Scholarly Essays

For similar resources, see our online Readings collection and Questions section.

This section offers a cross-section of articles by leading scholars in their fields, and provides indepth coverage of the science-and-religion dialogue. Written primarily by scholars who accept the BioLogos perspective, these essays provide trustworthy and authoritative information about science-and-religion. Essays written by scholars who do not accept the BioLogos perspective — and who may not even be Christians — are equally reliable because they are written by experts on the specific subject.

Readers are welcome to use this royalty-free material with attribution to The BioLogos Foundation.

• "Science, Religion, and A. D. White: Seeking Peace in the 'Warfare Between Science and Theology'""
  by Mark Noll
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  In this paper, Noll describes how Andrew Dickson White relentlessly advocated a view of history in which Science and Dogmatic Theology have always been at war with one another and outlines 16 reasons why White’s notion of warfare is mistaken.

• "Christian Geologists on Noah’s Flood: Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology"
  by Gregg Davidson and Ken Wolgemuth
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  Geologists Davidson and Wolgemuth address the widely promulgated notion that the Flood can account for the earth’s complex geology, and that all genuine Christians should accept this viewpoint.

• "Miracles and Science: The Long Shadow of David Hume"
  by Ard Louis
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  In this paper, physicist Ard Louis, a "Christian scientist who believes in the miracles of the Bible", looks at the implications science has on the acceptance of miracles.

• "After Inerrancy: Evangelicals and the Bible in a Postmodern Age"
  by Kenton Sparks
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  In this paper, Sparks explains why conventional Evangelical understandings of Scripture simply cannot be right and surveys some of the important resources that can help the Church get its bearings in a world without Biblicistic inerrancy.

• "Intelligent Design, Thomas Aquinas, and the Ubiquity of Final Causes"
  by Francis Beckwith
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  In this paper, Baylor philosophy professor and jurisprudence scholar Francis Beckwith distinguishes between Intelligent Design (ID) and Thomistic Design (TD) as well as offers an example of how atheist critics of final and formal causes in nature implicitly rely on those causes.

• "Preliminary Observations on an Incarnational Model of Scripture: Its Viability and Usefulness"
  by Pete Enns
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  From the author: "One such theological model is called an incarnational model. Simply put, this is the idea that the Bible is no more a book dropped out of the sky than Jesus is some superman who flew down from heaven. Instead, just as Jesus was a human being, the Bible is a book that fully reflects its cultural contexts. Jesus is “God incarnate,” both divine and human. Likewise, the Bible is a book that speaks God’s word but thoroughly reflects the thoughts, ideas, and worldviews of the human authors."

• "The Biblical Creation in its Ancient Near Eastern Context"
  by Joseph Lam
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  From the author: "When I was asked recently to speak on the story of creation in Genesis 1, [...] it occurred to me that such a task would involve not merely presenting the apparent biblical and extra-biblical parallels, but also providing a way for my audience to understand them in their proper context. In particular, I wanted to articulate a broader framework of biblical composition that takes into account contemporary developments in the historical-critical study of the Bible, while remaining compatible with a Christian view of inspiration."

• "Accommodationist and Proud of It"
  by Michael Ruse
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  In this autobiographical scholarly essay, science-and-religion scholar Michael Ruse gives a personal account of his experiences as an author and public speaker on the compatibility of Christianity and biological evolution. Excerpts from the full essay can be found on our blog, Science & the Sacred.

• "What Scientists Do"
  by Steven Benner
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  In this scholarly essay, Steve Benner, a Distinguished Fellow of The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., looks at what the role of a scientist should be. Benner looks specifically at "falsifiability", the acceptance of uncertainty, and the place of the scientist in public discourse.

• "Evangelicals, Evolution and the Bible: Moving Toward a Synthesis"
  by Pete Enns
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  Why are the numerous interpretive issues related to the Apostle Paul’s view of Adam important, exactly? Why invest so much time in trying to understand Genesis as the ancient Israelites would have, or in reading Paul in a non-literal way? In a new essay, Enns argues that Christians must engage in these activities, because ignoring the scientific and archeological evidence for evolution is not an option for believers in the twenty-first century.

• "Biblical Creation and Storytelling: Cosmogony, Combat and Covenant"
  by Brian Godawa
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  The literary conventions employed in Genesis chapter 1 mark it out, not as a scientific document describing material origins, but as a literary polemic against surrounding ancient Near Eastern pagan religions. This interpretation divests the text from any obligation to communicate “accurate science” to the modern reader. Genesis 1 is a theological-political document that has nothing to do with science as the modern reader understands it. Creation language here and elsewhere in Scripture is not about establishing scientific origins of material substance and structure but about covenantal establishment and worldview.

• "Science as an Instrument of Worship: Can recent scientific discovery inform and inspire our worship and service?"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Jennifer Wiseman
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  In this essay, astronomer and author Jennifer Wiseman touts the benefits of instilling a positive view toward science in the church by asserting that studying creation can show us the nature of God; science can inform us of what we need to do as stewards of God’s creation; understanding the natural world gives us a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ; and science can give us a better understanding of ourselves.

• "Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution"
  by Denis O. Lamoureux
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  Science-and-religion professor Denis Lamoureux presents the theory of evolutionary creation, which claims that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the universe and life through an ordained, sustained, and design-reflecting evolutionary process. The view of origins, says Lamoureux, fully embraces both the religious beliefs of biblical Christianity and the scientific theories of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution.

• "Scientific Fundamentalism and its Cultural Impact"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Karl Giberson
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  Giberson's essay makes the case that scientific fundamentalists are not merely arguing for the omnipotent supremacyof science but also presenting science as a quasi-religious replacement. The agenda of the "New Atheists" is not merely to refute mainstream religion but to replace it. Unfortunately, the scientific community is poorly represented by these aggressive public figures.

• "Evangelicals, Creation, and Scripture: An Overview"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Mark Noll
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  In this paper, Mark Noll -- University of Notre Dame historian and author of The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind -- looks at 15 of the attitudes, assumptions and convictions considered the most influential in inciting anti-intellectual sentiment among evangelical Christians. He also traces the historical background of when these ideas became prominent and suggests how they still affect contested issues of science and religion.

• "Barriers to Accepting the Possibility of Creation by Means of an Evolutionary Process: I. Concerns of the Typical Evangelical Theologian"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Bruce Waltke
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  In this white paper from the November BioLogos workshop, evangelical and renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke looks at eleven barriers that prevent evangelical theologians from accepting evolution as a possible means for creation and what we these barriers tells us about the tensions between science and religion perceived by many evangelicals. Waltke's work is based on a survey forwarded to presidents of the Fellowship of Evangelical Seminary Presidents and their faculty, asking them to identify the reasons that they do not personally accept evolutionary theory.

• "Barriers to Accepting the Possibility of Creation by Means of an Evolutionary Process: II. Concerns of the Typical Parishoner" or "Creation, Evolution, and Christian Laypeople"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Tim Keller
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  In this paper, considers three main clusters of questions lay people raise when they learn of anyone teaching that biological evolution and biblical orthodoxy can be compatible. Keller offers some ideas on how to provide responses that take these concerns seriously.

• "Barriers to Accepting the Possibility of Creation by Means of an Evolutionary Process: III. Concerns of the Typical Agnostic Scientist"
  (A white paper from the 2009 November workshop.)
  by Darrel Falk
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  Falk’s paper begins by noting that few, if any, theories in the historyof science have ever unified all the disciplines of the natural sciences as has the theory of evolution. He asks evangelical Christians to explore whether they are propping up the layers of a bubble that they—not God—have put in place and there by have artificially isolated themselves from the world of academics. The essay describes five layers that may play a role in unnecessarily blocking entry, or reentry, of agnostic scientists into the realm of evangelicalism.

• "Adventist Origins of Young Earth Creationism" by Karl Giberson
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  Many evangelicals believe that young-earth creationism is the only authentic and Biblical way for Christians to understand origins, and that until the advent of Darwin's theory of evolution, young-earth creationism was the only view held by Christians. However, in this excerpt from his book, Saving Darwin, Karl Giberson explains that young-earth creationism is a relatively new phenomenon that stemmed from the 20th century fundamentalist movement.