The evolution of the universe and the evolution of life provision the religious naturalist with a wondrous grand narrative.
The 13.8-billion-year saga includes the generation of our star and our planet ~4.6 billion years ago and our species ~150,000 years ago. All of modern life shares a common chemistry and a common ancestry, and inhabits countless interdependent ecosystems.
Offered below are links to books, videos, and websites that present accessible accounts of our current science-based understandings of the natural world.
If you have suggestions of additional materials, please contact us at: RNAcomments@gmail.com.
Books
Cosmology and Physics
Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe
QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter
The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World
A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing
The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos
From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
At Home in the Universe: The Search for Laws of Complexity
The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters
Earth history
The Story of Earth: The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth
Evolution
Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter
A Short History of Nearly Everything
The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself
The Serengeti Rules: The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters
Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution
Origin Story: A Big History of Everything
Multicellular development
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo
The Regulatory Genome: Gene Regulatory Networks In Development And Evolution
Brilliant Green: The Surprising History of Plant Intelligence
Books for Young Readers
Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story
Before the Beginning: A Child’s First Book of the Great Story
Born with a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story: Book 1
From Lava to Life: The Universe Tells Our Earth Story: Book 2
Mammals Who Morph: The Universe Tells Our Evolution Story: Book 3
I’m Lucy: A Day in the Life of a Young Bonobo
Origins, Being Human, and Other Stories for Children
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True
Grandmother Fish: A Child’s first book of Evolution
Videography
Journey of the Universe (Mary Evelyn Tucker, Chautauqua)
Connecting Kids to the Cosmos (TEDx, Bob Blain)
Life’s Greatest Miracle (NOVA video)
Evolution Will Change How You See The World
Journey Through the Universe Beyond the Speed of Light
Emergent Universe Oratorio (#1 The Great Flaring Forth) – a musical and visual interpretation
Websites
13.7 Cosmos and Culture (blog)
Exploring Life’s Origins (Boston Museum of Science)
Frans de Waal (public page; animal intelligence)