The Prism and the Rainbow

When high school students from his church protested the teaching of evolution, evolutionary biologist and church youth sponsor Martin (chief, Division of Invertebrate Studies, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Cty.) was shocked by the students' misunderstanding of their faith. This book presents Martin's view of a mainstream, nonfundamentalist accommodation between science and Christianity. In brief, easy-to-read chapters he demonstrates that most Christians are not hostile to the theory of evolution and explains in simple terms its important place in science. Furthermore, Martin critiques the arguments and agenda of the intelligent design movement, contrasting it with how nonfundamentalist Christians read the biblical creation stories. While Martin's arguments are uneven, this is a worthwhile presentation of a common but less often heard perspective on a controversial topic, for the general reader.