one has to posit an intelligence guiding the process (the process requires intelligence). Though Behe is far from affirming that the God of the Bible is indeed that intelligence, he has done a tremendous job of refocusing attention on the need for a designer. We affirm with Behe that there is indeed an intelligence behind creation. Thus, Behe's book, filled with scientific explanations of the incredible complexity of our world, is a fascinating read. Its somewhat technical nature is necessary, for the processes of molecular development are indeed technical and complicated. After reading Darwin's Black Box you will have a much greater understanding of just what was involved in God's creation of this world. And it will give you a great starting point in any debate about the existence of God, because it proves that not all scientists blindly trust an unintelligent process (natural selection) to guide the development of life.

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Doubts about Darwin: A History of Intelligent Design By Thomas Woodward / Baker Armed with lucid, scientifically grounded arguments, the Intelligent Design movement has put evolutionists on the defensive. Who are the adherents of this emerging movement? Are they advocating a legitimate scientific position? Woodward's fascinating history traces events, personalities, and sociocultural factors that contributed to the movement's growth; and examines the rhetorical dimensions that continue to fuel it. 320 pages, hardcover from Baker.

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For the Glory of God By Rodney Stark / Calif Princeton Fulfilment Rodney Stark's provocative new book argues that, whether we like it or not, people acting for the glory of God have formed our modern culture. Continuing his project of identifying the widespread consequences of monotheism, Stark shows that the Christian conception of God resulted--almost inevitably and for the same reasons--in the Protestant Reformation, the rise of modern science, the European witch-hunts, and the Western abolition of slavery. In the process, he explains why Christian and Islamic images of God yielded such different cultural results, leading Christians but not Muslims to foster science, burn "witches," and denounce slavery. With his usual clarity and skepticism toward the received wisdom, Stark finds the origins of these disparate phenomena within monotheistic religious organizations. Endemic in such organizations are pressures to maintain religious intensity, which lead to intense conflicts and schisms that have far-reaching social results. Along the way, Stark debunks many commonly accepted ideas. He interprets the sixteenth-century flowering of science not as a sudden revolution that burst religious barriers, but as the normal, gradual, and direct outgrowth of medieval theology. He also shows that the very ideas about God that sustained the rise of science led also to intense witch-hunting by otherwise clear-headed Europeans, including some celebrated scientists. This conception of God likewise yielded the Christian denunciation of slavery as an abomination--and some of the fiercest witch-hunters were devoted participants in successful abolitionist movements on both sides of the Atlantic. For the Glory of God is an engrossing narrative that accounts for the very different histories of the Christian and Muslim worlds. It fundamentally changes our understanding of religion's role in history and the forces behind much of what we point to as secular progress.

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