God and Evolution?: Science Meets Faith

Meet the "match made in heaven" between religion and evolutionary science, seen from a Catholic viewpoint.

In recent years, the creationism versus evolution debate has exploded. Especially in today's science-dominated society, modern points of conflict such as fertility treatments and stem cell research only serve to intensify the debate. The result is a world of seeming oppositions: faith vs. reason, soul vs. body, metaphysical vs. biological, cosmic design vs. natural selection...the list could go on. We are left wondering, "How do I reconcile these seeming oppositions, without sacrificing either faith or science?" The answer to that question is contained within these pages that challenge this 'black and white' attitude. Educated Catholics, college students, teachers, parents, parish study groups, and those individuals conflicted by tensions between science and faith will find this book a helpful resource in both discerning the causes of the current debate and understanding how to reconcile them.

Through a religious, philosophical, and biological approach, Dr. Verschuuren, a practicing Catholic and a scientist, reveals that science and religion answer different dimensions to the same fundamental question, "Where do we come from?" This perspective allows for a compatible and desirable coexistence-one that preserves, and in fact intensifies, God's splendor in the face of science. Readers are invited to find the balance along the continuum between "narrow-minded scientists" and "fundamentalist believers." Dr. Verschuuren accessibly walks readers through: the Church's position on faith and reason; the merits and limitations to theological and scientific approaches for understanding our existence; and the dominating ideologies of creationism, evolutionism, and intelligent design theory. A fitting conclusion harmoniously brings together creation and evolution as "very good neighbors."