A Round of Written Interviews

S. Joshua Swamidass

I wanted to point out the written interviews of the book since it was released on December 10, 2019. Quite a bit has taken place since then. Seems like ages ago.

My schedule was turned upside down in an instant too. No more traveling and public events to promote the book, but that is giving me more time for my scientific work and my family. So, for now, I am enjoying the time at home. With the initial shock of the coronavirus news past us, we are all we settling into a new normal of social distancing. Perhaps this might be worthwhile reading as we all shelter in place?

S. Joshua Swamidass, a computational biologist at Washington University in St. Louis, wants to change the terms of this contentious debate.
**What If We Don’t Have to Choose Between Evolution and Adam and Eve?**

Over 30 venues interviewed me or reviewed the book. Most the initial engagements were interviews. One of my favorites was an interview by NPR. This allowed me to get the word out on my terms, and set the stage for the dialogue to come. Then several reviews were published and more are slated to come. Some highlights include a three podcast series from William Lane Craig, a review by Richard Buggs, John Sanford, and three reviews at BioLogos. In the coming months, there may be responses with those reviews. You also are welcomed to join in too. The conversation is growing.

For now, here is a reader’s guide to some of the first written interviews surrounding the release of The Genealogical Adam and Eve.

The Dialogue of Science and Theology

A couple weeks before the book released, Sean McDowell published his interview with me. His father’s book, More than a Carpenter, was an important step in my own path to confident faith. Sean and I became friends over the last several years. I was particularly honored by his kind endorsement of my book, even though he disagrees with me about evolutionary science. Sean is acknowledge in Appendix 1 of the book for his very generous help to me in explaining the evidence of the Resurrection.

There is legitimacy to science, but it is theology that makes sense of everything together. In this interview, I explain the proper relationship between theology and science: dialogue. Like any good conversation, the dialogue benefits from constructive resistance, good faith questions going both directions, and empathetic engagement with those unlike us.

Instead of trying to get everyone to agree in debates over human origins, the Christian biologist aims to have an open, informed dialogue in his new book.
Essentially, the question he asks is, “Are evolution and a historical Adam compatible?” And his surprising answer is “Yes.” While Josh and I differ on the status of evolution, I found his book thoughtful, provocative, and written in a gracious spirit towards those who see the world differently.
**Are Evolution and a Historical Adam Possible? A Provocative New Model**

The Art of The Artist

Faith & Leadership Duke Divinity School released on interview on December 10, 2019, release day for the book. In this interview, I drew on the Lutheran Exegete Tim Saleska’s article here a few years back.

From his standpoint, evolution is basically a musician improvising on a theme over and over again — and humans have access to only a sliver of its grandeur. There’s a lot of beauty in evolution, he said.
“Sometimes artists make stuff for audiences,” he said. “Sometimes they just make up stuff for themselves.”

It makes sense to think of God as an artist.

The One Who Needs No Defense

Paul is a theologian and a friend I met years ago through the Science for Seminaries program. We recently interviewed him at Peaceful Science, he has written an article for us in the past, and I have written articles for his journal too. This interview is about the book, but extends into the motivating values behind Peaceful Science, and how I found myself personally seeking peace in science,

Scripture testifies to a different Jesus. In losing sight of the One who needs no defense, I struggled for many years with an insecure and threatened faith. Something had to change, and thankfully it did. In time and through grace, I remembered the same Gospel my mother first shared with me. The same gospel that Paul confesses (I Corinthian 15:3-7), and the “one sign” that Jesus gives to skeptics: his death and resurrection (Matthew 12:38-42). I found a different apologetic, offering an explanation (I Peter 3:15), rather than a defense, of the hope growing within me.

Perhaps as we make space for our differences, we can find a better way forward together. Peaceful Science is aimed at that peacemaking effort, a civic practice of science.
**How Peaceful is Your Approach to Science & Faith?**

The Grand Conversation

One goal of the book is to invite a grand conversation about ancestry. May that conversation grow.

we should be thinking more broadly about ancestry and specifically about our inheritance. What is it that we inherit—biologically, culturally, physically, societally? When we look at the question through these different lenses, we come upon a wealth of different understandings of things like original sin, justice, and race. We enter into a grand dialogue in theology that’s far richer than any DNA test would be.