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I can indeed hardly see how anyone ought to wish Christianity to be true; for if so the plain language of the text seems to show that the men who do not believe, and this would include my father, brothers, and almost all my friends, will be everlastingly punished. And this is a damnable doctrine.
Charles Darwin (1809—1882)

Charles Darwin, the gentle Victorian naturalist who went from aspiring parson to the (supposed) archenemy of Christianity, is a watershed in Frankenberry's story, straddling that great gulf separating the mystical Kepler from today's crusading atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Steven Weinberg.

Darwin's critics often treat him unfairly, unaware that his theory of evolution was not an attempt to rationalize his unbelief. The Faith of Scientists recounts Darwin's struggles with the age-old problem of evil, especially the death of his beloved daughter Annie. His loss of faith was just that—a loss, never once experienced as liberation and certainly not the motivation for his famous theory. Darwin described himself as "very unwilling to give up my belief," and, as an old man, recalled the efforts he made to preserve his faith.

Of the 15 scientists after Darwin in Frankenberry's volume, only one, John Polkinghorne, holds conventional Christian beliefs. Yet he was selected mainly as a counterpoint to Weinberg, with whom he had a famous debate, excerpted in this volume. Weinberg, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on unification in physics, believes that "on balance the moral influence of religion has been awful." Of course, Richard Dawkins and Carl Sagan make the same familiar argument, but without the winsome sadness that permeates Weinberg's contemplations of a world he finds "pointless."

Natural beauty has a necessary place in the spiritual development of any individual or any society.
Rachel Carson (1954—)

The most interesting writings in this volume—from theists and atheists alike—share a provocative theme, namely that the contemplation of both nature and the scientific picture of the world can be a religious experience. I write this now from my gazebo at the edge of the woods behind my house. A bird choir sings vigorously, accompanied by rustling leaves and the gurgle of a small waterfall. Towering hardwoods rise behind me in the forest. Newport plums and andromeda are at my elbow.

Ursula Goodenough, who closes this volume, speaks of the "sacred depths of nature." Goodenough's worldview is shaped by the values of the scientific community. Yet she very much enjoys worship and even sings in a church choir. She is inspired by cathedrals. But she cannot believe in the supernatural: "Such faith," she laments, "is simply not available to me."

I wonder what God thinks of Ursula Goodenough. Can God be worshiped by those who celebrate the Creation without acknowledging the Creator? In conversation, someone once praised one of my books but could not remember the author's name. The praise was strangely more genuine for its inarticulate anonymity. I suspect, as C. S. Lewis once speculated, that God may have more connection with honest atheists than many think.

The Faith of Scientists is a feast of provocative, sobering reflections. Why so many leading scientists find conventional belief in God so difficult is a mystery to me. And yet I am equally baffled that so many faithful Christians find it hard to appreciate the "sacred depths of nature."

Karl Giberson, author of Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution, the director of the Forum on Faith and Science at Gordon College, and a professor at Eastern Nazarene College.

Correction: 'God's Other Good Book' originally incorrectly identified Isaac Newton. Nancy Frankenberry includes Newton, a well-known scientist, in her book The Faith of Scientists. We regret the error.

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December 2008, Vol. 52, No. 12