Evolution and Eschatology: Genetic Science and the Goodness of God

The genome revolution of the last twenty years has changed biology forever. It has provided stunning insights into the evolution of species (such as ours) and the development of new functional capabilities (such as placenta, brain, and immune networks). We are learning how genes make a human animal―but that loving relationships with others are required to make a human person. Random mutations, filtered by directing order, underlie evolutionary development, but also cause diseases such as cancer. We are wont to question God when faced with devastating natural and moral evils. But deeply embedded in the biblical story we encounter a Creator who has always purposed to deal with the evils of a freely operating world by extirpating them through Jesus of Nazareth, who is God incarnate.

Graeme Finlay (PhD in cellular immunology) has been involved for many years in cancer research and in the teaching of scientific pathology at the University of Auckland. He is the author of Human Evolution: Genes, Genealogies and Phylogenies (2013), The Gospel According to Dawkins (2017), and Evolution and Eschatology: Genetic Science and the Goodness of God (2021).