William L. Hathaway and Mark A. Yarhouse, The Integration of Psychology & Christianity: A Domain-Based Approach

Abstract

when they move across the nature-niche gap or close the gap. People should thus recognize their significant capacity to change their niche and work with others to bridge the gaps without inadvertently creating gaps that prevent others from following. Following this final chapter is a study guide with questions given by chapter, as well as general and Scripture indices. The book as a whole models dialogue between evolutionary psychology and theology, showing how each contributes to the conversation surrounding human thriving. Advanced undergraduates could profit from the book, and the study questions in the back facilitate classroom use. One can hope that the book will spur a larger conversation between evolutionary psychology and Scripture. For instance, much of the theology concentrates on the image of God, a concept that appears in limited biblical passages and is relatively ambiguous. The topic of covenant has much deeper biblical grounding and furnishes many potential points of connection to the three main human features that the book identifies. Moreover, the book repeatedly emphasizes that Jesus embodies the image of God and thus is a model for thriving. Despite these statements, the book tends to discuss Jesus in general terms; Jesus’s parable of the talents appears as an example of multilayered thriving, and Jesus’s lack of biological children illustrates the distinction between fitness and thriving. Readers may be left wondering specifically how Jesus’s life models human thriving.