Ruth Bancewicz, editor, Test of Faith; Spiritual Journeys with Scientists (Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2010), 120pp.

           This slender volume is one part of a larger group of resources produced by the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion (Cambridge, England) with funding from the John Templeton Foundation. Other resources include the DVD Test of Faith; Does Science Threaten Belief in God? (2009), and a Test of Faith course with leader guides for small group discussions. This book includes the personal stories of ten scientists who are Christians (including four women), several of whom also appear in the DVD version. For further details see www.testoffaith.com.

           There's a burgeoning literature about the relationship between science and religion. Several of the authors in this volume have written books on the subject. Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project, has a fine book called The Language of God (2006). The British physicist and Anglican priest John Polkinghorne has written forty books. I liked this book because the chapters are short and simple. They are free of all scientific jargon and have very few footnotes. The editor has done a fine job of getting the authors to do something rare, which is to skip for the most part discussions about the theoretical relationship between science and religion, which discussions are very important and treated in many books (and in the DVD version of Test of Faith). Instead, the scientists tell their personal stories about their religious backgrounds, their conversions, how they became interested in science, and how they integrate their faith, life, and work. The stories are inherently interesting and inspirational. I have a daughter who's a science major in college and was very happy to give her this book. I have no doubt that if she reads it both her faith and science will be strengthened.