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How I Changed My Mind About Evolution: Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science, Edited by Kathryn Applegate and J. B. Stump

How I Changed My Mind About Evolution

Evangelicals Reflect on Faith and Science

BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity

Foreword by Deborah Haarsma
Edited by Kathryn Applegate and J. B. Stump

How I Changed My Mind About Evolution
Paperback
$19.99
  • Length: 200 pages
  • Dimensions: 5.5 × 8.25 in
  • Published: May 11, 2016
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • ISBN: 9780830852901
Other Formats:

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 stillholding 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 whoalso agree with what science says about the cosmos, our planet and the life that so abundantly fills it.

Among the contributors are

Scientists such as

  • Francis Collins
  • Deborah Haarsma
  • Denis Lamoureux

Pastors such as

  • John Ortberg
  • Ken Fong
  • Laura Truax

Biblical scholars such as

  • N. T. Wright
  • Scot McKnight
  • Tremper Longman III

Theologians and philosophers such as

  • James K. A. Smith
  • Amos Yong
  • Oliver Crisp

BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity invite us to see the harmony between the sciences and biblical faith on issues including cosmology, biology, paleontology, evolution, humanorigins, the environment, and more.

REVIEWS

"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."
"While very few people seem to care about science as a philosophical construct, many people care about how scientific findings impact their understanding of life, love, meaning and faith. No scientific concept draws us into these contemplations more than evolution, which leads us to ask big questions about our nature and God's. This book should be embraced as a treasure. In it you will find unique minds wrestling with how we got here and what our evolutionary history has to do with God, the Bible and the depth of our lived experience. I promise this book will challenge you on nearly every page as you discover new insight after new insight."
"This book captures the convictions and stories of an array of Christians whose scholarship, reflection, faith and community have brought them to affirm God's use of evolution in the processes of creation. Consider their stories. Ponder their convictions. May your journey too be one that fully opens to worshipful wonder and scientific discovery."
"If we want to converse with someone, we must first be willing to listen, to understand. And these stories are easy to listen to—so well written, so personally engaging, so reflective of committed faith. You will find yourself liking the contributors as you get a glimpse into their thought processes. As someone who studies and ministers in the area of faith and science, I commend the authors and editors for this nicely done book."
"Atheists often cite religious opposition to evolution as a reason for their unbelief. This wonderful collection of essays by Bible-believing Christians demonstrates how unnecessary it is to oppose evolution in the name of faith. What is striking about the authors in this volume is the sheer range and diversity of their own spiritual journeys in coming to terms with science. It is my prayer that evolution might cease to be seen as a threat to faith on the part of some Christians rather than as an integral aspect of God's created order for which the Christian can rightly give praise."
"The conflict between Christian faith and science is long-standing and significant, and no issue has been more central to this perceived tension than evolution. In this welcome collection of essays, leading Christian thinkers explain their reasons for affirming evolution while remaining committed to their faith. It is to be hoped that this volume will find a wide readership, especially among those who struggle to relate their faith to the consensual canons of science."
"Debates about the origins of the universe and human life have raged within religious communities for more than a century, and today they are fiercer than ever. Many Christians have given the impression that religion and science are at irreconcilable odds, leaving people of faith who find science credible without a way forward. How I Changed My Mind About Evolution seeks to dissolve this false dichotomy. It holds the Bible in high regard without discrediting science's conclusions. If you are looking for a resource that is both biblically sound and scientifically serious, this is a great place to start. The ideas are convincing, the writing is appropriately accessible and the concepts are bursting with hope."
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CONTENTS

Foreword by Deborah Haarsma
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Kathryn Applegate and J. B. (Jim) Stump
1. From Culture Wars to Common Witness: A Pilgrimage on Faith and Science
James K. A. Smith
2. Who?s Afraid of Science?
Scot McKnight
3. The Inevitable Conclusion
Ken Fong
4. Learning to Praise God for His Work in Evolution
Deborah Haarsma
5. An Old Testament Professor Celebrates Creation
Tremper Longman III
6. Embracing the Lord of Life
Jeff Hardin
7. Peace
Stephen Ashley Blake
8. Learning the Language of God
Francis S. Collins
9. Faith, Truth and Mystery
Oliver D. Crisp
10. Inspired by an Amazing Universe
Jennifer Wiseman
11. Boiling Kettles and Remodeled Apes
John Ortberg
12. From Intelligent Design to Evolutionary Creation
Dennis R. Venema
13. A Scientist?s Journey to Reflective Christian Faith
Praveen Sethupathy
14. A Fumbling Journey
Dorothy Boorse
15. A Biblically Fulfilled Evolutionary Creationist
J. B. (Jim) Stump
16. A True Read on Reality
Daniel M. Harrell
17. A British Reflection on the Evolution Controversy in America
N. T. Wright
18. Personal Evolution: Reconciling Evolutionary Science and Christianity
Justin L. Barrett
19. The Evolution of an Evolutionary Creationist
Denis O. Lamoureux
20. Learning from the Stars
Laura Truax
21. So, Do You Believe in Evolution?
Rodney J. Scott
22.The Spirit of an Evolving Creation: Surmisings of a Pentecostal Theologian
Amos Yong
23. Two Books + Two Eyes = Four Necessities for Christian Witness
Richard Dahlstrom
24. Finding Rest in Christ, Not in Easy Answers
Kathryn Applegate
25. Safe Spaces
Richard J. Mouw

Notes

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BONUS MATERIAL

Download the Press Kit.

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ABOUT Kathryn Applegate

Kathryn Applegate

Kathryn Applegate (PhD, The Scripps Research Institute) is program director at BioLogos, where she designs and coordinates programs aimed at translating scholarship on origins for the evangelical church.

ABOUT J. B. Stump

J. B. Stump

J. B. (Jim) Stump (PhD, Boston University) is vice president at BioLogos, where he oversees the development of new content and hosts the Language of God podcast. He is the author of Science and Christianity: An Introduction to the Issues, coauthor of Christian Thought: A Historical Introduction, and coeditor of How I Changed My Mind About Evolution, and The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity.

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