Reviews
Pastor Defoe is thoroughly familiar with the writings of the leading scientific spokespersons. Within the secular sphere he has immersed himself in the writings of all the key figures from biologists Stephen Jay Gould to Richard Dawkins and philosophers Daniel Dennett to Michael Ruse. In the Christian sphere, he expounds beautifully on the work of Francis Collins, Karl Giberson, and John Polkinghorne. His knowledge of the work of the key players in the Intelligent Design movement runs deep and extends into the work of leading proponents of the young earth position as well.
This book with its hundreds of references is any scholar’s dream, but each concept is well-explained and never presented in a dry scholarly fashion. ​For many years, those of us in leadership positions in the scientific discussions of the science/faith interface have longed for a pastor’s perspective on this topic. The challenge has been that pastors have many vital and urgent responsibilities that prohibit them having the time to learn the science, while also caring for the day-to-day challenges of their parishioners. This book is the exception that we have hoped would one day emerge.
Written with the heart and sensitivity of a pastor, it is a call to the Church to bring the two different aspects of God’s reality into one united whole. The call this book makes is urgent, but it is nonetheless patiently and beautifully presented. It is my hope and expectation that in future years, church persons will look back at this book, with a sense of thankfulness – both to Pastor Defoe for his faithfulness and to our God for the majesty of his creation process.
DARREL R. FALK, PhD. Past president of BioLogos,
A Faith / Science Advocacy Organization Founded by Francis Collins ​
Modern Christianity is at a crossroads. Some major denominations are in turmoil around social and political issues, and there is no question that the church is in crisis; the massive departure of large numbers of young people from the pews is one symptom of that crisis. There are many challenges facing the church, but one of the most powerful, and potentially dangerous is the challenge of modern science, especially when wielded as a weapon in the hands of a new and aggressive form of atheism. The claim that science has displaced faith, that logic and reason convict God of non-existence has achieved widespread acceptance among the youth of the Western world and has been almost totally incorporated into the academic world view. How can Christians counter this alarming trend?
The first step is to understand the details of the various points of view of contemporary Christian thinkers about the relationship of science to Christianity. ​Pastor Terry Defoe’s book, Evolving Certainties is an excellent tool to gain the basic knowledge needed to understand where we are, and where we should be heading. Defoe covers every aspect of the various belief systems proposed by Christians to handle the mass of scientific information now flooding our culture. From Young Earth Creationism to Intelligent Design to Evolutionary Creationism, Defoe presents a thorough and beautifully written analysis of the logic, history, benefits and pitfalls of each of these very different ways handling science within the context of Christian faith.
This book tackles difficult questions head on and is an example of intellectual honesty and courage that all Christians can emulate. The book delves into the thorny issues of hermeneutics for each of these belief systems, and presents all sides of the controversies surrounding each of them. Defoe has his own point of view, which he expresses with love and tolerance for all those who advocate the cause of Christ. This book will go a long way to educating the Christian public on what their fellow believers actually believe and why. Armed with this understanding, readers of Evolving Certainties will be able to make choices, and unite in common cause for the sake of faith in our common Savior.
SY GARTE, Ph.D., Editor
American Scientific Affiliation
God and Nature Online Magazine
One thing that really stood out to me about this book was the pastoral heart of the
author. Rev. Terry Defoe is a retired pastor who served congregations in Western
Canada for almost 40 years. He writes out of pastoral concern for Christians who have
questions or wrestle with topics of science and how they fit into their Christian faith
and belief.
After the book’s main body is an appendix that contains and discusses several surveys about evolution, science, and religion/faith, their specific questions, and the results. After the appendix is an impressive bibliography. The book contains numerous end notes and the author has clearly researched this topic thoroughly.
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I highly recommend this book for pastors and Christians who have questions about science and where modern scientific discoveries fit in their faith and theology. The conversational approach in this book is gentle but firm and not a threat to the Christian faith or those wishing to understand views beyond their own.
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KRISTINE JOHNSON, B.S., Fellow
American Scientific Affiliation
Senior Advanced Systems Engineer at Honeywell Aerospace
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Read Kristine's full-length review here.
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Interview With Pastor Bill Cwirla
“Of the reading of many books…”
Ecclesiastes 12:12
Another book on science and religion?
Terry Defoe’s decades-long experience with young earth creationism (YEC) is a lived experience. His denomination – Lutheran Church – Canada (LCC) – is an officially young-earth creationist denomination. Despite the very real threat of sanctions, and in consultation with denominational leadership, Pastor Defoe assembled an overview of the various ways people of faith have responded to science in general and to evolutionary science in particular – from young-earth to old-earth, from theistic to atheistic, from Christian to non-Christian, from intelligent design to evolutionary creationism. Evolving Certainties is designed to inform rather than persuade.
The key to a rewarding experience with this challenging material is to take sufficient time to work through it, pausing once in a while to process what you’ve read and to find a group of people with whom you can dialogue, on both sides of the issue. The following questions were posed to Pastor Defoe by Pastor Bill Cwirla of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (sister synod to LCC).. These questions were asked near the end of an hour-long podcast (The God Whisperers, Episode 345) discussing Evolving Certainties. The podcast link is found here… And a transcript of the episode is on this Resources page.
PASTOR BILL CWIRLA: “So they get your book, 300 and some pages, great stuff. What's their take home? What's your hope, your prayer, your vision for the openminded reader who's curious, wants to know more, wants to know why this Lutheran pastor pulled all this stuff together at potentially cost to his reputation? What's the take home? What do you want them to get out of it?”
PASTOR TERRY DEFOE: I want people to read it and say, “You know, I didn't know that. You've filled in some details for me. I can look at science in a new way, I don't have to be afraid of it. I can enrich my faith with this.”
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I just want people to realize that there's so much more to this than they may have thought. And there's folks that you can talk to about it. There are opportunities to open up discussion, to open up discussion in our churches with our young people and so on. This is a really hot topic. People are interested. Professor Kenneth Miller, an active Catholic, said whenever he speaks on a radio interview-type show, the switchboard lights up as soon as the topic of evolution is mentioned. People get quite nasty. They shouldn't, but they do. There's a lot at stake with this. There's no doubt about that. But I would say, you know, just bear with it, be patient. There are some interesting things to learn. And at the end of the day, my God is more awesome now than ever before.
My view of scripture has been enriched. I've got some things I want to share with people. I realize they're controversial. There may be some rotten tomatoes coming my way. I'm expecting some of that. But, as I said at the end of my Preface in Evolving Certainties: “If, at the end of the day, our interpretation of the scriptures is more accurate, our doctrines have been appropriately reviewed, our respect for science has grown, and our personal faith has been enriched, then the excursion outlined in this book will have been worthwhile.”
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