Deborah and Loren Haarsma offer free study videos, recommended resources, and short articles that expand on topics covered in their book Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. The six-session study videos are available for viewing free from this site, or as a DVD with small group discussion guide. A copy of Origins is recommended for each small group participant.
Download a sample from Origins.
Download PDFDownload charts from the e-book.
Download PDFChoose a chapter below to find short articles by the Haarsmas that expand on topics covered in Origins as well as recommended resources for that chapter.
These films were made possible through the support of a grant from The BioLogos Foundation's Evolution and Christian Faith program. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of BioLogos.
Scientists of Faith – Quotes from scientists through the centuries who believed in God and saw their belief as completely compatible with their scientific work.
How Does God Keep Planetary Orbits Stable? – A case study from the early days of science on how God governs natural events.
God’s Governance: Two Views – Does God directly control each random event, or does God let created systems explore options within bounds that God sets?
Bauer, Andrej. The Gallery of Random Art (discussed by Haarsmas in God’s Governance: Two Views book supplement).
Ecklund, Elaine Howard. Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Grinnell, Frederick. Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. A cell biologist describes what doing science is really like.
Haarsma, Loren. “ Chance from a Theistic Perspective ,” The Talk Origins Archive, 1996.
___________. “Does Science Exclude God? Natural Law, Chance, Miracles, and Scientific Practice,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.
Hooykaas, R. Religion and the Rise of Modern Science. Scottish Academic Press and Chatto & Windus, 1972.
MacKay, Donald. Science, Chance and Providence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Murphy, George L. Toward a Christian View of a Scientific World. Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2001.
Polkinghorne, John. The Faith of a Physicist. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 1994.
___________. Science and Providence. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989.
Scientists of Faith – Quotes from scientists through the centuries who believed in God and saw their belief as completely compatible with their scientific work.
How Does God Keep Planetary Orbits Stable? – A case study from the early days of science on how God governs natural events.
God’s Governance: Two Views – Does God directly control each random event, or does God let created systems explore options within bounds that God sets?
Bauer, Andrej. The Gallery of Random Art (discussed by Haarsmas in God’s Governance: Two Views book supplement).
Ecklund, Elaine Howard. Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Grinnell, Frederick. Everyday Practice of Science: Where Intuition and Passion Meet Objectivity and Logic . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. A cell biologist describes what doing science is really like.
Haarsma, Loren. “ Chance from a Theistic Perspective ,” The Talk Origins Archive, 1996.
___________. “Does Science Exclude God? Natural Law, Chance, Miracles, and Scientific Practice,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003.
Hooykaas, R. Religion and the Rise of Modern Science. Scottish Academic Press and Chatto & Windus, 1972.
MacKay, Donald. Science, Chance and Providence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1978.
Murphy, George L. Toward a Christian View of a Scientific World. Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2001.
Polkinghorne, John. The Faith of a Physicist. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 1994.
___________. Science and Providence. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989.
K-T Boundary Investigation – A real-life example of historical science in which scientists discover that an asteroid hit the Earth 65 million years ago.
Hearn, Walter. Being a Christian in Science. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1987.
MacKay, Donald. The Open Mind and Other Essays . Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1988.
Ratzsch, Del. Science & Its Limits: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective. InterVarsity Press, 2000.
Five Different Worldview Interpretations of One Scientific Result – Different philosophical responses to the scientific result that biochemistry can explain the characteristics of living creatures without the need of a “vital substance”
Gravity and General Relativity – An example of a new scientific model replacing an old one
Motions of the Earth Through Space – You’re moving rapidly right now even though you can’t feel it!
Parallax and Its Role in the Heliocentric/Geocentric Debate – Parallax is one way to measure Earth’s orbit around the Sun.
The Phases of Venus – Evidence against the earth-centered solar system model
Berkhof, Louis. Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1950, 2003.
Fee, Gordon, and Douglas Stewart. How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, 3rd edition. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2003.
Barbour, Ian G. Religion and Science. New York: Harper, 1997.
Enns, Peter. Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
Lindberg, David C., and Ronald L. Numbers. “ Beyond War and Peace: A Reappraisal of the Encounter between Christianity and Science ,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 39.3:140-149 (1987).
Drake, Stillman, ed. The Discoveries and Opinions of Galileo. New York: Doubleday, 1957. Includes translation of Galileo’s “Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina.”
Gingerich, Owen. The Book Nobody Read: Chasing the Revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus. New York: Walker & Company, 2004.
Hummel, Charles E. The Galileo Connection. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986.
Numbers, Ronald, ed. Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths About Science and Religion. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2009.
Making “Rocks” from Crayons – A fun activity that you can try at home to illustrate how different types of rocks are formed.
Centuries of Geological Evidence for an Old Earth – A short summary of evidence known before 1840 that convinced geologists that the earth is old.
Radiometric Dating – An explanation of how scientists use radioactive decay to measure the age of the earth.
Young Earth Creationist Views on Continental Drift and Radioactive Dating – A description of some Young Earth Creationist models and the difficulties they face.
The Ocean Salt Argument for a Young Earth – An example of a scientific argument used by the creation science community to argue for a young earth.
Catholic Answers. “ Creation and Genesis .”
Greenberg, Jeffrey. “Geological Framework of an Evolving Creation,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Weins, Roger C. “ Radiometric Dating: A Christian Perspective .”
Young, Davis, and Ralph Stearley. The Bible, Rocks, and Time: Geological Evidence for the Age of the Earth. Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2008.
Young, Davis. “The Discovery of Terrestrial History,” in Portraits of Creation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990.
Davis, Edward B. “Concordism and American Evangelicals,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
___________. “ Important Primary Texts on Religion and Science in America .”
Numbers, Ronald. The Creationists. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1992.
Institute for Creation Research .
Ross, Hugh. Creation and Time. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1994.
Van Till, Howard J., Davis A. Young, and Clarence Menninga. Science Held Hostage. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1988.
Genesis 1:6-8 from Five English Translations – The creation of the firmament on the second day.
Ancient Near East Cosmology in the Bible – A list of many other Bible passages that refer to a firmament, waters above the sky, and a flat earth supported by pillars.
Collins, John C. Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary. P&R Publishing, 2006.
Enns, Peter. Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2005.
Glover, Gordon. Beyond the Firmament: Understanding Science and the Theology of Creation. Watertree Press, 2007.
Hyers, Conrad. “Comparing Biblical and Scientific Maps of Origins,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation, Keith Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Stek, John H. “What Says the Scripture?” Portraits of Creation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990.
Walton, John H. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate . Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2009.
The Life Cycle of Stars – A scientific explanation of how stars and planets are born.
Water on Mars? – What robotic rovers on the Martian surface are teaching us about the history of Mars.
A Detailed False History? – The wide variety and detail of evidence for a long history of the universe challenges the Appearance of Age Interpretation of Genesis 1.
Does the Big Bang Prove That God Exists? – Analysis of a philosophical argument for God based on the scientific evidence for a beginning to the universe.
A Brief History of the Universe Spun Three Ways – The same scientific model described in religiously neutral language, with an atheistic spin, and with a theistic spin.
Does The Scientific Evidence of Fine Tuning Prove the Existence of God? – A philosophical argument for God based on the scientific evidence for fine-tuning.
Interactive websites that allow you to explore the cosmos from the solar system out to the largest superclusters of galaxies:
Secret Worlds: The Universe Within
Danielson, Dennis. “ Copernicus and the Tale of the Pale Blue Dot .” (Click on the link to “Copernicus and the Tale of the Pale Blue Dot” to download the article.)
Van Till, Howard. “The Scientific Investigation of Natural History,” Portraits of Creation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1990.
American Astronomical Society. “An Ancient Universe: How Astronomers Know the Vast Scale of Cosmic Time,” 2004. A readable 20-page overview of evidence for age.
Ferreira, Pedro. The State of the Universe: A Primer in Modern Cosmology . London: Cassell, 2006.
Craig, William Lane. The Teleological Argument and the Anthropic Principle .
Leslie, John. Universes . London: Routledge, 1996.
Ross, Hugh. More Than A Theory: Revealing a Testable Model for Creation . Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2009
Green, Brian. The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos . Knopf, 2011.
Rees, Martin. Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces that Shape the Universe . New York: Basic Books, 2000.
The Microevolution of Peppered Moths – A frequently-cited example of microevolution.
Is Evolution Ugly or Beautiful? – Some see evolution as an ugly system of competition and death; others see it as a beautiful system of adaptation and intricacy.
Darwin and Floating Plant Seeds – An example of a news reporter equating the science of evolution with the atheistic worldview of evolutionism.
Dembski, William and Michael Ruse, eds. Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. An anthology of different Christian views on evolution and intelligent design.
Keller, Tim. Creation, Evolution, and Christian Laypeople . BioLogos, 2009. Advice for pastors on how to answer the most pressing questions asked by laypeople about evolution.
Moreland, J. P., and John Mark Reynolds, eds. Three Views on Creation and Evolution. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1999.
Ratzsch, Del. The Battle of Beginnings: Why Neither Side Is Winning the Creation-Evolution Debate . IVP Academic, 1996.
Whales—Land or Sea Creatures? – Evidence for evolution from transitional whale fossils.
Biogeography of Fossils – Another type of evidence for evolution, from the way fossils are distributed geographically.
Developmental Biology in Whales as Evidence for Evolution –Yet another type of evidence for evolution, this time from developmental biology.
Genetic Diversity Within Species – How scientists use the variety of genes within a single species to determine its history and ancestry.
Genetic Evidence for Evolution – Three examples of genetic evidence for evolution: the organization of genomes, sweet receptor pseudogenes, and sections of genes called introns.
Questions Sometimes Asked About the Theory of Evolution
including:
1.
If the theory of evolution is correct, shouldn’t we see animals that are half-cat/half-dogs alive today?
2.
The second law of thermodynamics says that entropy (disorder) is always increasing. Doesn't this contradict the theory of evolution, which says that the orderliness and complexity in living organisms are increasing over time?
3.
Doesn’t evolution predict that changes in lifeforms should be gradual? Aren’t there big gaps in the fossil record where new lifeforms suddenly appear?
4.
Can evolution really produce big changes, like changing fish into reptiles or reptiles into birds?
5.
The first lifeforms were simple and single-celled, but modern life is more complex. Can evolution explain how life got more complex over time?
6.
Can evolution explain how life got started in the first place?
Alexander, Dennis. Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose? Kregel Publications, 2009.
Colling, Richard G. Random Designer: Created from Chaos to Connect with Creator . Browning Press, 2004.
Collins, Francis. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief . New York: Free Press, 2006.
Falk, Darrel. Coming to Peace with Science. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Gray, Terry. “Biochemistry and Evolution,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Harrell, Daniel M. Nature’s Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2008.
Lamoureux, Denis O. I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009.
Miller, Keith B. “Common Descent, Transitional Forms, and the Fossil Record,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
There are many essays on this topic available on the BioLogos website .
Rusbult, Craig. “ An Introduction to Entropy and Evolution: The Second Law of Thermodynamics in Science and in Young Earth Creationism .”
Probability, Pattern, and Design – An everyday example of how probability and pattern are used to detect design.
Is the Evolution of Complexity Improbable? – Evolution is often oversimplified in textbooks and the media, but the actual process of evolution appears capable of producing complexity in at least some situations.
Ion Channels: An Example of How Complexity Could Evolve – An example from nerve cells.
The Very First Living Cell – What is the probability that the first living cell on earth self-assembled? How do both supporters and critics of Intelligent Design view this issue?
Kenosis and Evolution – God’s manner of governing the natural world has interesting similarities with how God relates to humanity.
Davis, Edward B. “ Intelligent Design on Trial ,” in Religion in the News, Winter 2006, Vol. 8, No 3.
Numbers, Ronald. The Creationists. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1992.
Behe, Michael. Darwin’s Black Box. 2 nd edition. Free Press, 2006.
Dembski, William, and Sean McDowell. Understanding Intelligent Design. Harvest House, 2008.
Meyer, Stephen. Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design . HarperOne, 2009.
Strobel, Lee. The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God . Zondervan, 2005.
Collins, Francis. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief . New York: Free Press, 2006.
Falk, Darrel. Coming to Peace with Science. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Gray, Terry, and Loren Haarsma. “Complexity, Self-organization and Design,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Haarsma, Loren. “ Is Intelligent Design ‘Scientific’? ” Lecture given at the American Scientific Affiliation annual meeting August 2005.
Plaxco, Kevin, and Michael Gross. Astrobiology: An Introduction. Boston: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Human Genomic Organization and Introns – Genetic evidence that humans share a common ancestor with primates.
Genetic Adam and Mitochondrial Eve – An explanation of these scientific terms, and an explanation of why they do not imply that all humans descended from only two individuals.
Three Interpretations of the Tree of Life – Different theological interpretations of what the Tree of Life in Genesis 2-3 is meant to teach us about human immortality.
Heslip, Steven. “ Time-Space Chart of Hominid Fossils .”
Collins, Francis. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief . New York: Free Press, 2006.
Hurd, James. “Hominids in the Garden,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Stearley, Ralph. “Assessing Evidences for the Evolution of a Human Cognitive Platform for ‘Soulish Behaviors,’” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Vol. 61, p.152-174, September 2009.
Venema, Dennis R. “Genesis and the Genome: Genomics Evidence for Human-Ape Common Ancestry and Ancestral Hominid Population Sizes,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 62:166, September 2010.
Wilcox, David. “Finding Adam: The Genetics of Human Origins,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Collins, Robin. “Evolution and Original Sin,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Lamoureux, Denis O. I Love Jesus & I Accept Evolution. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2009.
Murphy, George. “ Roads to Paradise and Perdition: Christ, Evolution, and Original Sin ,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 58:109, June 2006.
Young, Davis. “ The Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race Revisited ,” Christian Scholar’s Review. XXIV:4, May 1995.
Human Genomic Organization and Introns – Genetic evidence that humans share a common ancestor with primates.
Collins, C. John. “Adam and Eve as Historical People, and Why It Matters,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 62:3, pp. 145-165.
Collins, Robin. “Evolution and Original Sin,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Harlow, Daniel C. “After Adam: Reading Genesis in an Age of Evolutionary Science,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith. 62:3, pp. 179-195.
Hurd, James. “Hominids in the Garden,” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Murphy, George. “Roads to Paradise and Perdition: Christ, Evolution, and Original Sin,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 58:109, June 2006.
Young, Davis. “ The Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race Revisited ,” Christian Scholar’s Review XXIV:4, May 1995.
Alexander, Denis. “ How Does a BioLogos Model Need to Address the Theological Issues Associated with an Adam Who Was Not the Sole Genetic Progenitor of Humankind? ” BioLogos white paper.
Berry, R. J. and Jeeves, M. “The nature of human nature,” Science & Christian Belief, 20:3-47, 2008.
Day, A. J. “Adam, anthropology and the Genesis record—taking Genesis seriously in the light of contemporary science,” Science & Christian Belief, 10:115-43, 1998.
Lamoureux, Denis O. Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution. Eugene, Ore.: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.
Schneider, John R. “Recent Genetic Science and Christian Theology on Human Origins: An ‘Aesthetic Supralapsarianism,’” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith . 62:3, pp. 196-212.
The Next Hot Issue – Some advice for dealing with issues (besides origins) where science and Christianity intersect.
Questions Christians Ask Regarding Interpreting Scripture
1. Since the Bible tells us how God made the world, why do we need to listen to science?
2. Haven’t Christians always believed in a young earth and a six-day creation?
3. Is it ever appropriate to change one’s interpretation of Scripture to match science?
4. Isn’t a non-literal interpretation of Genesis 1 just a slippery slope to denying the resurrection?
5. If Genesis 1 should be understood literally, what is the “firmament” created on day two?
6. Why didn’t God just tell us about the Big Bang and evolution in Genesis?
7. Is it better if we can make the events of Genesis 1 line up with what science says, or if the message of Genesis 1 is independent of what science says?
Questions Christians Ask Regarding Interpreting Nature
8. How strong is the evidence for an old earth? For evolution?
9. Are the Big Bang and evolution just beliefs promoted by atheists to get around God?
10. Are scientists biased against religion and against God?
11. How can scientists be sure about the Big Bang and evolution if no one was there to see them?
12. Is there any scientific evidence for a young earth?
13. Could God have created the earth recently and made it appear old?
14. Can the scientific evidence for an old earth also be made to fit a young earth model?
Questions Christians Ask Regarding the Goodness and Fall of Creation
15. An old earth would mean millions of years of animal pain and species extinction. Didn’t God create the world perfect at the beginning?
16. How could God call creation good if it included destruction, pain, and extinction?
17. Does evolution reward selfishness?
18. Did death exist before the Fall?
19. Does a non-literal view of Adam and Eve deny important doctrines about original sin and salvation?
Questions Christians Ask Regarding How God Works in Nature
20. Why would God use such a long, slow process when he could have created everything instantly?
21. How could it have all happened by chance?
22. If evolution is true, doesn’t God seem weak and uninvolved?
23. Does evolution imply that God doesn’t do miracles?
24. Shouldn’t there be some sort of proof in nature that God created it?
25. Would humans be less significant if God created us through common ancestry with animals rather than through special miracles?
26. How do I worship God if God used slow natural processes instead of miracles to create each animal and plant?
27. With all this disagreement in the church, what should I believe?
28. What should I teach my children?
29. How do I deal with disagreements about origins with my family and church members?
Munday, John C. “Animal Pain: Beyond the Threshold?” Perspectives on an Evolving Creation. Keith B. Miller, ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2003.
Snoke, David. “Why Were Dangerous Animals Created?” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Vol. 56, June 2004.
Yancey, Philip. Where Is God When It Hurts? Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1977, 1990, 2002.
American Scientific Affiliation . This professional society for Christians in science has many useful resources from a range of viewpoints.
Bancewicz, Ruth. Test of Faith: Spiritual Journeys of Scientists. Wipf & Stock, 2010. Ten of today’s scientists discuss their Christian faith.
Graves, Dan. Scientists of Faith: 48 Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith . Kregel Publications, 1996.
Hearn, Walt. Being a Christian in Science. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
List of Christian scholarly societies compiled by the Office of Faith Integration at Azusa Pacific University. This list includes several organizations of Christians in the sciences as well as other academic fields.
Brouwer, Sigmund. Who Made the Moon? A Father Explores How Faith and Science Agree . Thomas Nelson, 2008.
See educational resources listed at end of Chapter 1.
Achtemeier, Elizabeth. Nature, God, and Pulpit. Eerdmans, 1992.
Huyser-Honig, Joan. “ Science and Faith in Harmony: Positive ways to include science in worship .” Article from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, 2009. Includes links to many worship resources.
The Ministry Theorem . Includes many resources for pastors and ministry leaders, including essays by scientists on the theme “What I Wish My Pastor Knew.”
Season of Creation . Offers liturgies, visuals, sermon themes, children’s messages, and other worship resources on creation.
Wiseman, Jennifer. “ Science as an Instrument of Worship: Can recent scientific discovery inform and inspire worship and service? ” BioLogos white paper, 2009.
