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CINCINNATI, April 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- It's not an April fool's joke. Even though it's now been 150 years since Charles Darwin sparked the creation/evolution debate, conservative Christians and scientists are still wrangling over the origin of man.

Throughout the 2009 year, organizations all over the world are marking the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES with a variety of activities. Meanwhile, Christians disagree among themselves about the subject.

"We might have thought that this was old news, all out of proportion with events 150 years old," said author Bayard Taylor in his new book THE LATE GREAT APE DEBATE (Standard Publishing). "But the issues raised in 1859 by Charles Darwin are no less important to our generation than they were to his. How we think about Darwin's theory cuts to the heart of what we think about God, truth, morals, our place in the world, and the meaning of life."

Taylor attempts to bring some order to the arguments for teenagers, both Christians and those considering faith in Christ, who must wrestle with these issues in the high school classroom, in youth group, and with friends. Teens can find the creation/evolution dichotomy between school and church confusing, as well as being troubled by differing Christian viewpoints.

"There's more than one way to think about the relationship between creation and evolution," Taylor writes. "It's not just choosing for God and the Bible against any form of evolution, or choosing for science and reason against God and the Bible. Within the Christian faith, you've got options."

He hopes the book can "start people discussing the Late Great Ape Debate in a new way, a way that highlights the major controlling worldviews behind the debate, a way that respects what the various Christian responses are trying to accomplish, and in a way that better communicates the gospel of Jesus Christ in our culture."

Taylor explains the five dominant viewpoints in the creation/evolution debate, outlining the strengths and difficulties of each.

While never admitting to his personal view, he outlines the four viewpoints that affirm God as the maker of heaven and earth and stresses that thinking Christians might come to different conclusions on the issue.

He also respectfully presents the fifth view, naturalistic evolution, which rejects the idea of a creator.

Those dominant views are:

--Young earth creationism, which holds to a literal interpretation of Genesis, that God created the earth in six 24-hour days;

--Old earth creationism, that suggests Genesis does not have to be read in a strictly literal way, believing for example, that "day" could mean era or epoch;

--Intelligent design, which argues for a creator from the complexity of the world, and maintains that such biological complexity couldn't have occurred gradually, must have happened all at once by the creator, God;

--Theistic evolution, which believes God created the universe in such a way that evolution could occur; that the primary message of Genesis 1 is that God is Lord over all creation, and it isn't trying to tell us the what or how of creation but rather the who.

--and finally, naturalistic evolution, that believes man evolved through an impersonal, unpredictable and natural process, that believe there is no creator involved

Far from dry and pedantic, Taylor inserts a lot of additional cultural spice and some humor to the discussion as he adds information on the treatment of the evolution controversy in society. The book starts with the furor over the 2007 opening of The Creation Museum in the greater Cincinnati area, includes information on court cases on teaching evolution and creation in schools, and dives into a discussion of "Inherit the Wind."

"What I really want to do is to encourage people to bring their A-game in both faith and science to these questions. In doing so, I hope to get people more excited about God and his creation, more excited about Jesus, more passionate about sharing the Gospel in our skeptical and pluralistic culture, and more effective in doing so," Taylor said.

"I seek to maintain both a high view of scripture and a high respect for science. As I see it, the most important battle being fought every day is over worldviews. Too often Christians get wrapped up in nonessentials and give up too much essential gospel turf. We need to learn when a worldview is biblical and when it is not, when the core of Christian faith is being attacked and when it is not.

"I say this subject matters because people are made in God's image for a relationship with him through Christ. It matters because Jesus said to love God with our hearts and souls and strength and minds, all of which is what it means to be made in God's image. And it matters because, in our wider culture, God deserves not just a better reputation, but fame, praise, and glory," Taylor concluded.

In addition to the book, a discussion guide is also available.

For more than 140 years, Standard Publishing has been raising the standard for true-to-the-Bible resources that educate, encourage and enrich. The company is based in Cincinnati, Ohio where it was founded in 1866. For more information, visit www.standardpub.com.