The Prism and the Rainbow

God or Darwin? It is one of the most contentious conflicts of our time. It is also completely unnecessary, according to Joel W. Martin, an evolutionary biologist and ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church USA. In this slim but powerful book, Martin argues that it is not contradictory to be a practicing, faithful Christian who accepts the science of evolution. Martin finds that much of the controversy in the United States over evolution is manufactured and predicated on a complete-and sometimes willful-misapprehension of basic science. Science and religion, he says, serve different purposes and each seeks to answer questions that the other need never address. He believes that many of the polarizing debates about evolution distract from the deeper lessons of Christianity and that literal, fundamentalist readings of the Bible require the faithful to reject not just evolution but many of science's greatest discoveries. Just as the scientific explanation of rainbows is not meant to refute the biblical "rainbow" story of God's promise, evolutionary theory is not a ploy to disavow the divine. Indeed, Martin shows that the majority of Christians worldwide accept the theory of evolution. He urges his fellow Christians to refuse to participate in the intellectually stifling debate over evolution and creationism/intelligent design.

ISBN 0801894786   Pages 192 ISBN13 9780801894787 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 363 Publisher Johns Hopkins University Press   Published in Baltimore, MD Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press   Height (mm) 216 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 140 Publication date 29 Jun 2010   Spine width (mm) 18 DEWEY 231.7652   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22   Interest age From 18

		Introduction		1
1		By the Numbers		9
2		The Prism and the Rainbow		15
3		The Flat Earth Society		21
4		Of Serpents and Certainty		27
5		The Nature of Science		31
6		What Does "Theory" Mean?		39
7		What Is Evolution?		47
8		What Is Creationism?		55
9		What Is Intelligent Design?		63
10		Is There Evidence Supporting Intelligent Design?		69
11		Human Arrogance		81
12		In the Beginning		87
13		The Unnecessary Choice		93
14		What Are We to Believe?		99
		Epilogue		103
		Acknowledgments		107
		APPENDIX Major Christian Denominations and Their Stance on Science, Evolution; and Creationism/Intelligent Design		111
		Notes		131
		Glossary		151
		Recommended Further Reading		157
		Helpful Web Sites		161
		Index		163

Covers the Christian debate over Darwin-and finds that much of the controversy in the U.S. over evolution is manufactured on a complete, often willful miss-appreciation of basic science. Chapters serve to erase these errors, offering insights into robots of debates about evolution and supporting Christianity and a less literal interpretation of Biblical ideas. Christian collections need this! Midwest Book Review If you are a young person who has been looking for a way both to retain your personal faith and appreciate the wonders of modern science, you cannot find a better book than this one. If you are the parent of a young person who has raised the question of the relationship between science and religion, you owe it to that young person to help prevent what could be a totally unnecessary dilemma as your child encounters the massive, compelling evidence for evolution in college biology classes. Louisiana Coalition for Science 2010 This is a book that would be well worth including in the library of any school or college that educates students over the age of 16. -- Michael Reiss School Science Review 2011 Joel W. Martin offers a book to an audience of students and parents (and presumably to other nontheological experts). Its purpose is to make a case supporting the thesis that evolutionary biology is consistent with Christian theology, and further, that evolution supports major biblical themes. Martin also wants to inform his readers of the nature of science, some areas of past conflict (and eventual resolution) between science and faith, and some cautionary advice for Christian laity in their Bible reading as they attempt to discern the Bible's message to us today. In our opinion, Martin does all of this effectively in a concise package. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 2011

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