Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution

Evolution Is Not the Bible's Enemy

Giberson traces how early religious thinkers reconciled geological discoveries with Genesis before modern culture wars hardened the divide. The narrative follows the legal battles from the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton to the 2005 Dover school board trial.

Nineteenth-century naturalists once embraced divine design, yet Giberson shows how oddities like parasitic wasps pointed toward natural selection. This study examines how scientific discoveries about nature's history can deepen, rather than destroy, religious awe.

Saving Darwin explores the history of the controversy that swirls around evolution science, from Darwin to current challenges, and shows why—and how—it is possible to believe in God and evolution at the same time.

• History of Science: Trace the shift from William Paley's natural theology to Darwin's voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, examining how the Victorian crisis of faith was driven by German biblical criticism rather than biology alone.


• Creationism: Discover how 19th-century Seventh-day Adventist prophetess Ellen White inspired George McCready Price's flood geology, later popularized across American fundamentalism by Henry Morris.


• Intelligent Design: Follow the legal battles of the anti-evolution movement, including William Jennings Bryan's cross-examination at Dayton, Phillip Johnson's wedge strategy, and Michael Behe's testimony at Dover.


• Science and Theology: Explore how genetics, the fossil record, and molecular evidence like pseudogenes align with Christian faith, offering an alternative to militant atheism and biblical literalism.