Michael, Ruse, Harvard University Press, 2005
Ruse, a professor at Florida State University and prolific writer on the subject of evolution, offers a serious academic background to the development of evolutionary theory before and after Darwin and its perceived clash with religion. He gives both ‘sides’ of the debate careful and sensitive treatment in a manner rarely found in this discipline. The author’s basic contention is that both evolutionism and creationism are attempts to understand the world in an era where traditional religion (read Christianity – about which Ruse is quite candid) no longer has the answers. Each attempts to explain the origin and purpose of life; as such, the two sides are closer together than one might otherwise think. His analysis is interesting, accessible (I have no training in the biology at all) and even-handed. He makes an important distinction throughout the book between evolution and evolutionism, which certainly resonates. Although his arguments are entirely based in Christian responses to evolution (Judaism is hardly mentioned) and therefore admit no concept of traditional interpretation (Oral Law), the book is a great introduction to the subject and very thought provoking.
The Evolution-Creation Struggle
