BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity (6 vols.)

by Cees Dekker; Corien Oranje; Gijsbert van den Brink; Kenneth D. Keathley

and

12 more

Publishers:

IVP Academic; IVP

, 2016–2021

Overview

The BioLogos Foundation invites the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as they present an evolutionary understanding of God’s creation. BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity, a partnership between BioLogos and IVP Academic, aims to advance this mission by publishing a range of titles from scholarly monographs to textbooks to personal stories.

The books in this series have wide appeal among Christian audiences, from non-specialists to scholars in the field. While the authors address a range of topics on science and faith, they support the view of evolutionary creation which sees evolution as our current best scientific description of how God brought about the diversity of life on earth. The series authors are faithful Christians and leading scholars in their fields.

Key Features

• Provides a biblical and theological perspective on the sciences of origins
• Integrates scientific evidence with wisdom from theological anthropology
• Encourages thoughtful and deliberate study of Scripture and church history

Early Christian Readings of Genesis One: Patristic Exegesis and Literal Interpretation

• Author: Craig D. Allert
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 368

Do the writings of the church fathers support a literalist interpretation of Genesis 1? Young earth creationists have maintained that they do. And it is sensible to look to the Fathers as a check against our modern biases.

But before enlisting the Fathers as ammunition in our contemporary Christian debates over creation and evolution, some cautions are in order. Are we correctly representing the Fathers and their concerns? Was Basil, for instance, advocating a literal interpretation in the modern sense? How can we avoid flattening the Fathers' thinking into an indexed source book in our quest for establishing their significance for contemporary Christianity?

Craig Allert notes the abuses of patristic texts and introduces the Fathers within their ancient context, since the patristic writings require careful interpretation in their own setting. What can we learn from a Basil or Theophilus, an Ephrem or Augustine, as they meditate and expound on themes in Genesis 1? How were they speaking to their own culture and the questions of their day? Might they actually have something to teach us about listening carefully to Scripture as we wrestle with the great axial questions of our own day?

Allert's study prods us to consider whether contemporary evangelicals, laudably seeking to be faithful to Scripture, may in fact be more bound to modernity in our reading of Genesis 1 than we realize. Here is a book that resets our understanding of early Christian interpretation and the contemporary conversation about Genesis 1.

This book is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the unique features of patristic exegesis. Allert provides a judicious and much-needed defense against making the early Fathers conform to various conservative versions of interpreting Scripture. Using the Genesis creation account, the reader is invited to see that the ancients were far more imaginative and biblically minded than we credit them.

—D. H. Williams, professor of patristics and historical theology, Baylor University

How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science

• Editors: Kathryn Applegate and J. B. Stump
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 200

Perhaps no topic appears as potentially threatening to evangelicals as evolution. The very idea seems to exclude God from the creation the book of Genesis celebrates.

Yet many evangelicals have come to accept the conclusions of science while still holding to a vigorous belief in God and the Bible. How did they make this journey? How did they come to embrace both evolution and faith?

Here are stories from a community of people who love Jesus and honor the authority of the Bible, but who also agree with what science says about the cosmos, our planet and the life that so abundantly fills it.

This collection of firsthand experiences is important for showing that firm belief in the truth-telling character of Scripture can support, rather than undermine, the best scientific investigations. It also provides more solid evidence for the good that BioLogos is doing to transform science and religion from a war zone to an instructive conversation.

—Mark Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame

Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

• Editors: Kenneth Keathley and J. B. Stump and Joe Aguirre
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2017
• Pages: 256

Christians confess that God created the heavens and the earth. But they are divided over how God created and whether the Bible gives us a scientifically accurate account of the process of creation.

Representatives of two prominent positions—old-earth creation (Reasons to Believe) and evolutionary creation (BioLogos)—have been in dialogue over the past decade to understand where they agree and disagree on key issues in science and theology. This book is the result of those meetings.

Moderated by Southern Baptist seminary professors, the discussion between Reasons to Believe and BioLogos touches on many of the pressing debates in science and faith, including biblical authority, the historicity of Adam and Eve, human genetics and common descent, the problem of natural evil, and methodological naturalism. While both organizations agree that God created the universe billions of years ago, their differences reveal that far more is at stake here than just the age of the earth.

Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation? invites readers to listen in as Christian scholars weigh the evidence, explore the options, and challenge each other on the questions of creation and evolution. In a culture of increasing polarization, this is a model for charitable Christian dialogue.

Origins, particularly human origins, continues to be a controversial issue among evangelical Protestants. In Old-Earth or Evolutionary Creation?, the organizations BioLogos and Reasons to Believe model a respectful interchange of ideas in spite of their significant differences. The result is an intelligent and illuminating discussion of this crucial and timely topic.

—Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing

• Author: Justin L. Barrett
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2021
• Pages: 208

What does God's creation of humanity through the process of evolution mean for how we think about human flourishing? The emerging field of evolutionary psychology remains controversial, perhaps especially among Christians. Yet according to Justin Barrett and Pamela Ebstyne King it can be a powerful tool for understanding human nature and our distinctively human purpose.

In Thriving with Stone Age Minds, Barrett and King provide an introduction to evolutionary psychology, explaining the importance of key concepts such as hyper-sociality, information gathering, and self-control. They then combine insights from evolutionary psychology with resources from the Bible and Christian theology, all focused on the question, What is human flourishing? When we understand how humans still bear the marks of our evolutionary past, new light shines on some of the most puzzling features of our minds, relationships, and behaviors.

One key insight of evolutionary psychology is how humans both adapt to and in turn alter our particular environments, or "niches." In fact, we change our world faster than our minds can adapt—and then gaps in our fitness emerge. In effect, humans are now attempting to thrive in modern contexts with Stone Age minds. By integrating scientific evidence with wisdom from theological anthropology, Barrett and King argue, we can learn to close up nature-niche gaps and thrive, becoming more what God has created us to be.

There are many books that discuss why faith and science need to be related, but there are few that move on to discussing to how to relate them. Thriving with Stone Age Minds is an exciting exception. Justin Barrett and Pamela King are able guides who give us a way to think about evolution in such a way that doesn't flatten the world but opens us to mystery. Beautifully written and richly argued, this book is a must for anyone who is interested in evolution and faith. For pastors and students in practical theology, this book is a treasure.

—Andrew Root, Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, author of The Congregation in a Secular Age

Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins: Cosmology, Geology, and Biology in Christian Perspective

• Authors: Robert C. Bishop, Larry L. Funck, Raymond J. Lewis, Stephen O. Moshier, and John H. Walton
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 688

The question of origins remains a stumbling block for many. But just as the Psalmist gained insight into God's character through the observation of nature, modern scientific study can deepen and enrich our vision of the Creator and our place in his creation. In this often contentious field Bishop, Funck, Lewis, Moshier, and Walton serve as our able guides.

Based on over two decades of teaching origins together in the classroom, the authors present a textbook exploring mainstream scientific theories of origins in astronomy, cosmology, chemistry, geology, biology, physical anthropology, and genetics. While many authors engage origins from a Christian perspective, this is the first work offering a full-fledged discussion of the scientific narrative of origins from the Big Bang through humankind, from biblical and theological perspectives accessible to a lay audience.

Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins is a groundbreaking book. These engaging, field-tested materials, used over many years by outstanding faculty at a flagship Christian university, are sure to be an important new resource for Christian students. Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins reflects top-notch scholarship sensitively distilled to an accessible level, and it is uniquely comprehensive in its treatment of data from the physical and biological sciences, as well as philosophy, theology, and biblical studies. Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins is going to be on my short list of recommended resources in this important area. Highly recommended!

—Jeff Hardin, Raymond E. Keller Professor and Chair of the Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dawn: A Proton's Tale of All That Came to Be

• Authors: Cees Dekker, Corien Oranje, and Gijsbert van den Brink
• Series: BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Publication Date: 2022
• Pages: 192

This is an adventure that began almost fourteen billion years ago, one that so often threatened to fail. It's truly a miracle I'm still here. Despite everything, I wouldn't have wanted to miss one second of it. And the best is yet to come.

With the help of an extraordinary narrator, you're invited to discover the wonder and drama of the history of the cosmos. In this story we follow the journey of one proton who comes into existence at the beginning of creation and makes it all the way through history to today. By becoming a part of atoms and molecules that turn up at some of the universe's most important moments, our friend Proton witnesses emerging galaxies, the origin of life, its evolution into a wild diversity of life forms, the first human beings, the birth and life of Jesus, the beginnings of the Christian church, all the way up to the present day. Through it all, the mysterious, seemingly unbelievable plans of the Creator continue to unfold.

Combining its authors' mind-bending scientific knowledge, storytelling skills, and insights from theology, Dawn provides a fresh look at the fundamentals of cosmology, evolutionary biology, and the good news of God in one overarching adventure—in the form of a gripping story. Readers who love both science and Scripture will discover an engaging, thought-provoking tale that reminds us we each have a big place in God's plan of creation—even if we're very, very small.