This is a great book. Im my mind it deserved five stars, not because I agree with every word, but because Lamoureux writes with clarity, conviction, and deep passion. I am finishing up an M.Div degree at an ecumenical (read liberal) seminary, and have been fascinated with theology and biblical criticism for many years. While Lamoureux is probably a bit more conservative than I am, he has a strong theological footing. He knows his Bible, and he knows tradition, and he remains extremely faithful to many doctrines that the majority of the universal church would describe as core. The author faces questions dead-on and does not flinch, and his proposals do not leave one scratching their head at the end wondering, "did you really touch on the question you set out to answer?" His writing style (at least in this book) is not incredibly powerful (though at times it flirts with this adjective), I presume his intent was unambiguous clarity--which he achieves with flying colors. Beyond the clarity of this text is the wonderful description of compelling! I certainly do not agree with all of his theology (in minor and rather insignificant ways), nor his exegetical conclusions, but our theologies, from what I can discern, line up pretty well--and I am far more conservative than most of my professors and peers.
One caveat. I really appreciate the response he gives to the questions "WHY did God create through evolution?" and "What about suffering and death in evolution?" in the final chapter. In fact, these two questions were why I picked up the book in the first place. Unbeknownst to me, Lamoureux heads in the same direction that I have been leaning for a while (although there are some significant nuanced differences in our approaches to these questions). We travel on the same path but end up at different points. My only critique is that there seems to be an indescribable depth of theological resources for answering these questions in 1 Corinthians 1-3, which the author does not tap into. He uses a passage from Hebrews, which is also great, but neglects to draw from 1 Corinthians 1-3--a passage that definitely adds rock-solid and wide theological foundation to the very tricky questions Lamoureux is brazen enough tackle. I wish I could meet with him to discuss these passages. In fact, I plan to write a Ph.D dissertation on these passages as they relate to questions of biblical criticism (which includes considerations of evolution), epistemology, faith, and dependence on God rather than self--and how this dependence is indispensable for a healthy spiritual life, and therefore one of God's choicest means of grace.
All-in-all, the book is wonderful, clear, compelling, and short. What more could you ask? I am also doing chaplaincy work in a hospital, a very "scientific" setting. In our cultural context, I believe it is so important for the church to not appear to be just ignoring hard questions and what seems to be clear fact. If the church is to survive the discoveries of the richness of God's world, which do not always have a one-to-one correlation with the Bible (i.e. "scientific" and "historical" exactitudes), we need more great thinkers like Lamoureux to step up to the mic, and be heard!
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Excellent work, and an absolutely necessary step in the right direction for the church of Jesus Christ.
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2016Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2014
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Phil McCracken
Fairly good attempt at reconciling Science and Religion
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2013Verified Purchase
