Rescuing Darwin : God and evolution in Britain today by Nick Spencer and Denis Alexander.
Theos, 2009 65 pages £10 ISBN 978 0 955 445 354
For all that this is a short book it really packs a powerful punch. Nick Spencer was director of Studies (now Senior Fellow) at Theos, the public theology network and Denis Alexander was Director (now Emeritus Director) of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion.
It is refreshing to read a succinct and patently honest account of Darwin’s theory of the origin of species and the way it has been hijacked by myriad other philosophies and isms to give added (often spurious) credence to a specific ideology. The authors manage effectively to debunk the myths that, like parasites or barnacles, have attached themselves to Darwin’s theory. They clarify Darwin’s purpose in publishing his magnum opus and the resulting furore, particularly expressed in theological circles, giving more than a mere breath of fresh air to a situation thick with misunderstanding, misrepresentation, misinterpretation and misapplication (‘colourful rhetoric’ is the phrase used in the book).
The early chapters of Genesis must of necessity be mentioned with words of wisdom about interpretation. Intelligent Design also comes under scrutiny.
The central argument of the book is that “ Darwin should not be caught in the crossfire of a philosophical or theological battle. Religion is not bad science. Genesis is not a primitive Origin of Species and Darwinism does not necessitate atheism…”
A cold and sober, albeit brief, account not just of Darwin’s theory but of its implications and impact.
We are left with the tenable prospect of theistic evolution.
If there is any regret at all, it is that this prospect – theistic evolution – is not given more treatment. That, I suppose, would require another book but, at least, the decks have been cleared.