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Professor publishes book connecting science and faith

By Grant Long for The Yellow Jacket 4 min read

Dr. Wayne Rossiter, assistant professor of biology at Waynesburg University, has recently had a book published. His book, titled, “Shadow of Oz: Theistic Evolution and the Absent God,” covers the topic of Theistic Evolution and the science behind it. 

According to Rossiter, a good definition of Theistic Evolution is to say that God was present at the creation of the universe, but has not intervened with the lives of the people He created since the beginning of time. God, to Theistic Evolutionists, is non-interventional. 

Rossiter said that they believe that when you pray, no one is listening. He also said that Theistic Evolutionists do believe in the supernatural powers of Jesus Christ, but this is the only supernatural phenomenon they accept.  

Rossiter was introduced to the idea of Theistic Evolution at a summer workshop a few years back, which was led by Ted Davis, a professor at Messiah College.

Theistic Evolution has been a topic of high controversy in both the scientific and the theological fields of study. Rossiter stated his belief that students in high school and college are being told that they can have only Darwin and God. He said that they are taught that Christian scientists believe in Darwin’s theory and it is perfectly ‘okay’ to do so. 

“I suspect that most people will be shocked when they read some of the things that Theistic Evolutionists believe,” said Rossiter.

Rossiter has read many books on the topic and said that much of his personal library contains books on Darwinian Evolution, Theistic Evolution and other books about the origin of the universe.

“I wanted to know what they think, how and why they think it and see where they are coming from,” said Rossiter. “I want to know their arguments better than they do.”

According to Rossiter, the basis of his book stemmed from a two-hour telephone conversation with his brother about their concerns regarding Theistic Evolution. Rossiter compiled these thoughts into a manuscript and had John Thompson, a librarian at Eberly Library, read it over. Thompson thought that the manuscript could be turned into a book, so Rossiter made some edits to the manuscript and sent it to a few different publishers. Pickwick Publication, based out of Eugene, Oregon, published the book.

Rossiter’s target audience for this book is college students and people of the Christian faith and people who are interested in science.

“I want to be able to engage it truthfully and honestly and offer the students some push-back. I want to offer students some serious concerns about it so that they can think for themselves.”

According to Rossiter, the idea for the title of the book stemmed from his daughter’s obsession with “The Wizard of Oz.”

Rossiter said that he remembers a scene in which the doorkeeper at the Land of Oz stops Dorothy and her friends who ask to see the Wizard. The doorkeeper says, “Nobody can see Oz! Not even I have seen Oz.” Dorothy then asks, “How do you know he exists?” The doorkeeper brushes this away and tells them that they are wasting his time.

“That struck me at that moment that this is what we are talking about here: an unseen God,” said Rossiter. “The subtitle of my book is ‘Theistic Evolution and the Absent God.’ The shadow of Oz is when you pull back the curtain, there is nobody there. You are never going to find God. You are never going to find His direct print on anything in Theistic Evolution.”

Rossiter said that the University Provost is planning a book release event in January. The 170-page, paperback book is now available online through Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com and Wipf and Stock Publishers.

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