Books

Bookmarks

Short reviews of Saving Darwin, The Man Who Loved China, and Transforming Worldviews.

Saving Darwin: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution Karl Giberson (4 stars)

How to Spend Next Weekend: Friday evening: Read the first chapters of Genesis, with a good commentary or two at hand. Saturday: After breakfast, spend a couple of hours with Karl Giberson’s Saving Darwin, then work in the garden. Catch a matinee of Ben Stein’s Expelled at the multiplex. Sunday: After church, finish Saving Darwin. Conclude the day with Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom Simon Winchester (4 stars)

In this summer of the Beijing Olympics, we are awash in China books. Don’t miss this one in the crowd. Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman) is an irresistible raconteur, and once you start his account of Joseph Needham and his magnum opus, Science and Civilization in China, you won’t want to put it down — even as you are occasionally grinding your teeth at Winchester’s ideological moves.

Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change Paul G. Hiebert (3 stars)

The late Paul Hiebert helped to transform missiology with insights drawn from anthropology, a contribution from which the church continues to benefit. This posthumously published volume, perhaps conceived as a textbook, is not the best place to begin reading Hiebert.

However, it is worth mining, not only by missiologists and missionaries, on the one hand, and adepts of the worldview conversation, on the other, but by any Christian who wants to think more deeply about what conversion to Christ entails.

Copyright © 2008 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

John Wilson is editor of Books & Culture.

Other Bookmarks and reviews are in our books section.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Our Latest

News

After Hurricane Melissa, Jamaican Baptists Look to Rebuild from the Ruins

Churches step in as shelters, aid sites, and sources of hope after the island’s strongest storm.

News

Zohran Mamdani’s Coalition Captured Some Christians, Alarmed Others

The democratic socialist’s energetic campaign paid off in Tuesday’s election.

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Justin Giboney: Stop Outsourcing Your Witness

Faith that holds conviction and compassion in the same breath.

When Songs Undermine Orthodoxy

Church songs need to be true, not necessarily catchy.

News

Europe’s Christian Pacifists Reconsider Peace by Arms

Some once committed to nonviolence see rearmament as a necessary deterrent.

How to Forgive When You’re Deeply Offended

A new book from Bible teacher Yana Jenay Conner offers a blueprint for living out a difficult spiritual practice.

Have We Kissed Purity Goodbye?

We don’t need pledges or rose metaphors. We do need more reverence and restraint.

Public Theology Project

The Church Better Start Taking Nazification Seriously

Tucker Carlson hosted neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes on his podcast. The stakes are high for American Christians.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube