Christians throughout history have believed that God reveals himself both through Scripture and nature. The metaphor of God’s Two Books is often used to represent these two divine revelations.
The Book of God’s Words is the Bible. Scripture reveals inerrant spiritual truths. These include, the God of Christianity is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the creation is very good, and only humans are created in the Image of God (Gen. 1:1, 27, 31).
The Book of God’s Works is the physical world. Nature declares God’s glory, eternal power, and divine nature (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). Through the gift of science, our Creator has blessed us with the ability to explore and understand the structure, operation, and origin of his creation.
Together God’s Two Books offer us a complementary divine revelation of who created the world and how he created it.
A majority of Americans view science and religion as being in conflict, according to the Pew Research Center. Christians and non-Christians alike share this view, yet if this perceived conflict misrepresents the relationship between modern science and Christian faith, then it is both unhelpful and unnecessary today.
In Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes, theologian and scientist Denis O. Lamoureux reviews several options for embracing biblical Christianity and findings of science, including biological evolution. Holding to a high view of Scripture alongside an expert appreciation for scientific discovery, Lamoureux further outlines a way to understand passages referring to the natural world in the Bible and also demonstrates how modern science can point toward God.
Lamoureux shares his own story along the way, recounting struggles many readers will relate to on his journey toward PhDs in both theology and biology and a fruitful relationship between the two.
Topics in this book include:
- A biblical model of intelligent design in nature based on Psalm 19 and Romans 1.
- Examination of the ancient science in Scripture, such as a flat earth and 3-tier universe.
- Comparison of different Christian views on origins—young earth creation, progressive creation (old earth creation), and evolutionary creation.
- Criticisms of the atheistic interpretation of evolution held by Richard Dawkins and his belief that intelligent design is merely an illusion.
- Galileo’s peaceful relationship between Scripture and nature, including his view that “the intention of the Holy Spirit [in the Bible] is to teach us how one goes to heaven, and not how heaven goes.”
- Darwin’s religious beliefs and evidence of the impact that intelligent design had on him throughout his life, along with his claim, “It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist [personal God] and an evolutionist.”
Believers wanting to honor God’s Two Books—Scripture and Nature—faithfully and without conflict will find an excellent introduction in Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes.
Denis Lamoureux is Associate Professor of Science and Religion at St. Joseph's College in the University of Alberta, the first tenure-track position in Canada dedicated to teaching and research on the relationship between scientific discovery and Christian faith. Lamoureux is the author of Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution; I Love Jesus and I Accept Evolution; and Darwinism Defeated? The Johnson-Lamoureux Debate on Biological Origins.
