I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution: [Paperback]

Denis O. Lamoureux (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub (March 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556358865
• ISBN-13: 978-1556358869
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #581,791 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Guidance for Reconciling Evolution with Christianity May 27, 2009

By John Lang

Format:Paperback

This book is a condensed (184 pages vs. 493 pages) and much more affordable version of Lamoureux's 2008 book, Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. My detailed review of that book is available at [...] Because it is more concise, this new book is much more accessible to its target audience; namely, conservative Christians who are wrestling with the Creation/Evolution controversy. I believe it fills a much needed gap in the popular literature aimed at the same audience. Specifically, I believe it delivers the hermeneutical guidance that is lacking in most of the other books addressing evolution from a Christian perspective.

I could personally relate to the "journey" that the author and many other conservative Christians have made in wrestling with the creation/evolution controversy. I abandoned the "young earth creationist" position in the 1980's after observing evidence I considered conclusive regarding the age of the earth and the universe. For Christians who may still be pondering that issue, I believe The Bible, Rocks and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth is probably the definitive text for reconciling scripture with an "Old Earth" (4.5+/- billion years). For over twenty years, I embraced "Progressive (Old Earth) Creationism". I did not consider evolution to be compatible with the Christian faith. As a result, I never seriously considered the possibility that secular authors might actually be right about evolution. It was not until I read com/The-Language-God-Scientist-Presents/dp/1416542744">The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis Collins that I encountered what I considered to be conclusive evidence for Common Descent. The fact that Collins was writing from a Christian perspective made this realization somewhat less traumatic. I read several other books by Christian authors such as Coming to Peace With Science: Bridging the Worlds Between Faith and Biology by Darrel Falk, Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with the Creator by Richard Colling, etc. These only served to solidify the reality of evolution in my mind. There have been a number of books like these that I believe have been very helpful in demonstrating the evidence for evolution in a manner that is sensitive to Christian concerns. Yet I don't believe there are many books that practically guide conservative Christians as to how they can reconcile acknowledgement of evolution with their convictions about the message of the Bible. Gordon Glover's book, Beyond the Firmament: Understanding Science and the Theology of Creation provides an excellent start to this task, but even he acknowledges in his review of Evolutionary Creation (see [...]) that Lamoureux takes the hermeneutical issue to a much deeper level. In I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution , Lamoureux addresses the key issues in a much more concise manner. The significance of this is that he provides practical direction as to how conservative Christians can retain their evangelical convictions while maintaining their integrity with regard to the "Book of God's Works" (nature) and the "Book of God's Words" (scripture). In view of the overwhelming evidence for evolution, coupled with the relative scarcity of credible books addressing the hermeneutical issues that are relevant to the creation/evolution controversy, I consider this book to be a very valuable resource for the conservative Christian community. I can't recommend it highly enough! Read more ›

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A condensed version of his "Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution" April 9, 2009

By Paul R. Bruggink

Format:Paperback

In this book, Denis Lamoureux presents a shorter version of his belief that evolution and evangelical Christianity are compatible. It is based on: (1) God's dual revelation of Himself in two divine books, the Book of God's Words (the Bible) and the Book of God's Works (the natural world), (2) the failure of scientific concordism (which states that the Bible's statements about science are always accurate), and (3) the hermeneutical principle of accommodation (God condescends to reveal Himself in ways that human beings can understand). This leads Denis Lamoureux to the conclusion that the events recorded in Genesis 1-3 never literally happened. The rest of his book makes a biblical case for this conclusion.

In his discussion of the term 'evolution,' he gives a very general definition, without even mentioning descent with modification by means of mutation and natural selection. He wants to apply the term evolution to cosmology and geology as well as to biology. This makes it easier to argue that biological evolution is just another natural process that God used to create the current universe. However, this increases the confusion over the term 'evolution.' On the other hand, his discussion of the term 'creation' is excellent.

He presents "three basic models for the manifestation of both the Image of God and human sin during the evolutionary process" and embraces gradual polygenism, which asserts that the Image of god and human sinfulness were gradually and mysteriously manifested across many generations of evolving ancestors. He then presents four arguments for moving beyond the sin-death problem with a new approach to Romans 5 & 8 and 1 Corinthians 15.... He argues that "these passages in the Word of God do not reveal HOW sin entered the world, but THAT we are sinners in need of a Savior, whom God has graciously sent to die on the Cross for us."

This book is probably best suited for Old Earth/Progressive Creationists who are struggling with integrating biological evolution into their theological belief system. It would be quite a leap for Young Earth Creationists to take all at once. Let them get used to the idea of an old earth first. Then convince them that biological evolution happened. Then give them a copy of either one of Denis Lamoureux's books. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting March 19, 2012

By lfs0ahd

Format:Paperback

This is a good book. Well written and easy to follow. It provides a variety of examples of how the earth is very old and examples of how life evolved over the many years on earth. I am left with the feeling though that the author is simply trying to twist his view of christanity (a creator with a specific purpose) around what he knows to be scientific fact (an old earth which has produced life through evolution). It certainly provides a different perspective to the young earth creation account.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Evolution for Christians November 1, 2010

By Dr. Peter J. Hickman

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the best short account of the subject I have read (amongst many).
Well written, in a fluent and readable style and comprehensible to the non-scientist.
Lamoureux's total commitment to Christ Jesus, his respect for the inspiration of the Bible and his acceptance of the facts of science make this a 'must read' for anyone who is struggling with the false dichotomy of conflict between the Christian faith and the evolution of life on Earth.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Overview May 25, 2013

By Terry Defoe

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Denis Lamoureux takes the reader on a journey through the theological and scientific minefield dealing with origins. Rather than espousing the common "warfare model" of the relationship between religion and science, he shows how one can illuminate the other. Lamoureux argues that the science in the Bible -- biological, cosmological, and the like -- was the best science-of-the-day -- and that the modern tendency to read science back into the Bible is a huge mistake. Lamoureux advocates a separation of the Bible's inerrant Message of Faith from its incidental descriptions of the physical and biological world. He proposes what he calls "evolutionary creation" (also called theistic evolution). A good overview of a contentious debate and of the various positions espoused.