72 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Evolution and the Bible, June 15, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Answers Book: The 20 Most-Asked Questions About Creation, Evolution & the Book of Genesis Answered! Revised & Expanded Edition (Paperback)
It's unfortunate that so many of the negative reviews I'm reading are coming from those who profess a belief in the Bible!
The "Answers Book" authors reveal clearly and conclusively, that, among other things, those who adhere to some form of theistic evolution (God used evolution to create everything) or progressive creation (God intervened at various points in the process of evolution) are holding to a position that violates clear concepts revealed in the Bible--indeed much that is foundational to the very Gospel itself.
For instance..
Concept violated: the goodness of God
The Bible says 'God is good' and in Genesis 1:31 God described his just finished creation as 'very good'. How do you understand the goodness of God if He used evolution, 'nature red in tooth and claw', to 'create' everything?
Concept violated: Adam's sin brought death and decay, the basis of the Gospel
According to the evolutionist's (and progressive creationist's) understanding, fossils (which show death, disease and bloodshed) were formed before people appeared on earth. Doesn't that mean that you can't believe the Bible when it says that everything is in 'bondage to decay' because of Adam's sin (Romans 8)? In the evolutionary view, hasn't the 'bondage to decay' always been there? And if death and suffering did not arise with Adam's sin and the resulting curse, how can Jesus' suffering and physical death pay the penalty for sin and give us eternal life, as the Bible clearly says (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive")?
Concept violated: the divine inspiration of the whole Bible
If the Genesis accounts of Creation, the Fall, the origin of nations, the Flood and the Tower of Babel - the first 11 chapters - are not historical, although they are written as historical narrative and understood by Jesus to be so, what other unfashionable parts of the Bible do you discard? The biblical account of creation in Genesis seems very specific with six days of creative activity, each having an evening and a morning. According to the evolutionary sequence, the biblical order of creation is all wrong. Do you think God should have inspired an account more in keeping with the evolutionary order, the truth as you see it, if indeed He did use evolution or followed the evolutionary pattern in creating everything?
Concept violated: the straightforward understanding of the Word of God
If the Genesis account does not mean what it plainly says, but must be 'interpreted' to fit an evolutionary world, how are we to understand the rest of the Bible? How are we to know that the historical accounts of Jesus' life, death and resurrection should not also be 'reinterpreted'? Indeed, can we know anything for sure if the Bible can be so flexible?
Concept violated: the creation is supposed to show the hand of God clearly
Dr Niles Eldredge, well-known evolutionist, said:
'Darwin . . . taught us that we can understand life's history in purely naturalistic terms, without recourse to the supernatural or divine.' [Niles Eldredge, "Time Frames - the Rethinking of Darwinian Evolution and the Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium", 1986, Heinemann, London, p. 13.]
Is it not philosophically inconsistent to marry God (theism) with evolution (naturalism)? If God 'created' using evolution which makes Him unnecessary, how can God's 'eternal power and divine nature' be 'clearly seen' in creation, as Romans 1:20 says? Evolution has no purpose, no direction, no goal. The God of the Bible is all about purpose. How do you reconcile the purposelessness of evolution with the purposes of God? What does God have to do in an evolutionary world? Is not God an 'unnecessary hypothesis'?
Concept violated: the need of restoration for the creation
If God created over millions of years involving death, the existing earth is not ruined by sin, but is as it always has been - as God supposedly intended it to be. So why then should He want to destroy it and create a new heavens and earth (2 Peter 3 and other places)?
Starting to get the picture of where compromising theology leads?
See the Answers in Genesis website for volumes of eye-opening information.
Books I would strongly encourage one to read in addition to this: "Icons of Evolution" by Jonathan Wells, "Bones of Contention" by Marvin Lubenow, "Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!" by Duane Gish, "In Six Days: Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation" by John F. Aston, "Evolution: A Theory in Crisis" by Michael Denton, "Astronomy and the Bible" by Donald B. DeYoung, "Refuting Evolution" by Jonathan Sarfati, "The Mythology of Modern Dating Methods" by John Woodmorappe, and "The Young Earth" by John Morris.
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42 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unmasks the Devious Claims of Its Critics, June 5, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: The Answers Book: The 20 Most-Asked Questions About Creation, Evolution & the Book of Genesis Answered! Revised & Expanded Edition (Paperback)
This book offers common-sense answers, from Scripture and science, to oft-asked questions. Nothing is more farcical than some of the negative reviewers who are known to be atheists, yet have the temerity of accusing this book of limiting God. I take that back--the claim about there being 3 literal interpretations of Genesis is ludicrous in the extreme. A little illustration, in fact, will show the absurdity of those who argue for the Days in Genesis being long periods of time: Use this Day-Age illogic elsewhere: Did the Lord spend 40 actual days or 40 long periods of time fasting? Did Jonah spend 3 days and nights in the big fish, or did Jonah spend 3 long periods of time in the big fish? Was our Lord 3 days and nights in the tomb, or was He physically dead for 3 long periods of time? Get the drift?
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