Thinking God’s Thoughts: A History of the Creation-Evolution Controversy

In Thinking God’s Thoughts, Dr. Alfred Basta traces the long and often contentious history of the creation-evolution controversy, examining the struggle between biblical revelation, naturalistic philosophy, evolutionary theory, and competing interpretations of Earth’s history.

Beginning with the early Church Fathers and continuing through the medieval period and Protestant Reformation, this book examines how Christian thinkers understood Genesis, creation, chronology, and the authority of Scripture. It then follows the intellectual transformation of the Enlightenment and the emergence of deep-time geology, uniformitarianism, and Darwinian evolution.

The journey continues through Charles Darwin and the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, exploring the rise of modern evolutionary thought and the scientific and philosophical challenges raised by contemporary creationist scholars. The book also examines the twentieth-century renaissance of biblical creationism, including the influence of George McCready Price, Henry Morris, John Whitcomb, Duane Gish, and other prominent figures in the creation science movement.

A substantial portion of the book explores Intelligent Design and the work of thinkers such as Phillip Johnson, Michael Behe, and Stephen Meyer, while also profiling researchers who have developed young-earth creationist arguments in biology, geology, mathematics, and astronomy.

The final section moves beyond science and theology into the courtroom, classroom, academic institutions, and media. From the Scopes Trial to later legal battles involving the teaching of evolution and creationism, the book considers how the origins debate has become intertwined with questions of education, constitutional law, academic freedom, peer review, and cultural influence.

Written from an explicitly young-earth creationist perspective, Thinking God’s Thoughts argues that questions about origins cannot be separated from deeper questions of worldview, authority, philosophy, and faith. For readers interested in Genesis, creation science, Darwinism, Intelligent Design, Christian apologetics, and the history of the creation-evolution debate, this volume offers a comprehensive journey through one of the most enduring intellectual controversies of the modern era.