As I mentioned in my book review for Kenneth Miller's Only a Theory, I've read quite a few books on the topic of origins and have gradually migrated from creationism toward something like theistic evolution. It's still not a subject I'm a big fan of fighting over, so I generally just keep my opinions to myself. But I do keep reading. It's how I roll.
My migration, though, has had more to do with science than theology. When I watch something like Dennis Venema's excellent YouTube videos on the genetic evidence for common ancestry between apes and humans, I don't have any particular issue with the science.
But then if I read something like Karl Giberson's worthwhile Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution, I can recognize the science as excellent but the theology as lacking (in my mini-review of Saving Darwin, I noted that it failed to live up to its subtitle). Because regardless of what anyone might think, my views on the science of origins have implications for my theology of origins. And that's where I've been stuck for a while.
Well, I'm a bit further along now, thanks to Karl Giberson and Francis S. Collins's The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions. Approached like a Frequently Asked Questions for the whole topic of theistic evolution/BioLogos, it's everything I hoped it would be. I'm not saying that all my questions have been definitively answered or anything, but I at least have some confidence that the answers exist. Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
I should point out that for anyone looking for a detailed defense of theistic evolution, you're probably barking up the wrong tree. For that, I'd recommend Collins's The Language of God, or either of Kenneth Miller's Finding Darwin's God or Only a Theory. This volume is more about discussing a smaller set of scientific and theological questions surrounding the issue. But it actually would make a great jumping off point for any of the books I just recommended.
The book is extremely well organized and readable and should be accessible to non-scientific types. (Though I'm a bit geekish, so I can't say for certain.) I'd also recommend the BioLogos website, as they have a ton of resources available for reading/viewing.
The scientific creation story has been described in a highly negative way by both young earth creationists and atheists alike. The creationists don't like it because it disagrees with a literal reading of the creation story in Genesis. So, too often they make it seem as implausible and un-Christian as possible. On the other hand, some atheists fashion the story into a club to bash religion and make it seem as plausible and un-Christian as possible. With both sides arguing that the scientific creation story is un-Christian, it is no wonder religious believers find it unattractive.
Back when I started reading more about different theological systems within Christianity and about science and whatnot, a friend asked if I thought I'd lose my faith with all my questionings. I told him I wasn't worried about it, and I'm still not. I can read about science, Universalism, Open Theism, or any other range of topics, and I don't fear the answers, because I know who ultimately holds the truth. And it ain't me.
