For those who’ve been told they must choose between evolution and faith, this book offers a third way: understanding our complete biological story while honoring our spiritual identity.
Fish with Feet was written to reach a popular audience including students, youth leaders, parents, pastors, and anyone else wondering about the evidence for and implications of human evolution, and especially as God’s image bearers with an evolutionary ancestry. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions that could be used in a book club or for personal reflection.
Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians have, for more than a century, a history and reputation for science skepticism and denial, especially when it comes to evolution, and most particularly human evolution. In her the book, Ray tackles this topic, writing for everyone who wonders about evolution, the Image of God, the scientific evidence, and the theological implications. With her background in the evangelical world and her education and vocation in biology and education, she brings expertise and experience, mixed with compassion and humor, to a subject that has caused angst, crises of faith, or loss of trust in faith leaders for many people.
Dr. Ray teaches biology to non-biology majors in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas, a public university. She is passionate about correcting misconceptions, bridging the gap many non-science-minded people have in their understanding of biology and evolution, and instructing in a way that doesn’t threaten the faith of her students. She writes as an insider, and this is her third book, fourth if you include the study guide for her first book, on the intersection of science and faith.
Chapter 1: What’s the Problem with Monkeys?
Ray starts the book by defining the problem. “It’s also easy to shoot down a position with which you disagree if you never consider the position of the actual position-holders themselves (p. 1).” “Opposition to human evolution is rarely about evidence. More often, it’s a visceral reaction to a perceived insult (p. 7).”
Chapter 2: From Goo to You by Way of the Zoo
In this chapter, Ray counters the impossible odds, unbelievable analogies, and strawman arguments proposed by evolution-deniers with an overview of the known evidence for abiogenesis. “We don’t know, and may never know, the exact evolutionary pathway of the chemical beginnings of life. … But when we start with evidence, not presuppositions, a path to life is plausible (p. 34).”
Chapter 3: The Explosion that Wasn’t
This chapter discusses the progressive development of diverse life during the Cambrian and Precambrian times.
Chapter 4: A Fishy Story
Five mass extinction events have occurred in the past, and >95% of all species that existed have gone extinct. Chordate fossils dating to the early Cambrian gave rise to fish, the first vertebrates. “Once you are part of the fish clade, you can’t evolve out of it. You can claim membership in other clades within the larger fish clade, the mammals, the primates, the humans – but once you’re in the fish clade, you’re in it for always – it’s the Hotel California (p. 61).”
Chapter 5: Warm Fuzzies
Each chapter continues the mostly chronological rise of various creatures. This chapter focuses on mammal evolution.
Chapter 6: Planet of the Apes
“We have identified more than twenty species in the human branch of the family tree, and the transitions are ridiculously smooth. … Why would God specially create such perfect intermediate species? (p. 102).”
Chapter 7: Meet the Fam
Ray traces through the fossil discoveries of hominins from the earliest, Sahelanthropus, through early homo species to Neanderthals and Denisovans and everything in between.
Chapter 8: It’s in the Code
Switching from fossil evidence, this chapter looks at DNA evidence including endogenous retroviruses, fused chromosomes, lost or broken genes, and nested hierarchies.
Chapter 9: Are We Still Evolving?
Several examples of ongoing evolution in humans are explained and contrasted with the idea of Intelligent Design. “Our bodies testify to a long history of structures and processes inherited from earlier ancestors (p. 157).”
Chapter 10: Grandpa Adam and Grandma Eve
Ray discusses Mitochondrial Eve, Y-chromosome Adam, genetic variation, evolution as a population-level process, and addresses common objections to human evolution.
Chapter 11: Made in the Image
“The image of God is given corporately; therefore, it cannot be God-awareness or even consciousness. The image of God is not physical or material or mental, so our evolutionary origins just don’t matter (p. 191).” “The question of when just isn’t important. Neanderthals? Homo erectus? It really doesn’t matter. Worry about yourself (p. 192).”
Chapter 12: Fish in the Family Tree – and that’s OK
“What most people who reject evolution know about evolution comes from anti-evolution apologetics resources (p. 196).” “No common ancestry or fish ancestor or monkey in my family tree changes the nature of God or my place in creation. … The gospel is not so fragile as to be undone by a few science facts (p. 203).”
My final thoughts
Fish with Feet is an exceptional book that walks the reader through the abundant evidence and plethora of discoveries that back the theory of evolution. Ray uses personal stories, humor, and compassion to correct common misunderstandings and to challenge theological assumptions that preclude evolution. Since the Scopes trial, many churches and pastors have presented a conflict model between science and Christianity, leading to polls that consistently show this drives a significant percentage of people away from church. But this conflict is not necessary. Writing as an insider, Ray shines a spotlight on the harm caused to Christianity when Christians misrepresent evolution and put up a barrier between science-minded people and Jesus. Ray offers a path that embraces both science and Scripture, and offers hope that Christians need not walk away from Christianity in light of the extensive evidence for evolution. I wholeheartedly recommend Fish with Feet for the way Ray depicts the beauty and awe of all Creation, best found in looking at God-given evidence with honesty and integrity, and for showing how this evidence points to an evolutionary path that has produced such wondrous diversity all around and within us.
Cover image credits: Rein Ketelaars https://www.flickr.com/people/67396014@N00
