This site explores the struggle, violence, suffering and extinction in evolutionary biology as a problem for Christian theology.
The site is part of a project giving rise to the book
God, Struggle, and Suffering in the Evolution of Life
which was published by Bloomsbury on October 16 2025.
This book shows five differing responses to the problem in creative interaction, the authors puzzling out the strengths and weakness of their positions, and how those positions intersect and differ.
The book is open-access through the Bloomsbury website, and we warmly welcome responses to our thinking.
Robin Gill in The Church Times called the book ‘a sparkling collection’, and concluded: ‘this fascinating collection has got me arguing too. It has done its job well.’
We gratefully acknowledge the support of University of Exeter internal funding, and of the British Academy (Grant No. SRG22\220381). We are also thankful for the hospitality of Regents Park College, Oxford, and Sarum College, at which the colloquia that gave rise to this book were held.
Project members:
- Professor Christopher Southgate, University of Exeter (convenor)
- The Revd Professor Paul Fiddes, University of Oxford
- The Revd Dr Michael Lloyd, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford
- Professor Neil Messer, Baylor University
- Dr Bethany Sollereder, University of Oxford
- Professor Mark R. Wynn, University of Oxford