Posts Tagged ‘origins’

Forks in the Road in Choosing a Model of Origins

In my last post, I introduced Gerald Rau’s new book Mapping the Origins Debate: Six Models of the Beginning of Everything. Rau’s book is very helpful in framing the issues surrounding the debate over the origin of the universe, life, species, and humans. I don’t find it as helpful in its assessment of the merits and shortcomings of each model (indeed this isn’t Rau’s goal). But, I do think we can discern from the book certain “forks in the road” that can help us in choosing a model of origins.

Mapping the Origins Debate: Six Models of the Beginning of Everything

I’ve just started reading Gerald Rau’s book Mapping the Origins Debate: Six Models of the Beginning of Everything, and I must say, I am finding it incredibly helpful. There is a lot of heat, and less light these days in the so-called “science vs. religion” wars. Rau’s purpose (as far as I can tell 80 pages in) is simply to educate without taking a side on the various positions one may hold in explaining four separate events: the origin of the universe, life, species, and humans. The book is well organized and contains many helpful charts (these alone are worth the price of the book) at the end that set each of the models side-by-side, highlighting similarities and differences.