Theology needs to engage what recent developments in the study of evolution mean for how we understand moral behavior. How does the theological concept of holiness connect to contemporary understandings of evolution? If genetic explanations of altruism fall short, what role should we give to environmental explanations and free will? Likewise, how do genetic explanations relate to theological accounts of human goodness and holiness? In this groundbreaking work, Matthew Hill uses the lens of Wesleyan ethics to offer a fresh assessment of the intersection of evolution and theology. He shows that what is at stake in this conversation is not only the future of the church but also the fine-tuning of human evolution.

Is a thoroughly Christian and biblically informed doctrine of creation compatible with widely held conclusions of modern science, especially biology? For Darrel R. Falk, this is not just an abstract question but one with which he has personally wrestled. A professor of biology, Falk brings together his biblically based understanding of creation and the most current research in biology. The result of his efforts to acknowledge the validity of science and the authority of Scripture is a new paradigm for relating the claims of science to the truths of Christianity. Written with the undergraduate student in mind, this book nonetheless will help anyone who is looking for a place to stand in the creation-evolution debate, fearful that they'll have to choose between intellectual integrity and the faith of the church. Calling for charitable discussions within the church, Falk shows how an original and ongoing interaction of God with creation is fully reconcilable with the kinds of development identified by current biological science.

The Fool and the Heretic is a deeply personal story told by two respected scientists who hold opposing views on the topic of origins, share a common faith in Jesus Christ, and began a sometimes-painful journey to explore how they can remain in Christian fellowship when each thinks the other is harming the church. To some in the church, anyone who accepts the theory of evolution has rejected biblical teaching and is therefore thought of as a heretic. To many outside the church as well as a growing number of evangelicals, anyone who accepts the view that God created the earth in six days a few thousand years ago must be poorly educated and ignorant--a fool. Todd Wood and Darrel Falk know what it's like to be thought of, respectively, as a fool and a heretic. This book shares their pain in wearing those labels, but more important, provides a model for how faithful Christians can hold opposing views on deeply divisive issues yet grow deeper in their relationship to each other and to God.

Endlich gibt es das bemerkenswerte Buch des Biologieprofessors und evangelikalen Christen Darrel R. Falk auch in Deutsch - ein dringend benotigtes Buch, um die immer wieder aufbrausende Kontroverse zwischen Schopfung und Evolution zu versachlichen. Falk gelingt es, die Erkenntnisse der Naturwissenschaften zur Entwicklung des Lebens auf der Erde unterhaltsam und mit vielen Beispielen aus dem alltaglichen Leben zu erklaren. Aber nicht nur das: Er baut immer wieder auch Brucken zum christlichen Glauben und den Aussagen der Bibel uber den Schopfer und seine Schopfung, die zu einem vertieften Verstandnis des Wesens und der Wege Gottes fuhren. In seiner liebevollen Art versucht er, Christen trotz verschiedener Standpunkte zusammenzubringen, anstatt Trennungen zu provozieren. Falk, der selbst Theistische Evolution vertritt, war einige Jahre Prasident der vom ehemaligen Direktor des Humangenomprojektes, Francis S. Collins, gegrundeten Organisation BioLogos. In seinem Geleitwort zum Buch schreibt Collins: Dieses Buch wird all diejenigen beruhigen, die fur sich schon zu dem Ergebnis gekommen waren, dass der Glaube verlange, die Naturwissenschaft abzulehnen, oder dass die Naturwissenschaft verlange, den Glauben abzulehnen. Es sollte auch von Gemeindeleitern sorgfaltig gelesen werden, die in ihrem aufrichtigen Bemuhen, den Glauben zu verteidigen, Suchende auffordern, die zahlreichen Belege anzuzweifeln, die fur eine evolutionare Erschaffung sprechen.