Skip to main content

Can Christians Evolve? A Review of Thriving with Stone Age Minds

 


Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing (BioLogos Books on Science and Christianity)

By Justin L. Barrett

  and Pamela Ebstyne King

On AMAZON

Reviewed by

  Geoffrey W. Sutton

I’m in the process of writing about irreconcilable differences between Christianity and psychology. Thriving with Stone Age Minds surprised me. Not only does Barrett affirm evolution but he explains evolutionary psychology and how it may relate to Christian theology.

***

Thriving with Stone Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing by Justin L. Barrett delves into the intersection of evolutionary psychology, Christian theology, and human flourishing. In this thought-provoking work, Barrett and co-author Pamela Ebstyne King explore how our evolutionary past shapes our present minds, relationships, and behaviors.

The book begins by acknowledging the controversy surrounding evolutionary psychology, especially within Christian circles. However, Barrett and King argue that this field can be a valuable tool for understanding human nature and purpose. They provide an accessible introduction to evolutionary psychology, highlighting three key concepts such as hyper-sociality, information gathering, and self-control.

One central insight from evolutionary psychology is how humans adapt to and alter their environments, or niches. We change our world faster than our minds can keep up, leading to gaps in our fitness. Essentially, we find ourselves attempting to thrive in modern contexts with Stone Age minds. By integrating scientific evidence with theological anthropology, the authors propose ways to close these nature-niche gaps and enhance human flourishing.

The book also emphasizes the importance of understanding our evolutionary heritage. When we recognize that we still bear the marks of our Stone Age past, we gain fresh perspectives on puzzling aspects of our minds and relationships. Barrett and King draw connections between evolutionary psychology and biblical faith, shedding light on questions like: What is human flourishing? How can we align our distinctively human purpose with our evolutionary history?

***

Overall, the book is a bit of a puzzle. On the one hand, explaining the relationship between evolution and evolutionary psychology requires some effort for readers who may have limited knowledge of both disciplines. Although more and more Christians are accepting evolution as a fact, many remain staunch creationists. Adding psychology to the mix will likely pose a challenge for Christian college students. On the other hand, the authors want to offer us a path to flourishing, which is a topic within positive psychology; however, along the way, Barrett and King make connections with an evangelical approach to Christianity. It’s this attempt to merge two sciences with a conservative theological view of Christianity that needs more work. I wish them well.

References

Barrett, J. L., & King, P. E. (2021). Thriving with stone age minds: Evolutionary psychology, Christian faith, and the quest for human flourishing. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Cite this review

Sutton, G. W. (2024, March 6). Can Christians evolve? A review of Thriving with Stone Age Minds. Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews. Retrieved from https://suttonreviews.suttong.com/2024/03/can-christians-evolve-review-of.html



Available on AMAZON

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton 

Note: The AI image of the woman reading was created in Bing Designer for illustration.

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Denial of Death and the Meaningful Life- Book Review

  The Denial of Death   by Ernest Becker A Review by Geoffrey W. Sutton The prospect of death, Dr. Johnson said, wonderfully concentrates the mind. The main thesis of this book is that it does much more than that: the idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity—activity designed largely to avoid the fatality of death, to overcome it by denying in some way that it is the final destiny for man.  — Ernest Becker, xvii I completed a recent reading of this old classic yesterday (13 December, 2015) because I was interested in Becker’s contribution to Terror Management Theory, which I find so helpful in understanding the ways U.S. leaders are publicly responding to terrorist activities. Becker’s ideas are more than forty years old and many have not withstood the test of time. However, his basic premise that we deny the reality of death in many ways remains valid

A Christmas Carol offers lessons in Psychology and Faith A Book Review

A Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens A Review by Geoffrey W. Sutton My copy of A Christmas Carol was a gift on Christmas day, 1963. Two Christmases before I had walked the cold, fog-laden, smog drenched streets of Old London with my dad whilst my mother visited with her family. It was a grey day and a grey week. We took turns warming parts of our body by fireplaces here and there. After five years in the U.S. we had returned home to London on the occasion of my maternal grandmother’s death.  Dickens’ story paints a familiar tale textured by my early memories and enriched today by having watched my favourite rendition of A Christmas Carol ( 1984 ) with my wife on Christmas eve. My interest in reviewing the book is not just for a pleasant walk about the old streets of London but I'm motivated by a sense of appreciation for the poetic and colourful artistry with which Dickens plumbs the hopes and fears of humanity. So, follow

WILLPOWER Setting & Reaching Goals- Book Review by Sutton

WILLPOWER Rediscovering the Greatest    Human Strength By Roy Baumeister & John Tierney Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton I go to a gym, which is crowded in January. Regulars know the early Happy-New-Year commitments to fitness will weaken sometime in February. Roy Baumeister has spent a good part of his career studying self-control. His book, Willpower   written with Tierney,  entertains and informs us with an organized set of findings explaining factors that influence self-control. Two critical factors weaken our judgments: food and sleep. We need glucose and sleep to be at our best when it comes to making wise decisions and marking progress toward our goals. A pretty woman can loosen a man’s grip on his career--we hear these news stories from time to time as one political group takes aim at each other's leaders--men who failed at sexual self-control and sadly blame women for their lack of self-control. Fat shaming happens. T