Interdisciplinary Book and Film Reviews

  Genesis for Normal People A Guide to the Most Controversial,      Misunderstood, and Abused Book of the Bible By     Peter Enns &    Jared Byas   Reviewed by     Geoffrey W. Sutton I agree with the authors that Genesis for Normal People is for those who want to a better understanding of Genesis without mastering Hebrew and attending seminary. I’ve thought about what I wish they had included but I’m neither a religious scholar nor a popular author so, I’ll offer a summary of the book and note some points worth considering. Depending on how much you have read about this old document called Genesis, you might learn a few things like I did or at least think about Genesis in a different way. My plan is to present a summary of this easy-to-read introduction to Genesis by focusing on the authors’ key points. 1. Genesis is an ancient Israelite story. To understand that story requires an appreciation of the Israelites who likely received it after returning from exile i

WHY DARWIN MATTERS:  THE CASE AGAINST INTELLIGENT DESIGN By    Michael Shermer Reviewed by    Geoffrey W. Sutton My answer to Shermer's book title framed as a question, Why Darwin Matters? , is that it matters a great deal. Psychological scientists often refer to evolutionary theory in their articles and textbooks thus psychologists, and those in similar professions, need to know the basics of evolutionary theory to understand and critique the way the theory is employed in the understanding of human behaviour. Shermer begins his work with a biographical event. "I became a creationist shortly after I became a born-again evangelical Christian in high school ..." (p. xx).  Those interested in the integration of Christian faith and science will find this book a quick and useful review of the major points involved in the evolution-intelligent design (ID) controversy that has primarily involved biologists perhaps because the evolutionary psychology section