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19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Evolution and Mormonism: Moving in the Right Direction, March 29, 2001
This review is from: Evolution and Mormonism: A Quest for Understanding (Paperback)
This new book by Trent D. Stephens and D. Jeffrey Meldrum will probably be a surprise to both evolutionists (Neo-Darwinists) and Mormons alike. It is no apologetic defense of Mormonism nor is it a rehash of old anti-creationist arguments. In the end, of course, the authors make their case in defense of certain Mormon doctrines; however, it is in the way that they arrive at their conclusions that makes this book fascinating. Of most surprise to this reader was their point blank debunking of traditional creationist as well as scientific-creationist arguments. Moreover, they boldly refute statements made by numerous Mormon authorities who have, in the past, made statements advocating the literal understanding of the scriptures both ancient and modern. The essence of their position is that, wherever Mormon teachings have contradicted established and demonstrable science, then science must prevail and Mormonism must be revised, reinterpreted or rejected! Regarding the evolution of humankind the authors state, "the evidence that humans are biologically connected to other animals is overwhelming and cannot be dismissed." Furthermore, they state that Adam and Eve "achieved their `human' stature through evolution". In spite of the fact that they resort to some suspiciously unscientific theological interpretations to bolster their claims, the book is an interesting treatise. Of particular value are the long quotations from "On the Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, the discussion of recent advances in DNA research and a brief discussion of possible applications of chaos theory to the theory of evolution. Writing as one who had been a devout Mormon for nearly thirty years, I must say that this book is enlightening although not totally satisfying. It will not convince me to return to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Nevertheless, I would recommend it to students of evolution and Mormonism.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good overview, January 10, 2002
This review is from: Evolution and Mormonism: A Quest for Understanding (Paperback)
First, my only complaint. I know that the two main authors are scientists, and this may be why the third co-author was brought in; to help them actually write it, but even so it suffers a little bit from lack of unifying theme. It's more like a collection of disparate lectures than a book with chapters. Also, some LDS might be put off by the fact that it's published by Signature, which has a dicey reputation with many faithful LDS because of some of the *other* books they've published. But that's guilt by association, and I would not hesitate to recommend this to someone who has a decent high school level grounding in the sciences (university prep 2nd year biology*). Others might not get all of the terminology, even though the authors do try to simplify these references. Perhaps another chapter on the philosophy of science versus the way religion approaches transcendent and teleological (purpose-related) questions might have helped. The first two chapters are a reasonable attempt at providing a philosophical background, but it's not until you get past that that you get into the real arguments they make. And the arguments are solid. Many LDS, trailing clouds of right-wing literalist Protestant culture behind them, think that the LDS view on evolution is negative (and one can easily get trapped into a "my GA's quotes versus your GA's quotes" argument). But as the authors explain, the Church, (n.B. the article in Encyclopedia of Mormonism), in a variety of statements, has made it clear that a) the Church's view is neutral; and b) the Church actually has a view that is the same as that of a well-known scientist, a self-admitted agnostic secular Jew; namely Stephen Jay Gould. Prof. Gould has coined the term "non-overlapping magesteria" for the realms of science and religion. Not that the Church, like any other religion, would care per se about what Prof. Gould has to say, but it's interesting that there is true consilience here (to use the word of a famous atheist scientist ironically). The authors make a good case that the issue isn't so much a conflict between answers as in the type of questions that are asked, and those brethren who have spoken out against evolution really oppose "scientism," or atheism cloaked in science, which is the polar opposite of "creationism," which is religion cloaked as science. They cover the history of the issue well but even more importantly, they explain what evolution is and what it means, in laymen's language. Many of the arguments against evolution are straw man arguments made out of ignorance of what the theory actually says (and, in fact, what a "theory" is in science to begin with). Summary: don't let the fact that this was published by Signature put anyone off who's interested in the topic. Just make sure that you (or the person you're buying it for) has at least some schooling in biology. * e.g. Biology 30 as we call it up here in "Zion's Attic" (Alberta, Canada) Marc A. Schindler
Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent book for LDS hostile to evolution but with at least an ounce of openness to reason, August 16, 2007
This review is from: Evolution and Mormonism: A Quest for Understanding (Paperback)
I received my bachelor's degree in biology and studied lots of biochemistry and molecular biology on my way to becoming an MD. As a practicing physician, I am required to stay abreast of the developments in genetics. As a lifelong member of the church, I was brought up on the typically literalist, narrow interpretation of the scriptures that most members of the church have, as a result of the traditions they have inherited from society, prior religious experience, or their family. I was never taught that the earth was created in 6 24-hour days, but I was taught that Adam was the first human being on the earth (not taught in the scriptures, considering that 'man' is not necessarily synonymous with 'human' in religious terminology--ie, God is a man, but he is not truly human) and that fossils purported to represent more primitive ancestors of humans had been misinterpreted by unenlightened scientists.
As these authors point out so well, the result of children being taught 'the philosophies of [Mormon] men mingled with scripture' is that when overwhelming scientific evidence documents the evolution of species (including our own), they may have a hard time separating the core truths found in the scriptures, and the erroneous interpretations well-meaning church members, including some general authorities, have put forth. Then the young church member may mistakenly and tragically believe that he or she must choose between science and faith, when they are truly compatible.
It is obvious to me from the beginning of this book that the authors, being scientists and experts in fields related to the study of evolution, are wholly convinced that evolution is undeniable fact, and that the efforts of previous generations of church members to refute evolution were uninformed, misguided, unenlightened and totally unnecessary. But I am impressed with the skill and tact employed by the authors to not alienate the reader that comes to this book with a strong bias against evolution. They take a very gradual approach that uses reason, historical precedent, and words of the prophets to show that even prophets and apostles can have private opinions that are not necessarily based on revelation, and that almost all of the LDS literature out there that attempts to refute evolution was written before the flood of molecular research that convincingly proves the validity of geological, paleontological and anatomical evidence for evolution. The authors make it clear from the beginning that they believe in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of them has even served as a bishop. They are perfect examples of the fact, that may be new to some readers, that someone can have a strong religious testimony and a strong scientific conviction of evolution at the same time.
The authors make a great comparison between the universal belief in an Earth-centered universe that existed until just a few hundred years ago, and the belief that humans were created separately from other species on earth. The same kinds of flawed logic, unjustified assumptions and constrained interpretations of scripture underly them both.
They do a good job of pointing out that the only thing objectionable about evolution is the way some atheists have attempted to use it to show that God isn't necessary for our planet to exist. As long as one considers evolution to be an eternal principle, like gravity, by which God accomplishes his purposes, evolution does not pose any kind of doctrinal threat to the gospel.
They also do well at showing that most members of the church don't believe that God personally causes us to gravitate to the ground each time we take a step, but rather that he allows the law of gravity to carry on without his micromanaging it. Then why should we be required to believe that God micromanaged the earth's creation, when all the scriptures imply is that he supervised it, having prepared all things to bring forth life? If the gospel doesn't require us to believe that God is intimately involved in each developmental step of every individual human fetus in its mother's womb, why does it require us to believe that God was so involved with the development of bodies for Adam and Eve, when prophets have told us that the scriptural account of the rib, for example, is allegorical, and that their bodies developed the same way that each of ours does (therefore indirectly answering the question of whether Adam had a navel)?
I had come to broaden my reading of the scriptures concerning the creation long before I came across this book, but I enjoyed reading it for its fleshing out of concepts I had already begun to synthesize in my head, and giving me philosophical company in a church where far too many members really don't care how the earth was created, and are content to maintain the embarrassingly outdated notions of their pre-DNA science grandparents. It would be good to have another book like this address the narrow and uninformed interpretations that have attached themselves to the biblical account of the great flood, too. After all, believing in angels and buried plates is nothing compared to believing that Noah, even with God's help, somehow managed to gather the millions of species that populate the earth onto his boat and keep them alive in captivity for months. Just a starter thought for that one: how many other times in the scriptures does it say that some event affected "the whole earth", when in reality it was just a figure of speech? Try doing a computer search for "whole earth" in the scriptures. It's interesting how it can make you reconsider the size of impact of the great flood.
I'm giving a copy of this book to my parents, since I think it will do much better job than I have done in opening my parents' minds to the marvelous process of creation that God has used to bring about his purposes.
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