William Lane Craig, Evolution and My Own Recent Doubts and Reading

Ever since I finished reading Alvin Plantinga’s book Where the Conflict Really Lies (incidentally, the publisher, Oxford University Press, is out of stock until sometime next week) I’ve been on a science kick. I’m about half way through Brian Greene’s The Fabric of the Cosmos which has been a fascinating read. I just finished The Language of Science and Faith edited by Karl W. Giberson and Francis S. Collins which I found extremely helpful even if I was unhappy with some portions of it. I recently ordered another book by Karl Giberson called Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution. I was especially intrigued by Giberson’s story since he was originally inspired by Henry Morris and planned to get a PhD in physics and then go to work at Morris’ recently created Institute for Creation Research. But in the course of his studies he was persuaded that Morris was wrong and he became a believer in evolution. He says he would describe the views of Morris as “sophomoric in the most literal sense of the word, as I watched it wilt over the course of my sophomore year in college.” (6) I also dug out of my library two other books which I’ve found useful. One of those is The Evolution Controversy: A Survey of Competing Theories by Thomas B. Fowler and Daniel Kuebler. This book can get fairly technical but it provides a nice survey with a focus on four principal views: Neo-Darwinian, Creationist, Intelligent Design and Meta-Darwinian. The second book is A Science and Religion Primer edited by Heidi A. Campell and Heather Looy.  This book is in a dictionary format where words, concepts and people are explained and put into the context of the discussion between science and religion. Each entry contains a brief explanation followed by “Key points/challenges,” and then an annotated list of books for further reading. The last two I’ve used more as reference works than actually reading them through.

I’ve never been a believer in evolution but I’m beginning to rethink the issue. In my curiosity I wondered what one of my heroes, William Lane Craig, believed. I knew this was not one of his specialties but wondered none the less if he had some leanings. As it turns out he does though he describes himself as “somewhat agnostic” on the issue. In this clip of a debate he had with Christopher DiCarlo Craig is asked by DiCarlo what he believes about evolution. Craig responded that he is “somewhere between progressive creationism and theistic evolution” although he says he has “no hard and fast position.”

Do you have any suggestions of books that you’ve found particularly helpful in this area?

Some titles I’ve read but it’s been years (for example, Darwin on Trial and Defeating Darwinism by Philip Johnson andChristianity and the Nature of Science by J. P. Moreland). I’ve also read The Farce of Evolution by Hank Hanegraaf but was unimpressed which I suspected I would be before I started it. I did work my way through Darwin’s Black Box by Michael J. Behe and will probably give that a second look. A couple of years ago I waded through (barely keeping my head above water some of the time) Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer (see here for a post on my early approach to the book). Even farther back in my reading (and most of which I’ve probably forgot) I read Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution by Maitland Edey and Donald Johanson and Origins Reconsidered: In Search of What Makes Us Human by Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin. Both of these titles are very pro-evolution. Obviously I was not impressed at the time with the case they made. However, looking back I suspect I was not really open to hearing what they had to say.