"The Creation": A uniting cause, no matter our beliefs

"The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth"
by E.O. Wilson
Norton, 175 pp., $21.95

Edward O. Wilson has long been recognized as one of the foremost biologists in the world. Writing books such as "Biophilia," "Sociobiology: The New Synthesis" and "Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge," he has often proposed controversial, yet influential and thought-provoking ideas about science, scientists, evolution and human culture.

Always honest and frank, he has now stepped into the pit of perhaps his most controversial subject: the conflict between science and religion.

In his newest book, "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth," written as a letter to a Southern Baptist pastor, Wilson frames this fundamental dichotomy simply. "For you, the glory of an unseen divinity; for me, the glory of the universe revealed at last. For you, the belief in God made flesh to save mankind; for me, the belief in Promethean fire seized to set men free," he writes.

Yet he also recognizes that science and religion share a fundamental connection, a concern about what Wilson calls "The Creation — living Nature." Or at least they should share an interest in protecting the world's ecosystems, he writes, for nature is the wellspring of our physical and spiritual sustenance.

After a beautiful and passionate introduction about this shared interest, Wilson takes a scientific approach to why religions and religious people should care about the Creation. The book reads at times like an ecological primer, or even a distillation of Wilson's writing career, with chapters on topics such as invasive species, conservation biology, biodiversity, the nature of Nature, and how science works. He also writes about science education and the importance of introducing children to their natural surroundings.

As Wilson has done throughout his career, he writes provocatively and clearly. He presents his points and backs them up with understandable and interesting examples. One can only hope that his argument takes hold and that all people, no matter their religion or lack thereof, heed Wilson's eloquent call for the protection of the Creation.

David B. Williams is the author of "The Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from Seattle."