Science and the Bible

This keenly interesting study opens with what can best be described as a meditation on epistemology: What is evidence? How do we know what we know? Burge, a British physicist and Anglican layman, particularly wants to understand what the evidence is for or against his religious beliefs. (As such, this book also serves as something of a primer in Christian dogma: Burge rehearses the history of the creeds, and summarizes traditional doctrine about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity.) He maintains that an understanding of geological evolution, leading to an estimate that the Earth is about 4,600 million years old, is compatible with Christian belief, and need not undercut the notion of God as Creator. Indeed, Burge poetically retells the creation story in Genesis, interweaving the imagery of evolution among familiar biblical phrases. The book's title notwithstanding, Burge does not always stick to evidence from ""the sciences."" For example, he claims that the rapid growth of the church after Jesus' presumptive resurrection, and the ""very existence"" of the church today, are the best evidence of the resurrection. On the other hand, Burge finds the evidence for biblical miracles, such as the raising of Lazarus, to be lacking. Fans of John Polkinghorne will enjoy this book.