Skip to main content

40 Questions about Creation and Evolution




40 Questions about Creation and Evolution by Kenneth D. Keathley and Mark F. Rooker
http://www.amazon.com/Questions-About-Creation-Evolution-Answers/dp/0825429412/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428515162&sr=8-2&keywords=kenneth+keathley

Single cell organisms, Darwin, 24 hour creation days, what do all these phrases have in common?  All of these ideas are related to the creation/evolution controversy that still rages on in the academy and in the church.  How as Christians are we to uphold that God created all things and that God has given common grace to scientists who write and teach about human origins?  In their new book, 40 Questions about Creation and Evolution, Professors Keathley and Rooker draw out all you ever wanted to know on the debates concerning creation and evolution. 

In Question 8, the authors take up the relationship of Genesis 1 to Genesis 2.  For many years since the Enlightenment, critical scholarship has divided up the creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 by supposing that there are two sources behind the chapters, therefore two different creation accounts.  The authors counter this approach by positing that the ‘unique importance of human beings is clearly seen in Genesis 1 and in Genesis 2 (88).”  Further in their argument, the authors state, “…we posit that Genesis 1 gives a general description of the creation of humankind in the framework of creation of the entire world while Genesis 2, on the other hand, gives a detailed description of humankind and their immediate context on the earth in the garden of Eden (90).”  In other words, we get more of a cosmological view in Genesis 1 and in Genesis 2 we get a first beginnnings story of how man relates to the created order.

In the chapter on evidence for an Old Earth, the authors bring together 4 pieces of evidence; large-scale, layered, complex, and independent.  Geological and astronomical evidence relate to the large-scale arguments, geological phenomena and living things relate to the layered view, the Sierra Nevada range relates to the complex argument, and independent evidences span the range from lava on the Atlantic Ocean floor to plate tectonics (202-206).  The chapters in the book also present a Young Earth Creation point of view and offer many evidences.

What was most enjoyable about the book was that the authors were given the room to be precise about evolution, Darwinism, and original sin in such a way as to not muddy the waters with terminology.  For instance, the authors describe the theory of evolution in three ways; as a descriptor of biological change, as a theory that all life descended from one common ancestor, and an overarching explanation of how biological change occurs (313).  The first point concerning biological change is uncontroversial (313).  The other ideas need more explanation and this is where this book really is helpful. 


Thanks to Kregel Academic for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saving Casper

Saving Casper: A Christian and an Atheist Talk about Why We Need to Change the Conversion Conversation by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Casper-Christian-Conversion-Conversation/dp/1414364881 Many readers will quickly know the authors of this book from their previous release Jim and Casper Go to Church.  Jim and Matt’s new book entitled Saving Casper focuses on the way we talk about conversion in the church and the devastating ways we have pushed away atheists and other non-believers by our posture.  Both Jim and Matt traversed the national landscape, meeting in churches and asking hard questions about faith, conversion, and life. The basic premise of the book and travel is laid out here in their words, “Part of what Casper and I are trying to achieve when we speak to a group of Christians is to help people move a little bit on their “judgment meter.”  This capacity, while intellectually and often theologically uncomfortable,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Essential Christian Doctrine

  Essential Christian Doctrine , General Editor John MacArthur Pastor John MacArthur has for years been teaching the Word of God in both pulpit ministry, books, and conferences with an aim to displaying God’s revelation to his listeners in a winsome and foundational manner.  This new book, Essential Christian Doctrine takes an entire life of teaching and preaching and encapsulates the main contours of the Christian faith for its readers.  John in a systematic way highlights the most necessary teachings from Scripture including God’s Word, the Trinity, while also including sections on Man and the Future. One of the most helpful ways the authors bring to light biblical truth and theology is the way in which they group together particular themes.  In the section on the Holy Spirit, instead of a complex discussion of personhood, word pictures of the Holy Spirit are introduced in a discernible and profitable manner.  The metaphors for the Holy Spirit include fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

God's Grace for All of Life

The Romance of Grace by Jim McNeely III To be honest, when I received this book in the mail I had visions of what it might be like with a title like, ‘The Romance of Grace.’  The emotional rollercoaster and one-sided perspective on how our emotions fuel our faith was my presumption about the book, but this was the furthest thing from the truth as I started reading.  The Romance of Grace by Pastor Jim McNeely III is a careful look at the movements of grace in the way God pursues us with his love and his desire to get us to love him back.  McNeely writes, “We are entering a cosmic romance with a passionate lover, and He is interested in our heart’s truest desire.  His deepest objective isn’t to make us more moral; it is to get us to love Him back.  Virtue is the fruit, not the root” (18).  Why is this helpful?  For one thing, beginning with God’s initiating grace frees us from starting out on the wrong foot in the way we tell the story and...
2 comments
Read more