Richard Wright is a Professor at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts. He writes from the perspective of a committed Christian working in the field of ecology. This book tackles issues of the relationship between Christianity and science, with four chapters devoted to the philosophical and theological ground for the discussion, four chapters on the question of origins (evolution and the Genesis account) and chapters on biological ethics (the biomedical revolution, the genetic revolution and the environmental revolution). He concludes with an exhortation to be active in the reforming of biology.

The concept of ‘world view’ runs throughout the work, e.g. ‘the real issue is Creator versus no creator, not creation versus evolution’ (p. 132). By this the author means that the question of the evolutionary origin versus the instantaneous origin of life is a question of science, whilst the existence of a creator is a question of world view, be it naturalistic (no creator) or theistic (creator). Thus, speaking at the level of science, how do we relate the data from the Bible and scientific investigation? Four models are proposed: concordism—the Bible and science will harmonize when each is properly understood; substitutionism—the Bible is seen as totally authoritative and should thus be substituted for the naturalistic interpretations of scientists in areas of disagreement; compartmentalism—science and religion speak to different aspects of life, i.e. faith and reason; and complementarism—the Bible and scientific investigation are different ways of looking at the same event, which will not always agree, because they have different purposes and methods. These models are seen as ways of classifying different approaches, rather than being hard-and-fast rules for all situations, and some of the advantages and pitfalls of each are discussed.

The book tackles the question of origins in some depth, with separate chapters on the Genesis account and the origin of life, species and man. There is reasonable space given to the different Christian views and the scientific information is clearly and concisely summarized. This section is concluded with a chapter answering the accusation that Christianity has led to the current ecological crisis, with an exposition of stewardship and an exhortation to live as Christians should. The inclusion of ethical material in such a book is to be praised. Abortion, infertility, genetic engineering, gene therapy, pollution and resources depletion are among issues touched upon. This is important for everyone, and benefits from treatment by an able scientist. The chapters show the positive and contemporary contribution to be made by Christians to the direction of the life sciences. The issues are given an American context, which may confuse those living elsewhere, but does facilitate creative ideas for action. My only regret is that the discussion of the worldwide ecological crisis assumes that Western scientific methods will work—and thus Christians (of all cultures?) must embrace this world view to save the world. To identify Christianity with the world view of one society is dangerous.

To summarize, the author argues for a serious approach to both biblical and scientific studies, without minimizing the difficulties involved. Moreover, he presents a biblical framework within which the life scientist works, which leads to consideration of the ethical issues where the life scientist is at the front line. The book is primarily aimed at Christians involved in the life sciences rather than theologians with a passing interest in science. I would recommend it to undergraduate students, though it is also of use to pre-university and post-graduate students. It also provides a good grounding for the scientist who has recently become a Christian. It is not, however, suitable for apologetics. The science is well presented and knowledgeable. Theologians may be disappointed by the lack of exegesis and biblical justification of statements.