Darwinism and the Problem of Evil

Karl Giberson, a physicist on the faculty at Eastern Nazarene College, and Francis Collins, the head of the NIH, have a new book out, The Language of Science and Faith: Straight Answers to Genuine Questions. Given that they are both committed Christians, as well as totally convinced that modern science is essentially right and good, the book is intended to defend Christianity against the critics who argue that science and religion are incompatible. Expectedly, it has got all of the junior New Atheists jumping with joyous ire, and all over the blogs are stern condemnations: "this is not a good book"; "the authors's [sic] frequently murky prose"; "I was struck by just how unserious they are on this issue." You get the idea.

I am not about to defend Giberson and Collins -- although I do think that the latter, a man whose life is devoted to the welfare not just of his fellow Americans but of human beings everywhere, has in the past, because of his faith, been subject to criticisms that strike me as vitriolic to the point of obscenity. (And if you think I am referring to the treatment in Sam Harris's The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values, you would not be far wrong.)

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