The Fool and the Heretic: How Two Scientists Moved beyond Labels to a Christian Dialogue about Creation and Evolution

The Fool and the Heretic is a deeply personal story told by two respected scientists who hold opposing views on the topic of origins, share a common faith in Jesus Christ, and began a sometimes-painful journey to explore how they can remain in Christian fellowship when each thinks the other is harming the church. To some in the church, anyone who accepts the theory of evolution has rejected biblical teaching and is therefore thought of as a heretic. To many outside the church as well as a growing number of evangelicals, anyone who accepts the view that God created the earth in six days a few thousand years ago must be poorly educated and ignorant--a fool. Todd Wood and Darrel Falk know what it's like to be thought of, respectively, as a fool and a heretic. This book shares their pain in wearing those labels, but more important, provides a model for how faithful Christians can hold opposing views on deeply divisive issues yet grow deeper in their relationship to each other and to God.

Dr. Wood earned a B.S. in biology from Liberty University and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Virginia.  He is the founding president of Core Academy of Science, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to helping Christian students navigate the challenges of science and faith. He lives in Dayton, TN, with his wife, Stephanie. 

Darrel Falk (PhD [genetics], the University of Alberta) is professor emeritus at Point Loma University and a senior advisor to BioLogos, an organization he helped start aimed at contributing to the discussion of the relationship between science and religion from a Christian evolutionist point of view.