When Faith and Science Collide: A Biblical Approach to Evaluating Evolution, Creationism, Intelligent Design, and the Age of the Earth [Paperback]

G. R. Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2009

When scientific evidence or theories appear to conflict with the Bible, how should Christians respond? Should traditional interpretations always be maintained regardless of physical evidence to the contrary, or are there occasions when it is appropriate to adopt a different interpretation of scripture that fits scientific understanding better? Answering these questions is not a simple matter of whether one believes the Bible to be true or not, for there are many who claim belief in the authority and inspiration of the Bible who fall on opposite sides of the debate over evolution and the age of the earth. In this book, G.R. Davidson offers a simple three-step approach for examining scripture and science any time the two appear to clash. The approach honors scripture first and addresses the strength of scientific evidence only after satisfying scriptural constraints. When applied to evolution and the age of the earth, the result reveals far more harmony than discord!

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Malius Press (May 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982048602
• ISBN-13: 978-0982048603
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #955,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Davidson earned a B.S. in Geology from Wheaton College in Illinois, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Hydrology from the University of Arizona before joining the faculty in the Department of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi in 1996. Professor Davidson teaches, consults, and conducts original research in geochemistry and hydrogeology, often employing radiometric dating methods to determine the age of groundwater and sediment. Research projects have ranged from the very practical, such as age-dating lake sediments to determine if erosion control measures have been effective, to less practical but more intriguing problems like studying why cypress trees that grow in water year-round grow more when it rains.

While enjoying geology and the pursuit of scientific understanding, Dr. Davidson's first love is Christ and His kingdom. Ultimately, science is nothing more than the effort to increase our understanding and appreciation of God's amazing handiwork.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for those who care about keeping the Gospel clear and simple. October 8, 2009

By Larry A. Rosenmann

Format:Paperback

A very close friend recently told me:

"One of the primary reasons I abandoned my faith was seeing Christians trying so hard to use science and logic to prove their beliefs ... and failing completely."

As believers, we work hard to find and remove the rough edges in our lives that might be a stumbling block for non-believers who are be considering our faith. Often, the hardest ones to find are flaws in our own character that make these edges so abrasive. But if we truly want to effectively share our faith, we keep asking God to help us find and remove them. Based on my friend's comment, I think we also need to ask God to help us find and remove the abrasive flaws in our theology.

Obviously, there are certain stumbling blocks found in scripture, like the existence of a loving God while we live in a world that is full of evil, disease and death; or the message that salvation comes only through faith in Christ. these are absolutely non-negotiable and essential to our faith. But there are others, like the timing of the rapture, that are based on our personal interpretation of scripture. And despite the fact that they aren't really essential to the faith, they have caused irreparable damage within the church, for as long as that church has existed.

The issues of evolution and the age of the earth clearly fall into this second category. But for many non-believers the idea that we don't believe in evolution is the only thing they know (or think they know) about what we believe. Given that, it's imperative that we, as believers, carefully study the scriptures and the scientific evidence to see what they really have to say to us.

In his book "When Faith & Science Collide, Dr Davidson uses biblical and scientific evidence to examine the common orthodoxy against evolution that permeates the Church. His writing is concise, well organized and fun to read. His logic is compelling. And his conclusions will be a breath of fresh air for those who have never even considered the thought that evolution to be compatible with their faith.

This book is a must read for those who care about keeping the Gospel clear and simple for those who desperately need a Savior.

*** One more note ***

For those of you who find short books to be the best books, Dr Davidson has structured his book into two parts. The first part ends on page 94 and is designed for those who are only really interested in knowing how modern science conflicts or conforms with scripture.

For those who want to dig in to the science and the arguments of those who support or oppose evolution, the book has several additional chapters and a long list of notes and citations to confirm and expand on what Dr Davidson has to say.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Level headed and to the point November 13, 2009

By R. Buchman

Format:Paperback

Dr. Davidson's book "When Faith & Science Collide" is a refreshing addition to the spectrum of work that has been recently published on the subject Science and Creation. Davidson has focused his book on a Christian audience caught up in the warfare dichotomy stemming primarily from the interpretation of Genesis 1-11. The issues encompass the history, science and concordism of scripture written about God's act of creation in the first book of the Bible.

There are a variety of positions Christians choose on the subject, but the warfare exists primarily between Christians in the field of natural science (Evolutionary Creationists) and those that adhere to strict Biblical interpretation of the six day creation (Young Earth Creationists).

The book sets the stage with a young scientist torn between accepting the academic training he received in college vs. a literal interpretation of scripture offered by a friend. As with most individuals schooled in various fields of science, the young former Christian made what he thought was the only logical choice and went with reason rather than a "fundamental" Christian worldview. Here lies the purpose of the book. Davidson developed the following simple model to evaluate the conflict, "There are three questions that should be asked any time a scientific theory appears to conflict with scripture.
1) Does the infallibility of scripture rest on a literal interpretation of the verses in question?
2) Does the science conflict with the intended message of the scripture?
3) Is the science credible?"

Dr. Davidson is a respected Geologist residing at the University of Mississippi. His credentials on the fields of geochemistry and hydrogeology lend considerable credibility to the examples and arguments presented in this book that sometimes supports, but often refutes many of the arguments presented by Young Earth Creationists. The apparent goal of this book is to not only discredit the pseudoscience touted by Young Earth Creationists, but in addition, ask the reader to weigh the relevance of the conflicting issues before changing ones Christian worldview. The disputes originating from Genesis have little impact on the core message delivered by Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Continuous squabbling over what should be secondary topics within the Christian body is both damaging and embarrassing to those who are not positioned on the radical extremes.

I almost removed one star on this review because I felt the book lacked closure on the subject. This reviewer wanted to move to the next level and ask the question "What motivates the Young Earth defendants, fear, and self righteousness? And, what is the goal of this destructive movement?" But, based on his own insight and reasoning Dr. Davison concludes his book by stating that Young Earth Creationism is simply "Bad Theology and Bad Science". He abandons my questions to the "experts" in Psychology and Philosophy. The star is back on. Read this wonderful book on Christian Scientific Apologetics.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Additional Comments August 17, 2010

By Paul R. Bruggink

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

In addition to the excellent comments by the previous reviewers, I would like to add that Chapter 8 (The Credibility of Modern Science) contains very good discussions of transitional fossils and the evolution of man, and that Chapter 9 (Creation Science - The War of Words) is possibly the best and the best organized discussion I have read of the issues that come up when Young Earth Creationists try to use science to defend their rigid literal interpretation of Genesis. The author discusses eight different ways in which Young Earth Creationists present information to make something true sound ridiculous, or something false sound quite plausible: (1) Misuse of terms, (2) Misapplication of scientific laws or principles, (3) Half truths, (4) Misuse of probability calculations, (5) Hiding the forest behind the trees, (6) Misleading quotations, (7) Non-evolution evolution, and (8) The 10 to 20 year lag. The author discusses each way with examples.

I highly recommend this book for Young Earth Creationists, any Christian wondering about evolution, and especially for non-YEC Christians who have tried to counter "scientific" arguments in support of Young Earth Creationism.