Reading Genesis after Darwin

Description

Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species has changed the landscape of religious thought in many ways. There is a widespread assumption that before Darwin, all Christians believed that the world was created some 6,000 years ago over a period of 6 days. After Darwin, the first chapters of Genesis were either rejected totally by skeptics or defended vehemently in scientific creationism. This book tells a very different story. Bringing together contributions from biblical scholars, historians and contemporary theologians, it is demonstrated that both Jewish and Christian scholars read Genesis in a non-literal way long before Darwin. Even during the nineteenth century, there was a wide range of responses from religious believers towards evolution, many of them very positive. Stephen C. Barton and David Wilkinson argue that being receptive to the continuing relevance of Genesis today regarding questions of gender, cosmology, and the environment is a lively option. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTRIBUTORS INTRODUCTION STEPHEN C. BARTON AND DAVID WILKINSON PART 1: ENGAGING AGAIN WITH THE SCRIPTURES WALTER MOBERLY FRANCIS WATSON ANDREW LOUTH RICHARD S. BRIGGS PART 2: UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY JOHN ROGERSON JOHN HEDLEY BROOKE DAVID BROWN EXPLORING THE CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE DAVID WILKINSON DAVID CLOUGH JEFF ASTLEY STEPHEN C. BARTON ELLEN F. DAVIS MATHEW GUEST INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS