Creationism and the Conflict over Evolution

by Tatha Wiley

How do our current notions of the workings of the universe fit with our deepest convictions about its meaning and value? From religion, we grasp the world as created, given, gift. From science, we apprehend it as evolving, in process, changing. How do we bring these apprehensions together? Or can we? Is our impulse to find the two creation and evolution? Or is it to find them creation or evolution? The way in which we answer these questions carries personal and intellectual consequences. It will constitute the first piece in a worldview within which we order our religious beliefs and scientific judgments" -from the Preface

Genres: Science

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Writer and educator Tatha Wiley has written three texts within her field of religious and theological studies. Wiley focuses on interpretations of biblical texts in relation to a modern audience.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 1 out of 5]

An utter disappointment; disagreement over how to interpret the evidence available on these questions is not a basis for breaking fellowship. This book is a diatribe describing fundamentalists as “them” or “they”, but never allowing a fundamentalist to be considered one of “us” whose misunderstandings of truth are motivated by what could possibly be a sincere desire in childlike faith to take God at His word. This book purports to speak truth, but it never attempts to speak truth in love toward fellow believers or even to unbelieving fellow image bearers. There is not a chapter that fails to castigate fundamentalism for their ignorance and nefarious and disgraceful motivations. They crave control and will intentionally disabuse themselves of all reason to hold to the indefensible notion that God is capable of doing what the author’s idol, science, cannot prove or test.

Perhaps my deepest disappointment in the book isn’t that it dismisses me personally (I can consider the source and ignore the insult); it is that there is not a single sentence in the book that makes much of God for the sake of the glory of His name. It is my highest priority in every facet of life to love and exalt God and to love His image bearers with compassion in spite of I may perceive to be their weaknesses, even when confronting error or sincerely held misconceptions. This book fails to deliver on that point and cannot be recommended for anyone who longs to see or be part of the Kingdom of God.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, Tatha Wiley outlines the context for why fundamentalists are stuck in choosing evolution or their religious belief, while most other Christians are able to accept both. A good primer for someone wishing to understand the framing of the argument from the perspective of a fundamentalist Christian, and how to reframe the issues in more effective ways.