I’ve always had a fascination with science. From astronomy to biology and even quantum physics, which makes my head hurt just by thinking about such a theory. Part of my fascination has to do with understanding life better and how such understanding gained from science intersects with theology in my service as a minister of the gospel. That intersection between science and theology also raises a concern with the way some Christians deny, sometimes even vilify, science on the grounds of what they believe the Bible teaches and what faith demands. This is one of the concerns that Janet Kellog Ray shares in her latest book.1
The God of Monkey Science is 238 pages in length, including twelve chapters followed by a discussion guide, endnotes, and an index. Like Ray’s previous book,2 this book is highly accessible and engaging. Readers need neither a theology degree nor a degree in some field of science to follow along with the book. Where more academic terms and concepts are necessary, there is a good layman’s explanation. The endnotes also provide sources in support of the argument of the book as well as for further inquiry.
The purpose of the book is the exploration of “science denial” among evangelical Christians, which is a matter that begins with evolution (p. 21). Denial of modern science happens for a variety of reasons, some of which have to do with fear but also the way some Christians read scripture and understand the Christian faith. If Christians are taught to believe there are contradictions between modern science and what the Bible says, then denial of science is a must. This denial includes the discounting of evidence for evolution, rejecting stem cell research, and anything else that appears as opposed to the Christian faith, including science-based responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. But there are ramifications to such rejection of modern science, which is the author’s concern.
Before saying anything more about the book, let me be upfront about the lenses I am writing from. Without apology, I am a follower of Jesus Christ who also appreciates the knowledge gained through modern science. I also know Janet Kellog Ray and so I know that she is a scientist that follows Jesus Christ too. This matters also because Ray is not just concerned with defending modern science but also with how a better view of science among evangelical Christians will contribute to the Christian practice of loving neighbor and living as image bearers of God (p. 173).
In the book, the author connects the rejection of evolution to the objection of other matters in modern science. Most notably, the denial of science was visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which some people dismissed the information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and other scientifically established medical information.
“Let’s talk about overcoming our ‘me-first’ survival instincts in order to love our neighbor. Let’s talk about what it means to be chosen as God’s image bearers in creation.”
The eighth chapter, They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Constitutional Rights, illustrates the social and theological ramifications of science denial. Because many evangelical Christians denied the science that said the COVID-19 pandemic was a serious, even deadly, health matter for all people, the practices of social distancing, wearing masks, and closing public gatherings became a point of contention. Some Christians saw these practices as infringing on their individual liberty and went so far as to reject such practices under the rubric of standing up for their Constitutional rights. Such Christians, as Ray rightly says, “baptized political obstinance as religious freedom and off [they] went” (p. 109). The theological problem is that Christians are called to follow Jesus, who gave up his rights (cf. Phil 2:5-8) and became a crucified Christ, so putting our individual rights above temporarily sacrificing some of our rights for the greater good discredits our witness as Christians.
The book ends with a chapter discussing how Christians can live in a modern-scientific world. Having shown how a rejection of scientific facts has created a great distrust in modern science, the author is pleading for a different approach that accepts modern science as a way of “leading with a faith-formed voice” (p 173). In other words, instead of fighting modern science by postulating alternative scientific facts that lack strong supporting evidence, we position ourselves to lead in conversations that science can’t answer, such as the meaning of life. Or as the author suggests, “Let’s talk about overcoming our ‘me-first’ survival instincts in order to love our neighbor. Let’s talk about what it means to be chosen as God’s image bearers in creation” (p. 173).
One minor criticism I have is in the second to last chapter where the author discusses what is going on in modern science regarding stem cell research. When it comes to the use of embryonic stem cells, there are obvious moral/ethical questions. Ray mentions the moral/ethical dilemma faced by scientists (p. 161) but she doesn’t address how she or other Christian scientists resolve this dilemma. Yet because the moral/ethical dilemma matters, I thought a section addressing how this dilemma is resolved would have served this chapter and the book well.
All that said, Ray reminds us that modern science is a trustworthy ally rather than an adversary. The God of Monkey Science offers an accessible critique of evangelical Christianity’s attempts to malign modern science under the guise of defending the Bible and the Christian faith. Such malignment results in a misunderstanding that has real-life consequences. Ray is rightfully urging evangelical Christians to do better and offering a laudable example of what that better is.
Janet Kellog Ray, The God of Monkey Science: People of Faith in a Modern Scientific World, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2023.
Janet Kellog Ray, Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark?” The Bible and Modern Science and the Trouble of Making It All Fit, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021; see also A Study Guide for Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark?, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2023.