Resources for Science and Faith Matters

D Boorse 2019

Science and Scientific Literacy

Hazen, Robert and Trefil, James. Science Matters: Achieving scientific literacy NY: Anchor Books, 2009.

Sherry Seethaler. Lies, Damned Lies and Science: How to sort through the noise around global warming, the latest health claims, and other scientific controversies, NJ: Pearson, 2009.

Muller, Richard. Physics for Future Presidents: The science behind the headlines, NY: W.W. Norton, 2008

Consolmagno, Guy. 2000. Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist. McGraw-Hill.

Victoria Wibeck. Enhancing learning, communication and public engagement about climate change – some lessons from recent literature. Environmental Education Research, 2013; 1 DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2013.812720

Science and Faith Broadly

These authors: Ian Barbour, JohnPolkinghorne, Owen Gingerich, Arthur Peacock

American Scientific Affiliation web site Biologos

Journal: Perspectives on Science and the Christian Faith

Wright, R.2002.  Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. Harper and Row: San Fransisco

Genesis and Biblical Interpretation

Walton, J.  2009.  The Lost World of Genesis. IVP Academic. (This is an interesting main idea. Whether it is correct or not, I don’t know)

The whole series: Test of Faith by the Farraday Institute http://www.testoffaith.com

Article on Genesis- Clouser

Clouser, Roy A., “Genesis on the Origin of the Human Race,” PSCF 43:2-13 (1991)

Weins, Robert.  2002 . Evidence for an Ancient Earth: Radiometric Dating- A Christian Perspective

http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/evid.anc.earth.pdf

Phillips, P. 1991. Are the Days of Genesis Longer Than 24 Hours? The Bible Says “Yes!”.  IBRI Research Report #40 (1991)

https://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/ted_hildebrandt/otesources/01-genesis/text/articles-books/phillips-daysofgenesis-ibri.pdf

Age of the Earth

Davidson, G. R. 2009. When Faith and Science Collide: A Biblical Approach to Evaluating Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Age of the Earth, Oxford, MS: Malius Press

Falk, Darrel and F. Collins. 2004.  Coming to Peace with Science: Bridging the worlds between Faith and Biology. IVP Academic

Weins, R. 2002? Radiometric Dating — A Christian Perspective by online at http://www.asa3.org/.

Young, D.  1988.  Christianity and the Age of the Earth.

Young, D and R. Stearley. 2008. The Bible , Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth. IVP Academic.

Phillips, P. 1991. Are the Days of Genesis Longer than 24 Hours? The Bible Says “Yes!” Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute Report No. 40. 

Ross, H. 1994. Creation and Time. NavPress: Colorado Springs (not so good on evolution)

Hayward, A., 1985. Creation and Evolution. Bethany House Publishers: Minneapolis (not good on evolution but very strong on age of earth)

Evolution

Clouser, Roy A., “Genesis on the Origin of the Human Race,” PSCF 43:2-13 (1991)

Collins, Francis. The Language of God, NY: Free Press, 2006.

Giberson, K. and F. Collins 2011.  The Language of Science and Faith.  IV Press.

Giberson- several other books

Haught, John. 2001. Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution. Paulist Press (and several other books)

Miller, K. 1999.  Finding Darwin’s God.

Ruse, 2004 .  Can a Darwinian be a Christian? Cambridge University Press. (and several other books)

Fischer, R. 1997. God Did it But How?. ASA Press. Ipswich, MA

Van Till et al   1988. Science held hostage: What’s wrong with creation science and evolutionism. IV Press

Web Site

BioLogos http://biologos.org/

Especially http://biologos.org/questions/

Web Site

Talk Origins: various pages http://www.talkorigins.org/

Creation Care Generally

Background reading –

These are foundational papers and they are pretty important to the discussion of the environment, religion, and ethics. Several use terms that are then used by everyone!

Brand, Paul. A Handful of Mud by

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/julyweb-only/7-7-47.0.html

Leopold, Aldo,  1949. A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There.  Oxford University Press. Especially chapters:

The Land Ethic, Thinking Like a Mountain:

http://www.waterculture.org/uploads/Leopold_TheLandEthic.pdf

http://nctc.fws.gov/resources/knowledge-resources/wildread/thinking-like-a-mountain.pdf

While Leopold does not write as a Christian, he does identify two parts of my own thinking- being broad ethically, and seeing the real effects of your actions.  These are two important essays.

Muir, John .  1912. Hetch Hetchy Valley. Chapter 16 In The Yosemite

http://vault.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/the_yosemite/chapter_16.aspx

John Muir expresses well the power, beauty and connection to the divine, that the natural world represents.  This is only one of the pieces he has written that I love.

Hardin, Garrett 1968   The Tragedy of the Commons-

Hardin defines “the tragedy of the commons” which is often used. Briefly it means that an unregulated open resource tends to degradation

White Jr, Lyn.  On the Historic Roots of our Ecological Crisis. 1974. Bioscience.

This famous paper claims that Christianity is at fault for our ecological crisis. This is taken as gospel truth by many people and widely included in anthologies. Much modern Christian writing on creation care was in response to this.

Wilkinson, Loren. “Christian Ecology of Death: Biblical Imagery and the Ecologic Crisis.” Christian Scholar’s Review, vol. 4, 1975, pp. 319-38. ——, ed.

This paper addresses eating, and therefore death, in creation before the fall and has been one of the single most helpful things I have read.

The Capetown Commitment

This document, written by the Lausanne Movement in 2010, represents what worldwide evangelicals believe Christians should be doing to evangelize. For the first time, caring for creation was named as a “gospel issue under the Lordship of Jesus Christ” . This is pivotal and means that American evangelicals are out of sync with the rest of the world. Also, it triggered the Lausanne Movement to begin a creation care effort.

Journal: Creation Care http://www.creationcare.org/magazine/

Dewitt, Calvin B. The Environment and the Christian: What Does the New Testament Say About the Environment. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Pub

Earth-Wise: A Biblical Response to Environmental Issues (Issues in Christian Living). 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2007.

Gascho, Luke. Creation Care: Keepers of the Earth. Herald Press, October 27, 2008.

Jones, James. Jesus and the Earth. London: SPCK Publishing, 2003.

McMinn, Lisa Graham and Megan Anna Neff. Walking Gently on Earth: Making Faithful Choices About Food, Energy, Shelter and More. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2010.

Robinson, Tri, and Jason Chatraw. Saving God’s Green Earth: Rediscovering the Church’s Responsibility to Environmental Stewardship. Ampelon Publishing. 2006.

Bailey, Liberty Hyde, and Norman Wirzba. The Holy Earth: Toward a New Environmental Ethic. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2009.

Bouma-Prediger, Steven. For the Beauty of the Earth: A Christian Vision for Creation Care. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001.

Brown, Edward R. Saving God’s Green Earth: Mobilizing the Church to Care for Creation. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2008.

Sabin, Scott. Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2010.

White, Robert, ed. Creation in Crisis: Christian Perspectives on Sustainability. London: SPCK Publishing, 2009.

Wilkinson, Loren. Earthkeeping in the Nineties: Stewardship of Creation. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2003.

Wirzba, Norman. Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight. Annotated edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006.

The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2007

 Poems: 

John Updike  Facing Nature 1984.

In this volume, Updike has a number of poems lauding particular ecological processes. His poem on decay is yet another attempt to get at why parts of nature we may not like, are both necessary but also good.

Eisley, Loren. The Innocent Assassins. Poem.

http://www.eiseley.org/Resources/reader/teachers/pdf/Innocent%20Assassins%20learning%20supplement.pdf

This is a complex work about the nature of humanity and how it relates to animals. It’s hard for me to spell out how this has helped me integrate science and faith, but the poem has been an important part of my thinking.

Mary Oliver. Pulizer Prize Winner. Almost anything she has written. 

Climate Change

Ball, Jim. Global Warming and the Risen Lord: Christian Discipleship and Climate Change. Evangelical Environmental Network, 2010.

Hayoe, Katherine and Farley, Andrew.  A Climate for Change: Global warming facts for faith-based decisions, NY: Faith Words, 2009.

Sleeth, J. Matthew, MD. Serve God, Save the Planet: A Christian Call to Action. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.

Spencer, Nick, Robert White, and Virginia Vroblesky. Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.

National Academies of Sciences offers a short, readable and free summary, “Understanding and Responding to Climate Change.” See

http://dels-old.nas.edu/climatechange/understanding-climate-change.shtml

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association provides an annual report on climate: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/

Resources on Climate change

NAS- National Academies of Science

NASA- Earth Observatory

NOAA-

AAAS-

Pentagon 

Species loss

Schweiger, Larry and Theodore Roosevelt IV. Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 2009.

Christian Groups

  • Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists
  • A Rocha
  • AuSable Institute of Environmental Studies
  • Blessed Earth
  • Care of Creation
  • Climate Caretakers
  • Compassion International
  • ECHO
  • Eden Vigil
  • Evangelical Environmental Network
  • InterFaith Power and Light
  • Renewal
  • Restoring Eden
  • Sojourners
  • Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative
  • World Relief
  • World Vision
  • Young Evangelicals for Climate Action