This week there launches the most massively substantive critique ever of the science and philosophy behind theistic evolution — what contributor Paul Nelson calls the beautiful monster, the 1,007-page Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique. And tomorrow is #GivingTuesday, a day designated to stand athwart the commercialism of the season, and think seriously about the things that really matter.

Please consider supporting the Center for Science & Culture with a gift tomorrow — or better yet, right now! — to help us get out the news about this wonderful and terrifically important tome.

Discovery Institute scientists and scholars are well represented  in the book — including Stephen Meyer, Douglas Axe, Jonathan Wells, John West, Ann Gauger, J.P. Moreland, and Günter Bechly. Meet the contributors and editors in an excellent video here. One of the striking things about the debate over TE (theistic evolution) is the way TE proponents use the language of faith as a tool, conjoined with out-of-date science, to advance an account of origins fundamentally at odds with traditional theism. ID advocates meet them powerfully on the battlefield not of religion but of science and philosophy.

Much is at stake in the controversy. All too often, members of faith communities find the TE view a convenient fallback, allowing them to avoid a confrontation with the prestige science of our day as the popular media represent it. The contributors to Theistic Evolution explain why this position sells both faith and science short.

The challenge, of course, is sharing this information with the thoughtful men and women, and young people, who most need to hear it. That is a major undertaking. On #GivingTuesday, please consider joining us in it.

You will be contributing, as well, to a range of new efforts, here at Evolution News and at Discovery Institute, to bring the best science on biological and cosmic origins to the widest audience possible. As you’ll find here, our new undertakings for 2018 include:

• More new books…one by a prominent European scientist who has embraced intelligent design; another by an historian who demolishes the biggest myths about science and faith in textbooks and pop culture; and a new entry in the Privileged Species book series by biologist Michael Denton.
• Online courses drawing on virtual reality technology that feature some of our top scientists such as Doug Axe, Michael Behe, Steve Meyer, and Jonathan Wells.
• A Spanish-language version of Evolution News to reach millions of Spanish-speaking readers both in the United States and around the world.

Yes, it will be an extremely busy year. To make the most of the opportunities being presented, we need you with us. Read more about the 2018 Evolution News and Science Today Campaign. Think carefully about the stakes for our culture. Then please commit whatever you can to help us reach the world!

Photo credit: Paul Nelson.