Stephen J. Godfrey & Christopher R. Smith
ISBN 1-894667-32-8
208 pages / Trade Paper

In this book the two authors recount the pilgrimages of understanding that have led them from the young-earth, "scientific creationist" position they were taught in their youths to new perspectives on what it can mean to believe in God as Creator. Dr. Godfrey describes the field work he has done as a descriptive paleontologist and the successive paradigm shifts that his discoveries led him through as he sought new ways to understand what he had been taught in light of the evidence he was uncovering. Dr. Smith describes how the integration of his background and training in literary studies with his work in biblical interpretation similarly led him to a new way of understanding the Bible, especially the early chapters of Genesis. The book as a whole presents an alternative way of understanding how the Bible and natural history relate to one another. Dr. Godfrey and Dr. Smith have both given seminars and presentations on the topic of this book in church and academic settings. This book will be of personal interest and practical use to college students and college-educated adults who have evangelical or fundamentalist backgrounds and who are seeking to integrate the study of the Bible with a commitment to academic and scientific inquiry.

"The sad state of affairs that sees a continuing 'conflict' between science and Scripture simply does not have to exist. This book is a breath of fresh air. I pray that the book may have its intended good effects."
—Dr. Mark A. Noll, University of Notre Dame

"There are a multitude of books on the polar ends of this issue, but this book gently and personally takes the reader from one side to the other, with good rationale for the travel."
—Dr. Brian Alters, McGill University

"Paradigms on Pilgrimage is a rarity: a book that can be recommended to people who are trying to think their way through the conflicting claims of fundamentalism and modern biblical scholarship as well as natural science."
—Daryl P. Domning, Reports of the National Center for Science Education

"An excellent and much needed volume."
—Dr. Sam Riffell, Mississippi State University

Stephen J. Godfrey (Ph.D., McGill University) is the Curator of Paleontology at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland.

Christopher R. Smith (Ph.D., Boston College) is pastor of the University Baptist Church in East Lansing, Michigan.