Irreconcilable Differences

By Any Construction, Evolutionary Creationists Declare a False Peace

Long before Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection set off the modern version of the perceived dichotomy between science and Christian faith, St. Augustine of Hippo proposed a "Two Books" metaphor for Christians seeking truth about the world. God has given us two books, he said, the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature, which provide complementary revelations so that we may know him and know the truth about the world we find ourselves inhabiting. Centuries later, the model is still revered, but that doesn't mean Christians have found agreement on how to interpret the books or how to harmonize what we think they're telling us.

Since Darwin, the conflict has centered on...