Fans pick 100 books like Creation or Evolution

By Denis Alexander,

Here are 100 books that Creation or Evolution fans have personally recommended if you like Creation or Evolution. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Scientists of Faith: Forty-Eight Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith

Peter Bussey Author Of Signposts to God: How Modern Physics and Astronomy Point the Way to Belief

From my list on science and religion with mutual support.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been intrigued by science since childhood, especially astronomy, and I became a university academic, teaching physics to students and researching in experiments with elementary particles. I was raised in a Christian family and have maintained my faith. I don’t find any real issues with science–it shows how clever God was in creating the universe! At the same time, I know many people have difficulties in this area. My book was written to help them, and I think the recommended books will help them, too.

Peter's book list on science and religion with mutual support

Peter Bussey Why did Peter love this book?

I always feel that personal stories are the best recommendation for what people believe. Dan Graves gives us many prominent scientists who were at the same time sincere Christian believers.

They lived over many centuries and worked in various scientific fields, making some of the most important discoveries. Some were Catholics; some were protestants. I think this is a very readable book, and if anyone ever tries to say that a good scientist can’t be a Christian or the other way around, it provides complete proof that this is untrue.

By Dan Graves,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scientists of Faith as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scientists Of Faith


Book cover of Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians

Peter Bussey Author Of Signposts to God: How Modern Physics and Astronomy Point the Way to Belief

From my list on science and religion with mutual support.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been intrigued by science since childhood, especially astronomy, and I became a university academic, teaching physics to students and researching in experiments with elementary particles. I was raised in a Christian family and have maintained my faith. I don’t find any real issues with science–it shows how clever God was in creating the universe! At the same time, I know many people have difficulties in this area. My book was written to help them, and I think the recommended books will help them, too.

Peter's book list on science and religion with mutual support

Peter Bussey Why did Peter love this book?

We are still living in the aftermath of the myth that before the age of modern science, people believed that the Earth was flat. I was taken by surprise to find how utterly mistaken this is and that nineteenth-century writers were the ones who propagated this false idea. It is usually coupled with the notion that in former times, folk believed both in a flat earth and in religion, but that nowadays, people believe in neither.

This is all nonsense, and I was delighted to read the proper historical story in this excellently written book. Christopher Columbus and his associates never believed that the Earth was flat!

By Jeffrey B. Russell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inventing the Flat Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Neither Christopher Columbus nor his contemporaries thought the earth was flat. Yet this curious illusion persists today, firmly established with the help of the media, textbooks, teachers-even noted historians. Inventing the Flat Earth is Russell's attempt to set the record straight. He begins with a discussion of geographical knowledge in the Middle Ages, examining what Columbus and his contemporaries actually did believe, and then moves to a look at how the error was first propagated in the 1820s and 1830s and then snowballed to outrageous proportions by the late 19th century. But perhaps the most intriguing focus of the book…


Book cover of Inventing the Universe: Why we can't stop talking about science, faith and God

Peter Bussey Author Of Signposts to God: How Modern Physics and Astronomy Point the Way to Belief

From my list on science and religion with mutual support.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been intrigued by science since childhood, especially astronomy, and I became a university academic, teaching physics to students and researching in experiments with elementary particles. I was raised in a Christian family and have maintained my faith. I don’t find any real issues with science–it shows how clever God was in creating the universe! At the same time, I know many people have difficulties in this area. My book was written to help them, and I think the recommended books will help them, too.

Peter's book list on science and religion with mutual support

Peter Bussey Why did Peter love this book?

Alister McGrath is one of the most readable authors on difficult areas. Here, he deals with some very general issues of religious faith in a scientific age and addresses the personal side of the equation.

Religion won’t go away, and McGrath tells us how and why this is so, bringing in some important philosophical questions that he explains in a very down-to-earth way. Whether we realize it or not, we all have a personal philosophy, and science and faith can help each other. I found it hard to put this book down.

By Alister McGrath,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inventing the Universe as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We just can't stop talking about the big questions around science and faith. They haven't gone away, as some predicted they might; in fact, we seem to talk about them more than ever. Far from being a spent force, religion continues to grow around the world. Meanwhile, Richard Dawkins and the New Atheists argue that religion is at war with science - and that we have to choose between them.

It's time to consider a different way of looking at these two great cultural forces. What if science and faith might enrich each other? What if they can together give…


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Book cover of What Walks This Way: Discovering the Wildlife Around Us Through Their Tracks and Signs

What Walks This Way By Sharman Apt Russell,

Nature writer Sharman Apt Russell tells stories of her experiences tracking wildlife—mostly mammals, from mountain lions to pocket mice—near her home in New Mexico, with lessons that hold true across North America. She guides readers through the basics of identifying tracks and signs, revealing a landscape filled with the marks…

Book cover of Theism and Humanism

Peter Bussey Author Of Signposts to God: How Modern Physics and Astronomy Point the Way to Belief

From my list on science and religion with mutual support.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been intrigued by science since childhood, especially astronomy, and I became a university academic, teaching physics to students and researching in experiments with elementary particles. I was raised in a Christian family and have maintained my faith. I don’t find any real issues with science–it shows how clever God was in creating the universe! At the same time, I know many people have difficulties in this area. My book was written to help them, and I think the recommended books will help them, too.

Peter's book list on science and religion with mutual support

Peter Bussey Why did Peter love this book?

Disputes between scientists and believers have been around for a long time, and many different people have written on the subject. I was hugely impressed by Arthur Balfour’s lectures reprinted here–yes, it is the same person who was British Prime Minster a century ago and who prepared the way for the modern state of Israel!

He was a sincere Christian and had a profound grasp of the important issues of religion and science, and they haven’t changed very much. Slightly old-fashioned language but on the ball all the time, and this is a book that C. S. Lewis learned from.

By Arthur James Balfour, Michael W Perry (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theism and Humanism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1962, Christian Century asked the well-known Christian writer, C. S. Lewis, to name the books that had most influenced his thought. Among those that Lewis listed was Arthur J. Balfour's Theism and Humanism (1915). This was no passing whim. Almost twenty years earlier, in 1944, Lewis had lamented in "Is Theology Poetry" that Theism was "a book too little read."

Many others shared Lewis' enthusiasm. When Balfour gave the original lectures on which the book was based, some 2,000 people crowded into Bute Hall at the University of Glasgow on a weekday winter afternoons to cheer and laugh. Even…


Book cover of Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution

Sam Torode Author Of Secrets of the Mind: Ralph Waldo Emerson's Keys to Expansive Mental Powers

From my list on uniting science and spirituality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the author of three books about Ralph Waldo Emerson, in addition to other books, and host of the Living from the Soul podcast. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a compelling interest in the “battle” between science and religion. I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian church, which taught that the Earth was created in six days about 6,000 years ago and denied evolution. But I also loved dinosaurs and paleontology; the information I was exposed to often contradicted my faith. Today, I consider myself a Transcendentalist. I believe that mind, not matter, is fundamental; and that our individual minds are tiny portions of the Universal Mind, which could be called God.

Sam's book list on uniting science and spirituality

Sam Torode Why did Sam love this book?

Kenneth R. Miller is a professor of cell biology at Brown University who’s co-written several widely-used biology textbooks and contributed to journals including Nature, Cell, and Scientific American. 

In 2000, I attended a conference on Intelligent Design, with leading speakers both for and against. Miller was unique as a believing Catholic who opposed Intelligent Design in favor of Darwinian evolution. I was predisposed against him, but wound up being convinced by his arguments.

Finding Darwin's God is an excellent book for explaining why no outside “Designer” is necessary to explain the origin of species, and also why this shouldn’t cause anyone to lose their faith in God or conclude that life is meaningless.

By Kenneth R. Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Finding Darwin's God as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Miller is a believer, but he is also certain that we evolved - and this book is about why the two are not mutually exclusive; in fact, the idea of each enriches the other. There is an enormous market out there for whom this issue is of real interest and import. Much of contemporary thought on evolution has centered on the mistaken assumption that evolution requires a strictly materialist view of the origins of all organisms - including human beings. This book will debunk that myth, arguing that the real world is less certain and far more interesting than either…


Book cover of Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism

Tom Rudelius Author Of Chasing Proof, Finding Faith: A Young Scientist’s Search for Truth in a World of Uncertainty

From my list on why a scientifically-minded person can believe in God.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a theoretical physicist and a practicing Christian. I was raised in a very loving but nonreligious household, and I didn’t seriously consider the possibility of God’s existence until I was a college student, when my twin brother came to faith and started to talk with me about it. In my subsequent journey to faith and the years thereafter, I read a number of books that changed my perspective on religion and convinced me that I could believe in God without compromising on my scientific view of the world. Chasing Proof, Finding Faith is the story of the journey I took, and the strange new world of faith I found on the other side.

Tom's book list on why a scientifically-minded person can believe in God

Tom Rudelius Why did Tom love this book?

I read this book when I was a grad student in physics at Harvard and a recent convert to Christianity.

The book was instrumental in shaping the way that I thought about the relationship between science and faith. In it, Plantinga lays out a compelling argument that despite their superficial concord, atheism, and science are actually in conflict with one another, and despite their superficial conflict, theism and science actually share a deep harmony with one another.

By Alvin Plantinga,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Where the Conflict Really Lies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book is a long-awaited major statement by a pre-eminent analytic philosopher, Alvin Plantinga, on one of our biggest debates - the compatibility of science and religion. The last twenty years has seen a cottage industry of books on this divide, but with little consensus emerging. Plantinga, as a top philosopher but also a proponent of the rationality of religious belief, has a unique contribution to make. His theme in this short book is that the conflict
between science and theistic religion is actually superficial, and that at a deeper level they are in concord.

Plantinga examines where this conflict…


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Book cover of I Am Taurus

I Am Taurus By Stephen Palmer,

The constellation we know as Taurus goes all the way back to cave paintings of aurochs at Lascaux. This book traces the story of the bull in the sky, a journey through the history of what has become known as the sacred bull.

Each of the sections is written from…

Book cover of God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution

Brendan Sweetman Author Of Evolution, Chance, and God: Understanding the Relationship Between Evolution and Religion

From my list on religion, evolution, and chance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a teacher, philosopher, writer, Professor of Philosophy, and holder of the Sullivan Chair in Philosophy at Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. I'm the author/editor of sixteen books on such topics as religion and science, religion and politics, contemporary European philosophy, and political philosophy. I'm particularly interested in how religion and science, especially evolution, can be shown to be compatible with each other, as well as in developing an argument that there is no chance operating in nature (including in biology). My book and the books below explore these fascinating topics from almost every possible angle, and should whet readers’ appetites for further thinking about these intriguing matters!

Brendan's book list on religion, evolution, and chance

Brendan Sweetman Why did Brendan love this book?

I have always appreciated John Haught’s point that theologians, in particular, have to do a better job of thinking about how to incorporate evolutionary theory into their theologies. While I would not follow him all the way, I learned much from his arguments that the ongoing debate between Darwinian evolutionists and Christian apologists is fundamentally misdirected; he suggests that both sides mistakenly persist in focusing on an explanation of underlying design and order in the universe. His own suggestions for the direction we might take are intriguing and provide much food for thought. What is lacking, he argues, is the notion of novelty, a necessary component of evolution and the essence of the unfolding of the divine mystery.  

By John F. Haught,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked God After Darwin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In God After Darwin, eminent theologian John F. Haught argues that the ongoing debate between Darwinian evolutionists and Christian apologists is fundamentally misdirected: Both sides persist in focusing on an explanation of underlying design and order in the universe. Haught suggests that what is lacking in both of these competing ideologies is the notion of novelty, a necessary component of evolution and the essence of the unfolding of the divine mystery. He argues that Darwin's disturbing picture of life, instead of being hostile to religion-as scientific skeptics and many believers have thought it to be-actually provides a most fertile setting…


Book cover of The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible

Corinne Maier Author Of The Conquest of the Red Man

From my list on tongue-in-cheek about social classes and clashes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a french writer, I like to write satires and tongue-in-cheek books about society. Work, children, France, social classes... When you find the right angle almost everything can be funny. With my writing I want to entertain, but give the reader something to think about. I hope this list will make you laugh as much I did. 

Corinne's book list on tongue-in-cheek about social classes and clashes

Corinne Maier Why did Corinne love this book?

A. J. Jacobs, a journalist, decides to read the Bible and try to follow it literally for a whole year, to the point of eating locusts, throwing small pebbles at couples he suspects of adultery, slaying idolatry, and speaking the naked truth… Struggling to follow archaic rules, he lives a disconcerting experience under the perplexed eyes of his family and becomes quickly out of step with the present time. The Year of Living Biblically depicts a clash of worlds with a caustic humor and I’ve burst out laughing a couple of times. I recommend it to believers and non-believers, both will be amused by this witty book that gives us food for thought.

By A.J. Jacobs,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Year of Living Biblically as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of The Know-It-All comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible.

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting…


Book cover of If It Causes You to Sin

Parker J. Cole Author Of Dark Cherub

From my list on Christian horror and thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

The question I have for Christian authors is this: are we Christian authors or authors who are Christian? The realm of horror is the perfect genre to explore the human condition in all of its depravity. Why do Christians avoid this genre when at the end of the day? I grew up watching horror movies with my grandmother and I enjoy the thrills and chills, the questions the genre asks, and the various ways horror can be depicted. Christians understand the dark forces that underlie our natural world. And we understand the darkness within ourselves. But unlike Hollywood horror, we know what the solution – Christ. So that’s why this is a passion of mine.

Parker's book list on Christian horror and thrillers

Parker J. Cole Why did Parker love this book?

I first heard the audio dramatization of this book on a podcast call The Untold Podcast, showcasing speculative fiction from Christian authors.

The story is short, telling of our unnamed narrator who is struggling with sin in his life. He reads the Bible verse, if thy hand offend then, cut if off. From there begins his meltdown into wanting to take off his hand because he has done sinful things with it.

What made this one so chilling is the rational outlook of the narrator. Then comes the grisly bits that make you squirm in your chair as you listen. Now, it’s in book form and I guarantee you, it’s a very good book. Thank God for grace!

By Jess Hanna,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked If It Causes You to Sin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


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Book cover of From One Cell: A Journey into Life's Origins and the Future of Medicine

From One Cell By Ben Stanger,

Everybody knows that all animals—bats, bears, sharks, ponies, and people—start out as a single cell: the fertilized egg. But how does something no bigger than the period at the end of this sentence give rise to the remarkable complexity of each of these creatures?

FROM ONE CELL is a dive…

Book cover of Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again

Malinda Fugate Author Of The Other Three Sixteens

From my list on for Christians to revive a stalled faith journey.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m just an everyday person. I don’t have a fancy title or lots of degrees, but I do have experience being close to God and a never-ending quest to know Him more. His love is so good that it absolutely must be shared. So if I, in all of my ordinariness, can learn extraordinary sacred things, then I can bring others along the journey, too. His presence in my heartaches, struggles, joy, and adventures has sustained my life, and I don’t know any credential that could testify any clearer that a journey with God is worth taking.

Malinda's book list on for Christians to revive a stalled faith journey

Malinda Fugate Why did Malinda love this book?

If scholars are still trying to completely understand the Bible, how are we supposed to navigate it?

Inspired steps back and takes a look at Scripture, inviting us to ask questions and know it better, from both a spiritual and literary perspective. While I didn’t agree with everything the author suggests, everything made me pause and think. It’s a rare book that both challenges and encourages, but this one most certainly does both.

By Rachel Held Evans,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Inspired as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

If the Bible isn't a science book or an instruction manual, what is it? What do people mean when they say the Bible is inspired? When New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans found herself asking these questions, she embarked on a journey to better understand what the Bible is and how it's meant to be read. What she discovered changed her--and it can change you, too.

Evans knows firsthand how a relationship with the Bible can be as real and as complicated as a relationship with a family member or close friend. In Inspired, Evans explores contradictions and…


Book cover of Scientists of Faith: Forty-Eight Biographies of Historic Scientists and Their Christian Faith
Book cover of Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians
Book cover of Inventing the Universe: Why we can't stop talking about science, faith and God

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