The Lie: Evolution [Paperback]

Ken Ham (Author), Luther Sunderland (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1987 | ISBN-10: 0890511586 | ISBN-13: 978-0890511589

An eye-opening look at the harmful effects of evolutionary thought on modern culture and religion. Author Ken Ham uses his years of teaching and ministry experience to expose false teaching that is destroying children and families.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Master Books (July 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890511586
• ISBN-13: 978-0890511589
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

316 of 450 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Arguments of First Resort, April 16, 2002

By 

Paul & Lynda Amore "Paul and Lynda" (Fair Oaks, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lie: Evolution (Paperback)

The Lie: Evolution was written by a conservative Christian for conservative Christians. It is neither a tract nor a science book; it is an apologetics manual. Christians seeking a scientific critique of evolution should look elsewhere. Nonetheless, The Lie should be read by anyone interested in the creation/evolution debate (C/E), because Ken Ham is one of the most active evangelists in the field, and The Lie illumines his motivating philosophy and arguments of first resort.

The Lie is a forceful polemic that will invigorate readers who already agree with Ham's views. These qualities, and the dearth of science in The Lie, ought to alert evolutionists to the true nature of the debate, as conceived by conservative Christians. If Ham can pack this much conviction into 185 pages without deigning to evaluate the science, then it ought to be clear that C/E involves more than weighing evidence and vetting theories.

Ham argues that Genesis is foundational to Christianity. Genesis explains that God created the universe in six days, that creation was perfect at its inception, and that imperfection, sin and death entered the world through Adam. This establishes the need for a Savior, whose atoning work will restore perfection. Evolution, in contrast, implies gradual, ongoing "creation," and that from the beginning life has evolved by mutations (imperfection), coupled with natural selection (death). Evolution dispenses with sin, redemption and restoration as metaphysical clutter. Thus, evolution is incompatible with creation and should be rejected by those who believe the Bible is the infallible word of God.

Ham scrupulously rejects the "evidentialist" approach in favor of a "presuppositionalist" approach: The Bible is a priori true; evolution is ipso facto false. If you accept the truth of the Bible, then evidence is irrelevant. "Faith is . . . the evidence of things not seen . . . Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God" (Hebrews 11:1, 3). Liberal theologians and Christians who incorporate evolution into their worldview are seen as equivocal in their faith. What Ham overlooks is that creation "scientists," by accumulating and interpreting evidence in favor of creation, are engaged in a superfluous endeavor that might be inimical to faith.

The Lie contains weaknesses that may not be apparent to Ham's target audience. First, Ham should have provided a summary of Neo-Darwinism, as currently accepted by a virtual consensus of scientists practicing in relevant fields. Instead, Ham makes passing references throughout the book to mutations, natural selection, and evolutionary "progress," assuming that his readers are familiar with these mechanisms. In many instances he confounds popular misconceptions or outdated concepts with current consensus, when in fact the public is largely ignorant of Neo-Darwinism, and much that scientists once accepted has been superceded or modified. Americans in general and Christians in particular are woefully undereducated when it comes to evolution. And while this book is not a critique of evolutionary theory per se, any discussion that fails to account for the basics is inadequate.

Second, Ham elicits an extremely narrow definition of "science" that allows him to summarily dismiss evolutionary theory as non-science. His definition is consonant with the popular image of scientists performing repeatable experiments in a controlled lab setting. While this is indeed how some scientists work, Ham's definition disqualifies the well-established fields of astronomy, archaeology, paleontology, geology, epidemiology, climatology, linguistics, forensics, and a host of other historical sciences, including history itself. In short, Ham believes that any statement about the past is no better than a guess. He makes no allowance for methodological or evidentiary considerations that might render one "guess" better than another.

Ham's disdain for historical science is matched by his misrepresentation of scientific method. Implicit throughout The Lie is the creationist mantra that evolution is "just a theory." This dismissive attitude might be apt if evolution was "just a hypothesis," but in fact a theory is much stronger than a hypothesis, and requires more in the way of "disproof." One wonders why conservative Christians do not also protest the theory of gravitation, the germ theory of disease, the heliocentric theory of the solar system and the atomic theory of matter.

As a consequence of the points just made, Ham erroneously identifies evolution as a religion. Because evolution is non-science, and because a theory is no better than a guess, belief in the theory of evolution must be based on faith. But if evolution is a religion, then so are archaeology, epidemiology and forensics! In fact, Neo-Darwinism, like any scientific theory, is tentative and subject to disproof. Evidentiary interpretations and evolutionary hypotheses are modified or discarded every year; that's a hallmark of science, but not of religion. The dogmatism of some scientists is beside the point, as is the fact that many laypersons accept evolution on faith. Moreover, to equate science and religion is to rob both of their meaning. If Ham's purpose is obfuscation, he has succeeded. If his purpose is clarity, then he should respect meaningful distinctions.

Finally and integrally, Ham sees a causal relation between public acceptance of evolutionary theory and the acceleration of cultural decay: abortion, homosexuality, feminism, pornography, drugs, racism, even oppressive business practices! Darwinism, via moral relativism, is now the ultimate justification for an ungodly way of life. As Ham tells it, evolution has been the midwife of misery and suck-nurse of sin for the last 150 years. In some cases he draws valid connections: viz. Spencer's social Darwinism. What Ham fatally fails to explain, however, is that the worth of an idea cannot be measured solely by its misuse. If it could, then Christianity should be rejected because nominally Christian individuals and institutions have instigated wars, genocide, slavery, racism, infanticide, torture, psychological and sexual abuse, theft, fraud, deceit, environmental degradation, tax evasion, and yes, even oppressive business practices in the name of Christ. Christianity's association with these crimes is a matter of historical fact. But to conflate the ideal of Christianity with Christianity's blood-spattered past and ethically compromised present would be fundamentally unfair.

231 of 340 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Lie: Scientific Creationism, September 30, 2003

By 

Matt Benzing "Librarian" (Troy, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lie: Evolution (Paperback)

I read this book several years ago while going through a "seeker" experience. I honestly wanted to find out if there was anything to scientific creationism: this book convinced me that there was not. Like Benjamin Franklin, who became convinced that the Bible was not inerrant through the bizarre explanations of a preacher trying to prove that obvious discrepencies weren't really discrepencies, I lost faith in creationism when I read this collection of baroque theories and empty rhetoric. The last straw for me was Ham's theory that Satan created evolutionary theory because he didn't want to believe that he was created by God. How can people take this guy seriously?

Creation science does violence both to science and the Bible. I became a Christian in spite of foolishness like this, but I hate to think how many people are driven away from Christinaity by "scientists" like Ham. To look at the authors of Genesis as authorities on natural history is like looking at Jesus as a lecturer on botany when he siad that the mustard seed is the "least of all seeds" He was incorrect from a scientific standpoint, but that wasn't the point he was making.

If you are truly interested in the relationship between science and religion read books by John Polkinghorne or Howard Van Til. Brian McLaren's "The Story We Find Ourselves In" is also a good resource for Evangelicals who want to free themselves of pseudoscience and dishonesty.

54 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst books I've ever read - I returned it, July 12, 1999

By 

"spunky1119" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lie: Evolution (Paperback)

As a devout Christian... this totally embarrasses me. Ignorance like this is what pushes people away... obviously he knows nothing about science!