Evolving Faith - Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist

Posted on 12 December 2018 by Steven L. Peck

Believers and scientists have long wrestled over the relationship between science and faith Acclaimed Latter day Saint author and scientist Steven L Peck demonstrates that both are indispensable tools we can use to navigate God s strange and beautiful creation Evolving Faith Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist is a collection of technical, personal, whimsical essays about Mormon theology, evolution, human consciousness, the environment, sacred spaces, and With the mind of a scientist, the soul of a believer, and the heart of a wanderer, Peck provides companionship for women and men engaged in the unceasing quest for further light and knowledge. Read Evolving Faith - Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist By Steven L. Peck – kino-fada.fr Steve Peck is one eclectic dude He writes wild fiction that includes two headed cowboys, he was able to turn a library into the most terrifying hell one can imagine, and he is also able to write stories that tug your heart strings but simultaneously leave you ethically unsettled In addition to that kind of writing he is also a well regarded biologist who has published his work in high level journals Finally he is also a professor of philosophy of science.This book gives you a taste of this Steve Peck is one eclectic dude He writes wild fiction that includes two headed cowboys, he was able to turn a li...This book is about how evolution and LDS religion are completely compatible Evolution here includes the fact that humans came from older andprimitive life forms There are also some essays about violence, death, insanity, and environmentalism, that were thoughtful and pleasant and a little shame inducing To be honest, I almost stopped reading mid philosophical theological essay in part one It was the kind of essay that ideally, one would read without having to feed or entertain a small This book is about how evolution and LDS religion are completely compatible Evolution here includes the fact that humans came from older andprimitive life forms There are also some essays about violence, death, insanity, and environmentalism, that were thoughtful and pleasant and a little shame inducing To be honest, I almost stopped reading mid philosophical ...This is a deep book In the first half, I had to re read every paragraph to make sure I understood what it was saying I have never thought about metaphysics before It s about Latter day Saint theology and Evolutionary Biology, but Steven Peck doesn t spend time trying to defend either of those Instead, he shows that you can believe in both, and what that could mean I would say this book should be classified under philosophy Here s a summary of each chapter.1 2 These chapters This is a deep book In the first half, I had to re read every paragraph to make sure I understood what it was saying I have never thought about metaphysics before It s about Latter day Saint theology and Evolutionary Biology, but Steven Peck doesn t spend time trying to defend either of those Instead, he shows that you can believe in both, and what that could mean I would say this book should be classified under philosophy Here s a summary of each chapter.1 2 These chapters assert that science and materialism cannot fully explain everything Science gives us powerful tools for discovering truth, but there are deeper, subjective truths The scriptures, for example, are not literal scientific texts, but they connect us to a spiritual experience, wh...This is really two books Chapters 1 6 areclosely tied to scientific literature, while chapters 7 12 are muchopinion driven and markedly less rigorous that does not make them less valuable only different Part I is why I read the book and is, I think, where its value added lies My comments refer to Part I Note that Peck is a prolific ecologist who, as far as I can tell, is respected in the scientific community and has published peer reviewed research there on some type of This is really two books Chapters 1 6 areclosely tied to scientific literature, while chapters 7 12 are muchopinion driven and markedly less rigorous that does not make them less valuable only different Part I is why I read the book and is, I think, where its value added lies My comments refer to Part I Note that Peck is a prolific ecologist who, as far as I can tell, is respected in the scientific community and has published peer reviewed research there on some type of fly Part I consists of 6 essays which I think have been published elsewhere in some form in which Peck walks through some key concepts from biology and ecology primarily relating to evolution and makes connections between those concepts and theology generally or LDS theology specifically In short, Peck wants to reconcile mainstream science on evolution with theology I found much of the discussion useful for furthering my understanding of some key scientific principles and methods, though I suspect there are other books that wo...Essential reading for people who want to understand how religion is compatible with evolution.Oh how I wish I were at a different point in my life I had this book for a month but couldn t finish it It is so hard for me to get the time to sit down and actually turn pages Plus the first part of this book required serious mental attention, dealing with the nature of God and the universe Very dense, but full of ideas that challenged me, and helped me move forward a bit in my faith The second h...Thoughtfully Joining Science and FaithThe philosophy essay was a little heavy, but i thoroughly enjoyed the musings on biology, cosmology, evolution, nature of Deity, hallucination, and boundaries.Some of the scientific essays were above my education level, but I really loved the last few,personal, essays.I took a pretty long break when I got stuck in the middle of this one something about teleology and hermeneutics I m not really sure.What I loved about this book was the way Steven holds religion in one hand and science in the other with absolutely no qualms or disquiet A firm believer in God and the Mormon faith, and a firm believer in science and her methods and results, Steven has a masterful way with words that could convince most skeptics.He blends his under...I like Peck s style.The early chapters bogged me down That is not Peck s fault He was trying t explain some very esoteric stuff on evolution and theology, and most went over my head Still, I picked up some and came away with a better appreciation for evolution, and the majesty of the eternal soul.Part two was a lot of fun, essay...

Evolving Faith - Wanderings of a Mormon Biologist

English
12 December 2018

Steven L. Peck