Galapagos Islands: A Biblical View

In 2010, I was asked to join a group of homeschool students and adults from Atlanta-based Living Science on a tour of the Galápagos Islands. Living Science is a homeschool study center specializing in hands-on science from a biblical creation perspective. The leaders of the group, Lance and Penney Davis, have a great love for God, His Word, science, and their students. They wanted me to serve as the creation biologist on the expedition and explain the amazing flora and fauna from a biblical view. Since this is every biologist’s dream come true, I agreed to go!

In May and June of 2011 we toured the Galápagos Islands for two weeks, visiting nearly all of the major islands and some of the minor ones too. Not being a field biologist by training and being used to working in an office every day, I was a bit apprehensive about the excursions we would take. I’m not exactly “adventure girl.” But I survived the panga (small rubber raft) rides to the islands (both dry and wet landings), boulder “jumping,” climbing never ending staircases to observation points, and climbing for an hour up the mud-slick side of a volcano to see the second largest volcano caldera in the world.

The most exciting part of my trip was experiencing the wildlife on the islands. I enjoyed seeing the humorous courtship ritual of the blue-footed boobies, the playfulness of the young sea lions, the lumbering gigantic tortoises, and the swimming iguanas. In a series of blogs, I chronicled my journey and I encourage you to check out my day-by-day chronicles.

After my return, I started thinking about writing a book on the Galápagos Islands. I wanted people to see that what we think about how and when the Galápagos Islands formed and how the wildlife changed over time has to do with a person’s starting point or worldview. The Galápagos Islands both past and present are a display of God’s majesty in His creation and His mercy in preserving life in a fallen world instead of an “icon of evolution.” I also wanted people to appreciate the diversity and beauty of the wildlife and landscape that is unique to the Galápagos through the 2000-plus photos I had taken.

But I knew I couldn’t do this alone. I wanted input from experts in the fields of geology, climate and weather, ecology, astronomy, theology, history, genetics, zoology, and botany to contribute to the book. I called on my fellow creation scientists (almost 30 of them!)—some of whom have also visited the islands—to write sections on the many different aspects of the Galápagos. The result was a gorgeous coffee-table-style book that showcases breathtaking photographs along with solid content that gives readers a view of the Galápagos beginning with the truth of God’s Word. When displayed in your home, the book will be a great conversation starter for discussions about the role of worldview and the truth of God’s Word. I also believe homeschooling families will appreciate the multi-discipline approach (encompassing theology, history, and science) for studying God’s creation.

Front cover of this new book

Page with photo of a marine iguana

The book will be available for purchase this fall so keep checking our website for the official release. The research, the trip, and the book were a lot of hard work and I thank God that He enabled me to accomplish this and pray that He will use it for His glory.

Keep fighting the good fight of the faith!