Product Description

From a leading authority on the evolution debates comes this critically acclaimed investigation into one of the most controversial topics of our times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29777 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Released on: 2007-04-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780061233500
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Though he takes a different tack than Wyller (above), Miller tries to draw a straight line between two apparently opposing ideas: the theory of evolution and belief in a creator. In a more humanistic account than Wyller's, Miller, a professor of biology at Brown University, explains the difference between evolution as validated scientific fact and as an evolving theory. He illustrates his contentions with examples from astronomy, geology, physics and molecular biology, confronting the illogic of creationists with persuasive reasons based on the known physical properties of the universe and the demonstrable effects of time on the radioactivity of various elements. Then standing firmly on Darwinian ground, he turns to take on, with equal vigor, his outspoken colleagues in science who espouse a materialistic, agnostic or atheistic vision of reality. Along the way, he addresses such important questions as free will in a planned universe. Miller is particularly incisive when he discusses the emotional reasons why many people oppose evolution and the scientific community's befuddled, often hostile, reaction to sincere religious belief. Throughout, he displays an impressive fairness, which he communicates in friendly, conversational prose. This is a book that will stir readers of both science and theology, perhaps satisfying neither, but challenging both to open their minds. Illustrations. Author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American
Miller, professor of biology at Brown University, believes firmly in evolution. He also believes in God-a belief not widely shared among scientists. Here he sets out to offer thoughts on how to reconcile the conflict many people see between the two positions. Evolution, he says, is a story of origins; so too is the Judeo-Christian creation story. "The conflict between these two versions of our history is real, and I do not doubt for a second that it needs to be addressed. What I do not believe is that the conflict is unresolvable." Laying out the positions with care and clarity, he offers his resolution: "As more than one scientist has said, the truly remarkable thing about the world is that it actually does make sense. The parts fit, the molecules interact, the darn thing works. To people of faith, what evolution says is that nature is complete. God fashioned a material world in which truly free, truly independent beings could evolve."

EDITORS OF SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

From Booklist
From the first publication of Origin of Species in 1859, religionists have heaped abuse on Darwin and his godless science of evolution. Meanwhile, atheists have rarely passed up an opportunity to wield Darwinian doctrine against religious faith. In an act of intellectual daring and spiritual integrity, Miller--distinguished biologist and devout Christian--inserts himself between the combatants to call for a cultural cease-fire. With scrupulous evenhandedness, he challenges both sides to reexamine their premises and subdue their rhetoric. The shrewd arguments that a new generation of creationists have marshaled against Darwin do not long survive Miller's incisive scrutiny. Indeed, he warns his fellow believers that those who deploy slipshod arguments and specious science deployed against evolution actually pose a greater threat to faith than do any number of fervent Darwinians. Still, Miller well understands the believers' dismay at the way some scientists have interpreted evolutionary science as a conclusive disproof of God, of morality, and even of meaning in the universe. Honest reasoning, he insists, will not convert evolutionary science into a warrant for materialistic atheism. Rather, he argues that in a truly open-minded assessment of Darwin's evolution, there emerges a living manifestation of the divine wisdom that made possible a universe of living creatures acting on unscripted impulses. A refreshing departure from the tired polemics of the evolution wars. Bryce Christensen