Anyone who’s been part of church culture for any length of time knows that the relationship between science and the Bible is often a delicate one. Are they competitors or complementary (or, at times, both)? What do we do when the claims of one seem to conflict with the claims of the other?

These questions have been central in the ongoing “creation versus evolution” debate, and are popping up in fresh ways as a recent burst of information is bringing the existence of a historical Adam into fresh consideration. This is likely something you’ll hear about on the History or Discovery Channels, or get into conversation about over some Thanksgiving meal with extended family or friends.

Knowing this, here are a few articles (and one book), written by evangelical Christians, that can introduce you to this topic. Keep this in mind, though: these articles present a variety of evangelical approaches to this topic and may at times even conflict with each other. As always, read with your thinking caps on and with a commitment to the authority of God’s Word.

Here are some articles that will introduce you to things:

• Richard N. Ostling, “The Search for the Historical Adam.”  Christianity Today (June 2011).

• Mark Coppenger, “Epicycles and Phlogiston: Fanciful Flights from the Historical Adam and Jesus.  The Gospel Coalition Blog.

• Tim Keller, “Creation, Evolution, and Christian Evolution.”  BioLogos White Paper.

• Christianity Today editorial: “No Adam, No Eve, No Gospel: The historical Adam debate won’t be resolved tomorrow, so stay engaged.”  Christianity Today (June 2011).