About the Author

Joan Roughgarden is professor of biological sciences and of geophysics at Stanford University. Her many books include Evolution's Rainbow (University of California Press, 2004), Primer of Ecological Theory (Prentice Hall, 1995), and Theory of Population Genetics and Evolutionary Ecology (Macmillan, 1979). She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Reviews

"Clear and brilliantly concise, Dr. Roughgarden's thoughtful analysis sheds much-needed light on the contemporary debate over the compatibility of Christian belief and evolutionary biology. Eschewing polarizing rhetoric and antithetical claims, she demonstrates that there is no contradiction between Christian faith and the facts of evolution and that it is false to suggest such dichotomous thinking is required by either faithfulness to the Bible or scientific evidence. Roughgarden's fresh approach suggests that much in the Bible invites Christians to recognize God's good creation precisely as a universe in evolution."
--Patricia Beattie Jung, Professor of theology, Loyola University Chicago

"Joan Roughgarden is more than an accomplished evolutionary biologist; she is also brave. Combining lucid evolutionary reasoning with personal Christian faith, she builds a remarkable bridge across the cultural chasm between science and faith in America today. Roughgarden rejects both junk science based on spurious metaphors and junk religion based on spurious theology. In their place, she offers an inspiring accommodation between thoughtful science and compassionate religion."
--Michael Rose, Professor of evolutionary biology, University of California, Irvine