Peter Stoner
American astronomer and author
Peter Stoner (June 16, 1888 – March 21, 1980) was a Christian writer and Chairman of the departments of mathematics and astronomy at Pasadena City College until 1953; Chairman of the science division, Westmont College, 1953–57; Professor Emeritus of Science, Westmont College; and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics and Astronomy, Pasadena City College.
Education
Stoner graduated from U. C. Berkely with a master's degree. His minor was in astronomy and his major was in mathematics. He wrote his doctoral thesis in astronomy, but upon learning his thesis must be written in mathematics, he refused the offer to make an exception for him.
Career
Stoner is probably best known for his book Science Speaks, which discusses, among other things, Bible prophecies vis a vis probability estimates and calculations. The work is often cited in the field of Christian apologetics in regard to Bible prophecy. Stoner's book became widely known when it was mentioned by Josh McDowell in his 1972 book Evidence that Demands a Verdict (revised as New Evidence that Demands a Verdict).
American Scientific Affiliation
Peter Stoner was a co-founder of the American Scientific Affiliation, a Christian organization that describes itself as "a fellowship of men and women in science and disciplines that relate to science who share a common fidelity to the Word of God and a commitment to integrity in the practice of science." The foreword to Stoner's Science Speaks includes a partial endorsement from this body (covering the book's scientific content and prophecy probability calculations, but not addressing issues of Biblical exegesis or historical accuracy): They considered it "...in general, to be dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented" and the probability material presented in regard to prophecy. While the ASA includes members with a diverse range of attitudes towards science (theistic evolutionists, Intelligent Design advocates, old-Earth creationists and young-Earth creationists), Stoner himself was apparently an old-Earth creationist.
Criticism
C. P. Swanson, reviewing Science Speaks in The Quarterly Review of Biology, wrote: "...
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Peter Stoner” as american astronomer and author. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american astronomer and author. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7177135. VIAF identifies the subject as 101575154. The Library of Congress control number is no2009173387. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1888, 1980, 1953 and 1972.
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This entry incorporates text from “Peter Stoner” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.