Is there anything more relaxing and uplifting than settling in with a good book on a winter day? This Christmas, give the gift of a book worth reading! Books by scientists and scholars associated with the intelligent-design movement stimulate the mind while giving insight and inspiration.

Twenty-two years after the publication of his seminal work Darwin’s Black Box, Michael Behe returns with Darwin Devolves, showing that new scientific discoveries point to a stunning fact: Darwin’s mechanism works by a process of devolution, not evolution. That places severe limits on what unguided evolution can do.

The book is due out in February. Pre-order Darwin Devolves for friends or family members and they will also receive free access to Mike Behe’s 41-session online video course on intelligent design and evolution, a $49.95 value! They will receive a bonus chapter from Darwin Devolves not available anywhere else. Finally, they will have the opportunity to participate in an exclusive, national conference call Q&A with Dr. Behe, moderated by Greg Koukl of Stand To Reason.

It makes a great gift, and while you’re at it pre-order a copy for yourself!

A World Enlightened

We associate light with the radiant beams that make the world visible to us. But the visible spectrum is only a tiny percentage of an electromagnetic spectrum that extends unimaginably far in both directions. As biologist Michael Denton carefully documents, that tiny band of visual light is crucial to life on Earth. In Children of Light, Denton elucidates the miraculous convergence of properties on the tiny band of visual light that has allowed intelligent life to flourish on Earth. Celebrating human uniqueness, Children of Light is detailed, yet accessible and fun. This book is the third entry in the Privileged Species series, which also includes The Wonder of Water and Fire-Maker. Consider giving the three-volume set! 

Rigid adherence to scientism ― as opposed to a healthy respect for science ― is all too prevalent in our world today. Rather than leading to a deeper understanding of our universe, this worldview undermines real science and marginalizes morality and religion. In Scientism and Secularism, celebrated philosopher J.P. Moreland exposes the self-defeating nature of scientism and equips us to recognize scientism’s harmful presence in different aspects of culture, arming us with strategies for the integration of faith and science ― the only feasible path to genuine knowledge. For the undergraduate or graduate student in your life, or the relative interested in design who is more philosophically than scientifically inclined, Scientism and Secularism makes a great Christmas gift!

And if you know someone who wants to delve even deeper into the intersection between science and faith, Crossway’s 1,000-page Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique presents a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the problems associated with theistic evolution.

Here’s the book for your niece or nephew who gets excited about all things science — Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design. What happens when an up-and-coming European bioscientist flips from Darwin disciple to Darwin defector? Sparks fly. Just ask biotechnologist Matti Leisola. It all started when a student loaned the Finnish scientist a book criticizing evolutionary theory. Heretic is the story of Leisola’s adventures making waves — and many friends and enemies — at major research labs and universities across Europe. Tracing his investigative path, and co-authored with Jonathan Witt, the book draws on Leisola’s expertise in molecular biology to show how the evidence points more strongly than ever to the original biotechnologist — a designing intelligence whose skill and reach dwarf those of even our finest bioengineers, and leave blind evolution in the dust.

Holiday Discussion Starters

Do you want to begin a conversation on intelligent design with a friend who may not be familiar with the topic? Here are a few wonderful holiday discussion starters: Science and the Mind of the Maker, by Melissa Cain Travis, Undeniable, by Douglas Axe, and Stephen Meyer’s classics, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt. In her book, Travis presents a compelling case for Christian theism based on design in the universe, demonstrating that the natural world points to a beauty beyond itself. Axe’s Undeniable explains why our intuitive understanding of life’s origins is scientifically justified. And no introduction to intelligent design would be complete without New York Times bestseller Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origins of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design, and Meyer’s companion volume on the origin of life: Signature in the Cell. 

For history buffs, we’ve got a new video and a book that will be perfect! Human Zoos, directed by John G. West, tells the shocking story of how thousands of indigenous peoples were put on public display in America in the early decades of the 20th century. And Michael Flannery is the author of a recent book, Nature’s Prophet: Alfred Russel Wallace and His Evolution from Natural Selection to Natural Theology, from University of Alabama Press. The co-discoverer of the theory of evolution by natural selection, Wallace broke with Darwin and became, arguably, the founding father of modern intelligent design theory. 

Finally, for the techie or geek on your list: Jay Richards’s The Human Advantage. American Enterprise Institute president Arthur C. Brooks described the book this way: “The blistering pace of technological change has left many Americans uncertain about their place in the 21st-century economy. But as Jay Richards wisely reminds us, no machine will ever be able to replicate what makes us truly human: our creativity, and our virtue. The Human Advantage masterfully demonstrates that we need not fear the future, and that a life of happiness still awaits those with the courage to pursue it.”

Still looking? Visit the Discovery Institute Store and browse many other outstanding books and DVDs! 

Photo credit: JimmyDominico, via Pixabay.