Books

Books

Books about Science (including Philosophy of Science)
Books about Science and Culture
Books about Science and Faith

We believe that ideas move the world, and so much of what we do is support the research, writing, and dissemination of books by creative thinkers with fresh ideas about how we should understand our world. This page contains an annotated list of books written by past and present Center for Science and Culture Fellows. Many of the books focus on scientific debates over such topics as intelligent design, cosmology, the origin of life, the origin of mind, and  the evolution of biological complexity. Other books explore the cultural impact of science or the relationship between science and faith. Several of these works — such as Darwin’s Black Box, The Design Inference, Signature in the Cell, and The Privileged Planet — have re-shaped debates in both science and culture by bringing new evidence to bear on important questions.

Books about Science (including Philosophy of Science)

Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design

By: Stephen C. Meyer | Publisher: Harper One

Stephen C. Meyer’s book, Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2013), is perhaps the most comprehensive critique of the neo-Darwinian paradigm ever written. He makes his case by examining the Cambrian explosion, where nearly all of the major animal phyla appeared abruptly in the fossil record, without evolutionary precursors. In the opening chapters (1 through 4), Meyer recounts…

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Discovering Intelligent Design: A Journey Into the Scientific Evidence

By: Kemper, Gary, Hallie Kemper, Casey Luskin | Publisher: Discovery Institute Press

Discovering Intelligent Design (DID) is the first full curriculum to present the scientific evidence for intelligent design in both cosmology and biology in an easy-to-understand format. The curriculum includes a textbook, a workbook, and a DVD with multimedia video clips that are integrated into the readings. Developed by home school educators Gary and Hallie Kemper, and Discovery Institute Research Coordinator Casey Luskin, Discovering ID uniquely fills a specific niche in the intelligent design literature.

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Science and Human Origins

By: Gauger, Ann, Douglas Axe, Casey Luskin | Publisher: Discovery Institute Press

Science & Human Origins, a provocative book from Discovery Institute Press, boldly addresses some of the most popular evolutionary arguments pertaining to controversial claims that humans and apes are related through common ancestry. In Science & Human Origins three scientists challenge the claim that undirected natural selection is capable of building a human being. The authors critically assess fossil and genetic evidence that human beings…

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The Myth of Junk DNA

By: Wells, Jonathan | Publisher: Discovery Institute Press

A number of leading proponents of Darwinian evolution claim that “junk DNA” — the non-protein-coding DNA that makes up more than 95% of our genome — provides decisive evidence for Darwin’s theory and against intelligent design, since an intelligent designer would not have littered our genome with so much garbage. In The Myth of Junk DNA, biologist and senior Discovery Institute fellow Jonathan Wells exposes their claim as an anti-scientific myth…

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Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy

By: Dembski, William & Jonathan Witt | Publisher: InterVarsity Press

There are other good books out there that explain the fundamentals of intelligent design (ID) in plain language. But with clarity, elegance, and accuracy, Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy fills this niche better than most. The authors, Dr. William Dembski (an expert in the technical arguments for ID) and Dr. Jonathan Witt (a writer with a strong grasp of the relevant science) — both Discovery Institute senior fellows — make an ideal team to explain ID for any reader. buy this bookfull review


Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design

By: Meyer, Stephen C. | Publisher: Harper Collins

In Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, Director of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, Dr. Stephen C. Meyer, shows that the digital code embedded in DNA points to a designing intelligence and helps unravel a mystery that Charles Darwin did not address: how did life begin? Meyer tells the story of the successive attempts to explain the origin of life and develops a case for intelligent design… buy this book full review


The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence In Biological Systems

By: Dembski, William A. and Jonathan Wells | Publisher: Foundation for Thought and Ethics

For the newcomer to ID, Design of Life offers clearly written and well-illustrated chapters explicating ID’s basic scientific concepts, such as irreducible complexity and specified complexity. Design of Life even gives accessible discussions of more complex issues, such as the “irreducible core,” or explaining how specified complexity is detected in the research of Douglas Axe, who found that the odds of obtaining a functional β-lactamase domain are less than one in 10^64.

For the ID-guru, Design of Life covers many hot topics. This includes a lucid explanation of the integrated, unevolvable complexity in the neck of the giraffe, a potent critique of the alleged transition from reptiles to mammals, and a critical analysis of the evidence used to support the hypothesis that whales evolved from land-mammals. The advanced reader will devour the General Notes, which expose the bankruptcy of Darwinist attacks…

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Explore Evolution: The Arguments For and Against Neo-Darwinism

By: Meyer, Stephen C., Scott Minnich, Jonathan Moneymaker, Paul A.Nelson, Ralph Seelke Publisher: Hill House

Designed for public schools but also used in many private schools, Explore Evolution is a supplementary biology textbook that teaches critical thinking by giving students a thorough understanding of both the strengths and weaknesses of Darwinian evolution.  The textbook comes with lesson plans, PowerPoint slides, handouts, and a test bank available for those who adopt the text in their course.  It is ideal for high school or early college. …buy this bookfull review


The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism

By: Behe, Michael J. | Publisher: Free Press

In this sequel to his bestselling book Darwin’s Black Box, Discovery Institute senior fellow Michael Behe hones his argument for intelligent design (ID) by investigating the precise “edge of evolution.” Behe’s basic thesis is that Darwinian evolutionary processes can cause some changes in populations of living organisms, but they cannot cause all changes. Thus, there is an “edge,” or limit, to the information generative power of Darwinian…buy this bookfull review


Science’s Blind Spot: The Unseen Religion of Scientific Naturalism

By: Hunter, Cornelius G. | Publisher: Brazos Press

In law, one who sells a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user is held strictly liable for the physical harm to the injured party. One way for the injured party to win a case is to successfully argue that there is a design defect in the product. Put another way, the plaintiff is entitled to damages because there is something wrong with the blueprints for the product. At this point, expert witnesses are found to…

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The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design

By: Wells, Jonathan| Publisher: Regnery (2006)

If you want a book full of fascinating anecdotes and straight-talk about the debate over Darwinism and intelligent design, written by a credentialed biologist with enjoyable writing skills, this truly is the book for you. The author, biologist and Senior Discovery Institute Fellow Jonathan Wells will get called many names for writing this book. As Wells recounts in chapters 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 16, a number of faculty have been similarly persecuted because they were sympathetic to intelligent design.

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Why is a Fly Not a Horse?

By:Sermonti, GiuseppePublisher:Discovery Institute Press

In Why Is a Fly Not a Horse?, published by Discovery Institute Press, editor of the prestigious Italian biology journal Rivista di Biologia, Giuseppe Sermonti, explains why evolution resembles a “paradigm” more than it does an explanation. Scientists assume that the theory and its implications (such as universal common descent) are true, but no one can ever explain the details of precisely why it is. According to Sermonti, naturalistic…buy this bookfull review


Agents Under Fire: Materialism and the Rationality of Science

By: Menuge, Angus | Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Agents Under Fire defends a robust notion of intelligent agency and intentionality against eliminative and naturalistic alternatives. Working with a Discovery Institute research grant, philosopher Angus Menuge tries to rescue the traditional conception of selfhood from the attacks of Darwinian psychologists.  Following the reductionist logic of Darwinism, evolutionary psychologists attempt to portray the mind as a collection of isolated…

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Debating Design: From Darwin to DNA

By: Dembski, William A. and Ruse, Michael | Edited By: William A. Dembski and Michael Ruse | Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This Cambridge University Press volume, co-edited by leading design theorist William Dembski, and leading Darwinist philosopher of science Michael Ruse, provides perspectives from scholars on many sides of the ID-debate. The book provides a perfect template for those who would be interested in a comprehensive approach to biological origins in schools: it contains essays by proponents of Darwinism, self-organization, and intelligent design.

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Uncommon Dissent: Intellectuals who find Darwinism Unconvincing

By: Dembski, William A. | Edited By: William A. Dembski | Publisher:ISI Books

This volume provides a summary of the widespread attack upon Darwinism by some of today’s leading intellectuals. While authors may vary widely in their religious outlook on life, they have one view in common: Darwinism is deficient to account for life as we know it. Senior Discovery Institute Fellow William Dembski opens with a lively recounting of how Darwinists have promoted a myth that they have won this debate. After scrutinizing the…buy this bookfull reviewThe Privileged Planet
How Our Place in the Cosmos Is Designed For Discovery

By: Gonzalez, Guillermo and Richards, Jay W.
Publisher: Regnery Publishing

Co-authored by two Discovery Institute Fellows, astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez and philosopher Jay W. Richards, The Privileged Planet presents a new form of design argument which can be applied to the level of the cosmos. Design proponents have long held that the physical constants of nature and properties of our solar system appear finely tuned and specified to allow for advanced life. But Richards and Gonzalez take this argument to a new…buy this bookfull reviewThe Design Revolution
Answering the Toughest Questions About Intelligent Design

By:Dembski, William A.
Publisher:InterVarsity Press

The Design Revolution by mathematician and philosopher William Dembski is perhaps the best “bang for your buck” treatment on intelligent design. Dembski is a leading design theorist and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute. This popular work serves almost as an “FAQ” on intelligent design. It is ideal for the layperson who would like to understand intelligent design and see how design proponents answer objections from critics. Dembski…buy this bookfull reviewDarwinism, Design, and Public Education

By:Campbell, John Angus and Meyer, Stephen C.Edited By: John Angus Campbell and Stephen C. MeyerPublisher:Michigan State University Press

This balanced volume contains essays by both supporters and critics debating intelligent design and whether design should be allowed in public school science classes. The scholars approach the question from the standpoints of constitutional law, philosophy, rhetoric, education, and science. Legal scholar David DeWolf, and Discovery Institute Senior Fellow, argues that teachers should have the academic freedom to teach intelligent design in…buy this bookfull reviewAre We Spiritual Machines?
Ray Kurzweil vs. the Critics of Strong A.I.

By:Richards, Jay W.Publisher:Free Press

In the closing session of the 1998 Telecosm conference, hosted by Gilder Publishing and Forbes at Lake Tahoe, inventor and author Ray Kurzweil engaged a number of critics. He advocated “Strong Artificial Intelligence” (AI), the claim that a computational process sufficiently capable of altering or organizing itself can produce “consciousness. The session had an unexpectedly profound impact, not least because a number of important issues from…buy this bookfull reviewNo Free Lunch
Why Specified Complexity Cannot Be Purchased without Intelligence

By:Dembski, William A.Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield

No Free Lunch, the sequel to mathematician and philosopher William Dembski’s Cambridge University Press book The Design Inference, explores key questions about the origin of specified complexity. Dembski explains that the Darwinian search mechanism of random mutation coupled with natural selection is incapable of generating novel complex, specified information (CSI). This observation translates into “No Free Lunch” (NFL) theorems, which Dembski explains are inherent constraints upon natural systems. Natural Darwinian mechanisms can shuffle this information around, but only intelligence can generate novel CSI. In other words, when it comes to generating truly novel biological complexity, Darwin can have no free lunch…buy this bookfull reviewGetting the Facts Straight

By: Discovery Institute Publisher:Discovery Institute Press

In 2001, PBS aired a 7-part series entitled Evolution. Essentially produced and entirely funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, Evolution was produced at a cost of up to $20 million. The series was entirely pro-evolution and did not offer a single interview with a scientist who dissented from evolution. Biola Professor John Mark Reynolds commented about Evolution stating, “It is easy to be offensive. It is easy to be dull. This series…buy this bookfull reviewSigns of Intelligence
Understanding Intelligent Design

By: Dembski, William A. & Kushiner, James M.Edited By: William A. Dembski & James M. Kushiner Publisher:Brazos Press

Signs of Intelligence is a collection of essays from various scholars of the intelligent design movement, including many fellows of the Discovery Institute who are explaining the precise meaning of the scientific theory of intelligent design. When the NCSE reviewed this book, they called it “aimless.” A more accurate description would have been “threatening a wide variety of disciplines behind the curtain of Darwinism.” Mathematician…buy this bookfull reviewScience and Evidence for Design in the Universe

By:The Proceedings of the Wethersfield Institute, Vol. 9.Publisher:Ignatius Press

Science and Evidence for Design in the Universe provides a collection of invaluable, in-depth papers by leading design theorists Michael Behe, William Dembski, and Stephen Meyer from a conference sponsored by the Wethersfield Institute in 1999.  William Dembksi, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, opens the book by explaining how design can be detected in the natural world. An explanatory filter can be used to determine if a given event…buy this bookfull reviewRealism Regained
An Exact Theory of Causation, Teleology, and the Mind

By:Koons, Robert C.Publisher:Oxford University Press

In this technical philosophical treatise, Discovery Institute Fellow Robert C. Koons investigates an innovative philosophy of mind. Koons takes on two powerful dogmas in this wide-ranging philosophical work�anti-realism and materialism. In doing so, Koons develops an elegant metaphysical system that accounts for such phenomena as information; mental representation; our knowledge of logic, mathematics and science; the structure of spacetime; the identity of physical objects; and the objectivity of values and moral norms.buy this bookfull reviewThe Advent of the Algorithm
The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer

By:Berlinski, DavidPublisher:Harcourt, Inc

Mathematician David Berlinski, a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, explains how the “algorithm” is sure to play a major role in the future of mathematics. An algorithm, Berlinski explains, is essentially a logical, mathematical procedure by which a goal can be accomplished in a finite number of steps. 

After recounting the origin of the algorithm within mathematics, Berlinski explains that it is the algorithm which has made possible…buy this bookfull reviewNaturalism
A critical analysis

By:Craig, William Lane and Moreland, J.P.Edited By: William Lane Craig and J.P. MorelandPublisher:Routledge

This impressive volume contains critical essays on naturalism from the perspectives of theology, ethics, cosmology, ontology, and epistemology. Various Discovery Fellows make contributions including Robert C. Koons, J.P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and William Dembski. Koons, a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, begins by noting that there is a simple correlation between existence and the requirement of some non-natural…buy this bookfull reviewIcons of Evolution
Science or Myth? Why much of what we teach about evolution is wrong

By:Wells, JonathanPublisher:Regnery Publishing

Authored by developmental biologist and Senior Discovery Fellow Jonathan Wells, this book takes aim at 10 common “icons” used to bolster Darwin’s theory in widely used biology textbooks. The “icons” commonly cited to support evolution in textbooks turn out to be scientific urban legends, long-refuted fakes, or misrepresentations of the scientific data. One of the most famous “icons” discussed is the famous drawings of vertebrate embryos, used…buy this bookfull reviewThe Design Inference
Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities

By:Dembski, William A.Publisher:Cambridge University Press

What Darwinists fear most is a peer-reviewed book published by a credentialed scholar with a highly respected academic publisher, which never mentions God but uses the language of science (mathematics) to formalize how various scientific fields, including biology, can detect intelligent design. This is precisely why they rarely talk about The Design InferenceThe Design Inference, by mathematician, philosopher, and Senior Discovery Institute…buy this bookfull reviewRhetoric & Public Affairs

By:Campbell, John AngusEdited By: John Angus CampbellPublisher:Michigan State University Press

This special volume of Michigan State University’s Rhetoric & Public Affairs is devoted to exploring the debate over intelligent design. Proponents of teaching intelligent design include Discovery Fellow and University of Memphis professor John Angus Campbell and University of Pittsburg professor John Lyne who contend that design is useful for teaching students reasoning skills by, as Lyne puts it, “taking the creationist argument out of the…full reviewDarwin’s Black Box
The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution

By:Behe, MichaelPublisher:Free Press

Darwin’s Black Box, by Lehigh University biochemist and Senior Discovery Institute Fellow Michael Behe, was the bestseller that first put the term “intelligent design” in the public eye. Behe tells his story of having been a graduate student and biochemist who had no reason to doubt Darwin’s theory, that is, until he started to examine the evidence.Decades ago, Behe explains, biologists thought that the cell was little more than a simple glob…buy this bookfull reviewDarwinism: Science or Philosophy

By:Buell, Jon and Hearn, VirginiaEdited By: Jon Buell and Virginia HearnPublisher:Foundation for Thought and Ethics

This volume presents papers presented at an early conference at Southern Methodist University in 1992 which was a landmark event in uniting scholars who now make up the intelligent design movement. Phillip Johnson, Program Advisor for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, explains that evolution is based upon assumptions of naturalism, which are often unsupported by the evidence. Johnson recounts both fossil and genetic…buy this bookfull reviewDarwin On Trial

By:Johnson, Phillip E.Publisher:InterVarsity Press

Darwin on Trial was responsible for alerting many among the public and in the scientific community to the deficiencies of Darwinism. UC Berkeley Law Professor and Program Advisor for Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, Phillip E. Johnson applies his skills as an analyzer of evidence to ask if Darwin’s theory holds up to scrutiny.Johnson begins by recognizing a stark contradiction in the law: creationism has been banned by…buy this bookfull review

Books about Science and Culture

Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy

By:Dembski, William & Jonathan WittPublisher:InterVarsity Press

There are other good books out there that explain the fundamentals of intelligent design (ID) in plain language. But with clarity, elegance, and accuracy, Intelligent Design Uncensored: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the Controversy fills this niche better than most. The authors, Dr. William Dembski (an expert in the technical arguments for ID) and Dr. Jonathan Witt (a writer with a strong grasp of the relevant science) — both Discovery Institute senior fellows — make an ideal team to explain ID for any reader.buy this bookfull reviewHitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress

By: Richard Weikart Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

In his 2009 book, Hitler’s Ethic: The Nazi Pursuit of Evolutionary Progress, Discovery Institute fellow and Cal State University Stanislaus historian Richard Weikart lays out a historian’s case for the proposition that Adolf Hitler’s murderous policies arose from a scientific racism inspired by Charles Darwin’s most famous ideas.

According to Weikart, Hitler wasn’t an amoral monster, but a frighteningly “moral” one — “moral” in the sense of…buy this bookfull reviewDarwin Day in America
How Our Politics and Culture Have Been Dehumanized in the Name of Science

By:John G. WestPublisher:Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Ideas have consequences, and Darwin’s theory of evolution is no exception to that rule. Many books recounted the negative impacts of Darwin’s ideas upon culture and society, but few have attempted to demonstrate those impacts them in a comprehensive scholarly fashion like Darwin Day in America: How our Policies and Culture have been Dehumanized in the Name of Science. Written by Discovery Institute senior fellow John G. West, Darwin Day in…buy this bookfull reviewDarwin’s Conservatives
The Misguided Quest

By:West, John G.Publisher:Discovery Institute Press

The debate over evolution is usually framed by the media as a political fight of left versus right. But a small cadre of conservative commentators and scholars, such as George Will, Charles Krauthammer, John Derbyshire, and Larry Arnhart, have become defenders of Darwinism. Darwin’s Conservatives: The Misguided Questasks whether conservatives-traditionally known as the champions of personal responsibility, family values, theism, and limited…full reviewA Meaningful World
How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature

By:Wiker, Benjamin and Witt, JonathanPublisher:InterVarsity Press

Nearly 30 years ago physicist Steven Weinberg wrote that “[t]he more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.” But is our universe really just a meaningless accident? A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature, co-authored by Discovery Institute senior fellows Benjamin Wiker and Jonathan Witt, makes the philosophical argument that the more we learn about our universe, the more it…full reviewTraipsing Into Evolution
Intelligent Design and the Kitzmiller v. Dover Decision

By:DeWolf, David K., West, John G., Luskin, Casey and Witt, JonathanPublisher:Discovery Institute Press

A clear solution to the debate over biological origins has evaded scientists and philosophers for millennia. Since the ancient Greeks, thousands of pages of debate from scholars on all sides have yielded two types of answers: those which invoke only material causes and those which explore the possibility that intelligence had a direct role in shaping life. Yet in 2005, one United States federal judge thought he could settle this longstanding question of science and philosophy once and for all.  Traipsing into Evolution is a critique of federal Judge John E. Jones’s decision in the Kitzmiller v. Dovercase, the first trial concerning the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design in public schools.full reviewEvolution and Ethics
Human Morality in Biological & Religious Perspective

By:Clayton, Philip and Schloss, Jeffrey P.Edited By: Philip Clayton and Jeffrey P. SchlossPublisher:William B. Eerdman Publishing Company Press

Evolution and Ethics examines the burning questions of human morality from the standpoint of Christian thought and contemporary biology, asking where the two perspectives diverge and where they may complement one another. Representing a significant dialogue between world-class scientists, philosophers, and theologians, this volume explores the central features of biological and religious accounts of human morality, introducing the leading…buy this bookfull reviewTotal Truth
Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity

By:Pearcey, NancyPublisher:Crossway Books

In this award-winning book, Nancy Pearcey, a Fellow of the Discovery Institute, presents an analysis of the impact that Darwinism has had upon our culture. Pearcey starts by observing that our culture has separated “truth” into two categories. In the “upper story” is noncognitive experience. This is the realm of private truth which ranges from favorite ice-cream flavors to one’s preferred religious denomination. Our culture believes this…buy this bookfull reviewConsumer’s Guide to a Brave New World

By:Smith, Wesley J.Publisher:Encounter Books

In Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow, attorney, and bioethicist Wesley J. Smith asks the simple but difficult question, “should the importance of human life be sacrificed for the potential advancement of human technology?” So provocative are Smith’s ideas, that his writings have led to a quote on Starbucks coffee cups!Cloning researchers claim to have created an embryo that is mostly human, but also part…buy this bookfull reviewLaw, Darwinism, and Public Education
The Establishment Clause and the Challenge of Intelligent Design

By:Beckwith, Francis J.Publisher:Rowman & Littlefield

Legal scholar and former Discovery Fellow Francis J. Beckwith recounts the legal history of court battles over the teaching of biological origins. Though many thought that the landmark Supreme Court case Edwards v. Aguillard would permanently settle these questions by ruling creationism unconstitutional, Beckwith observes that intelligent design poses a new challenge to legal scholars. Beckwith, who has published about teaching intelligent…buy this bookfull reviewForced Exit
Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and the New Duty To Die

By:Smith, Wesley J.Publisher:Encounter Books

Bioethicist and Senior Discovery Institute Fellow Wesley J. Smith pierces the emotionalism, fear mongering, and euphemisms that are the standard fare of the assisted suicide movement to expose its attempt to strip the sick and disabled of their dignity. Far from a compassionate answer to suffering, assisted suicide is a new form of oppression. Forced Exit offers chilling evidence of just how powerful and dangerous the death culture in…buy this bookfull reviewThe Right Questions
Truth, Meaning & Public Debate

By:Johnson, Phillip E.Publisher:InterVarsity Press

The Right Questions is the product of an accomplished scholar who is reflecting upon culture and society in light of his other books which provided an extensive scientific critique of naturalistic theories of origins. In this book, Phillip Johnson, Program Advisor to Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, asks, “What are the right questions” in topics such as logic, the meaning of life, Genesis, and biological origins? It is…buy this bookfull reviewMoral Darwinism
How We Became Hedonists

By:Wiker, BenjaminPublisher:InterVarsity Press

In this book, Senior Discovery Institute Fellow Benjamin Wiker does a brilliant job of tracing the roots of hedonism. Insofar as traditional theists sense an underlying cause for the moral decline of Western culture, all roads lead to Epicurus and the train of thought he set in motion. For Epicurus, pleasure consisted in freedom from disturbance. For Epicurus, to allow that God might intervene in the natural world and to take seriously the…buy this bookfull reviewThe Wedge of Truth
Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism

By:Johnson, Phillip E.Publisher:InterVarsity Press

Many Darwinists gloat over having supposedly exposed the allegedly secretive “Wedge project.” What they never acknowledge (or realize) is that Phillip Johnson openly discussed the full meaning of the “Wedge” in this book years before the widespread internet circulation of the supposedly super secret “Wedge document,” which summarized many of the points in this book in order to clarify for our supporters the important cultural implications of…buy this bookfull reviewBody & Soul
Human Nature & the Crisis in Ethics

By:Moreland, J.P. & Rae, Scott B.Publisher:InterVarsity Press

While most people throughout history have believed that we are both physical and spiritual beings, the rise of science has called the existence of the soul into question. Many argue that neurophysiology demonstrates the radical dependence, indeed, identity between mind and brain. Advances in genetics and in mapping DNA, some say, show there is no need for the hypothesis of body-soul dualism. Even many Christian intellectuals have come to view…buy this bookfull reviewCulture of Death
The Assault on Medical Ethics in America

By:Smith, Wesley J.Publisher:Encounter Books

Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith takes aim at the arguments permeating our culture that devalue human life. Smith makes readers aware of the historic roots of the modern euthanasia movement, which today repeats arguments made by Nazis and proponents of eugenics tied back to 19th century social Darwinism. Smith, a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, is extremely sensitive to the plight of the suffering and the dying. One of Smith’s primary…buy this bookfull reviewWhat’s Darwin Got To Do With It?
A Friendly Conversation About Evolution

By:Newman, Robert C., and Wiester, John L. with Moneymaker, Janet and Moneymaker, JonathanPublisher:InterVarsity Press

Feeling primitive? Unevolved? Inorganic? Then try a bowl of Primordial Soup! What’s Darwin Got To Do With It? is an illustrated friendly conversation about evolution and what science can explain about life. Aimed at younger students, this comic-book style work helps students understand if finch beaks really prove Darwinism is true or if the encoded message in DNA implies an intelligent designer.The book opens by helping students to understand…buy this bookfull reviewHow Now Shall We Live

By:Colson, Charles and Pearcey, NancyPublisher:Tyndale

Centuries ago, when the Jews were in exile and despair, they cried out to God, “How should we then live?” The same question rings down through the ages. How shall we live today? Discovery Institute Fellow Nancey Pearcey and author Chuck Colson’s primary observation is that “the way we see the world can change the world.” (pg. 13) This is because our choices are shaped by what we believe is real and true, right and wrong, or good and…buy this bookfull reviewObjections Sustained
Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law & Culture

By:Johnson, Phillip E.Publisher:InterVarsity Press,

Objections Sustained is a collection of essays by UC Berkeley law professor Phillip Johnson, also the Program Advisor to Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. In the first half of the book, Johnson presents nine short chapters about Darwinists and Darwinism. Johnson first takes aim at the myth that science and religion occupy completely separate realms. This myth, formally approved for public consumption by the National…buy this bookfull reviewReason in the Balance
The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law & Education

By:Johnson, PhillipPublisher:InterVarsity Press

In his earlier book, Darwin on Trial, UC Berkeley law professor and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk Phillip Johnson took on the scientific establishment. In Reason in the Balance, Johnson spars with those of his own kind, and exposes how the legal establishment has adopted naturalistic assumptions in its thinking to exclude any mention of a creative intelligence. Johnson, who is also Program Advisor to Discovery Institute’s Center for Science…buy this bookfull review

Books about Science and Faith

God and Evolution
Protestants, Catholics, and Jews Explore Darwin’s Challenge to Faith

By:Richards, Jay (editor)Publisher:Discovery Instittue Press

Can you believe in God and Darwin at the same time? What is “theistic” evolution, and how consistent is it with traditional theism? What challenges does Darwin’s theory pose for Protestants, Catholics, and Jews? Is it “anti-science” to question Darwinian Theory? Explore these questions and more in the book God and Evolution edited by Jay Richards.

Co-named “Book of the Year” by World Magazine in 2011, God and Evolution is ideal for use in…buy this bookfull reviewAgainst All Gods: What’s Right and Wrong about the New Atheism

By:Johnson, Phillip, Reynolds, John Mark N.Publisher:IVP Books

Widely considered a founder of the contemporary intelligent design (ID) scientific movement, law professor and author Phillip Johnson’s 1991 book Darwin on Trial convinced many thinkers that neo-Darwinian evolution was based more on the philosophy of naturalism than on the scientific evidence. Now, Johnson has teamed up with John Mark Reynolds to write Against All Gods: What’s Right and Wrong about the New Atheism. More than just commentary…buy this bookfull reviewScience and Christianity
Conflict or Coherence?

By:Schaefer, Henry F.Publisher:University of Georgia Press

Discovery Institute Fellow Henry F. (Fritz) Schaefer is one of the most distinguished physical scientists in the world. This book describes how Dr. Schaefer became a Christian as a young professor of chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley. Schaefer sees design in the universe reigning from the cosmic level to life’s history as revealed in the fossil record, and down to the microscopic cell. He argues that Big Bang cosmology…buy this bookfull reviewThe Untamed God
A Philosophical Exploration of Divine Perfection, Immutability and Simplicity

By:Richards, Jay WesleyPublisher:InterVarsity Press

According to philosopher Jay Richards, Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, the essential tenets of classical theism on the doctrine of God can be stated simply. First, God exists. Second, He created the world – meaning, everything other than God – in such a way that the world owes its existence and individual features to him. Thirdly, God created the world freely – that is, nothing external or internal to God compelled him to create this or…buy this bookfull reviewScience & Faith
Friends or Foes?

By:Collins, C. JohnPublisher:Crossway Books

Many Christians worry that science undermines the Christian faith. Instead of fearing scientific discovery, Jack Collins believes that people of faith should study the natural world.  Collins first explains that science is controversially defined, but that it is best viewed as “a discipline in which one studies features of the world around us, and tries to describe his observations systematically and critically.” (pg. 34) In his definition of faith, Collins lauds a statement by C. S. Lewis who said, “Faith – is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes.” (Quoting C.S. Lewis, pg. 38)buy this bookfull reviewGod and Design
The Teleological Argument and Modern Science

By:Manson, Neil A.Publisher:Routledge

Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biochemistry have reinvigorated the argument for design. This accessible and serious volume collects leading scholars from many sides over the debate on intelligent design to assess the concept from philosophical, theological, and scientific standpoints. Discovery Fellow William Lane Craig applies William Dembski’s explanatory filter to the question of cosmic design. Craig first observes that the…buy this bookfull review


Darwin’s God
Evolution and the Problem of Evil

By:Hunter, Cornelius G.Publisher:Brazos Press

Biophysicist and Discovery Fellow Cornelius Hunter scrutinizes the evidence used to support Darwinian theory. Not only does Hunter find that the scientific evidence for Neo-Darwinism is weak, but he exposes that much of evolutionary theory has historically been built upon dysteleological arguments against design. In other words, evolution grew in popularity because it argued against a particular theological position, not because of its…buy this bookfull review


Altruism and Altruistic Love
Science, Philosophy, and Religion in Dialogue

By:Post, Stephen G., Underwood, Lynn G., Schloss, Jeffrey P., and Hurlbut, William B.Edited By: Stephen G. Post, Lynn G. Underwood, Jeffrey P. Schloss, and William B. HurlbutPublisher:Oxford University Press

The concept of altruism, or disinterested concern for another’s welfare, is a common human characteristic, and has been discussed by everyone from theologians to biologists. This volume brings together renowned researchers from various disciplines to examine the evolutionary, neurological, developmental, psychological, social, cultural, and religious aspects of altruistic behavior. Altruism is most famously recognized as occurring within a…buy this bookfull review

Unapologetic Apologetics

By: Dembski, William A. and Richards, Jay Wesley| Publisher:InterVarsity Press

Discovery Institute Senior Fellows William Dembski and Jay Richards launch a scathing attack on naturalistic philosophy in this anthology aimed at a Christian audience, with various chapters explaining why naturalism is failing as a philosophical paradigm.Richards notes that naturalism as a philosophy is impossible to establish, for it relies upon proof of the negative claim that there is no supernatural. Richards further argues that…buy this bookfull reviewScience and Christianity
Four Views

By: Carlson, Richard F. Edited By: Richard F. CarlsonPublisher:InterVarsity Press

At the beginning of the 21st century, Christians continue to wonder whether faith and science are partners or opponents. In this book, six scholars sort through the issues as they present four views on the relationship of science and Christianity. These views include creationism, independence, qualified agreement, and partnership. Contributor Jean Pond is a proponent of the “independence” model. She thus agrees with agnostic Darwinist…buy this bookfull reviewThe History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition
An Encyclopedia

By:Ferngren, Gary B. (general editor), Larson, Edward J. (co-editor), Amundsen, Darrel W. (co-editorEdited By: Gary B. Ferngren (general editor), Edward J. Larson (co-editor), Darrel W. Amundsen (co-editor)Publisher:Garland Publishing

This comprehensive volume covers the history of science and religion in Western Civilization with dozens of contributions from leading scholars. Discovery Fellow Stephen C. Meyer authors the entry “The Demarcation of Science and Religion,” where he notes that some theologians have defined religion as the study of God through revelation, while science is the study of the natural world. Meyer recounts how one court testing creationism in the…buy this bookfull review


The God of Miracles
An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World

By:Collins, C. JohnPublisher:Crossway Books

Part of the debate over the existence of God centers on questions about the possibility and “provability” of miracles. In this groundbreaking work, Dr. C. John Collins, a Discovery Institute Fellow, provides a thorough exegetical foundation for discussing God’s action in the world within the framework of biblical Christian theology.  Collins begins by presenting and contrasting the options within traditional Christian theism. …buy this bookfull review


Intelligent Design
The Bridge Between Science & Theology

By:Dembski, William A.Publisher:InterVarsity Press

In this popular treatment of intelligent design, Discovery Fellow William Dembski combines his Ph.D. in philosophy with his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Chicago and his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary to elucidate how the scientific theory of intelligent design interacts with his personal Christian faith. Dembski explains that design is empirically detectable in nature by seeking for specified and complex information. Choice is the primary characteristic of intelligent action, for “intelligent agency always entails discrimination, choosing certain things, ruling out others.” (pg. 144) By analyzing the patterns produced by such choice, Dembski constructs reliable criteria by which we recognize when intelligent choices have been made…buy this bookfull review


Three Views on Creation and Evolution

By: Moreland, J. P. & Reynolds, John Mark N. | Edited By: J. P. Moreland & John Mark N. Reynolds | Publisher: Zondervan

For Christians, the issues raised by the different views on creation and evolution can be challenging. Can a “young earth” be reconciled with a universe that appears to be billions of years old? Does scientific evidence point to a God who designed the universe and life in all its complexity? Three Views on Creation and Evolution deals with these and similar concerns as it looks at three dominant schools of Christian thought. Proponents of…buy this bookfull review


The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy

By: Pearcey, Nancy R. and Thaxton, Charles B.| Publisher: Crossway Books

A metanarrative has become ingrained in our culture which states that science is the means by which we threw off our religious superstitions and entered a brave new world of reason and progress. Does this metanarrative itself need to be overthrown? In this work Discovery Institute Fellows Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton explain how Christian theism has played a vital role in the historical development of science. Moreover, the next…

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Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology

By: Craig, William Lane and Smith, Quentin | Publisher: Oxford University Press

Contemporary science presents us with the remarkable theory that the universe began billions of years ago with a cataclysmic explosion, the “Big Bang.” But was this explosion created by God? The question of whether Big Bang cosmology supports theism or atheism has long been a matter of discussion among the general public and in popular science books, but has received scant attention from philosophers. This book sets out to fill this gap by…

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