Customer Reviews

Old Earth Creationism on Trial: The Verdict Is In

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Angie's Take: If you like Law and Order, you'll enjoy this style of non-fiction. The author's, Tim Chaffey & Jason Lisle, present the facts so we can read them as if we are listening to a jury trial.

Old-Earth Creationism On Trial is from New Leaf Publishing. It's a new book out that I think would be an excellent teaching resource for all kids who will really enjoy the book for the ability to freely discuss and debate in class or in home school groups.

One thing I noticed, a constant theme through the book to reveal the contextual and grammatical use of words like "yom." The authors also try to educate the reader on jargon and lingo in the debate. I found myself going back to check a few of the definitions and was really glad they were spotlighted in a text box on the side of any given page. It made it easier to grasp the concepts.

Another thing I appreciated was that the book was written to Christians and not to convince non-Christians because the church sometimes gets a little lost when we disagree. Think about it this way: In a blood line family, we are still related regardless of how we feel about it. In a Christian family, we are still related regardless of how we feel about it. We just forget that part, you know, the brothers and sisters in Christ part.

I like how the authors address the fact that they quote other Christians they disagree with, yet still respect their faith and personhood. I like that the authors address the issues rather than the person. It creates the possibility for open dialogue.

This is a bit higher level reading, not because of the difficulty in the English, but because it is about logical debate. Having raised quite a few kids, logical debate is not well taught in our school systems any longer. In fact, try finding schools with classes on logic and ethics. It might exist out there, but it sure doesn't in our area.

So this book is an easy read for the conversational tone, but you will have to pay attention if you haven't personally experienced healthy logical debate in your education.

Now for the big question: Would this book convince me that I live on a young earth? Yes, I believe it would. But I have to be honest that I've been to a few seminars from Ken Ham and already done some extensive reading on the subject so I have been a young-earther prior to reading this book because of what I have learned through science and the Bible.

Conclusion? I think Old-Earth Creationism On Trial is an excellent resource to help us understand some difficult issues from ancient grammar to debunking illogical theories.

Once again, if you like Law and Order and reading legal mysteries, I think you'd enjoy the presentation of logical arguments in this book.

Really, is there a reason to be uneducated on all sides?

Being uneducated simply leaves one ignorant. It's embarrassing to be caught in a decision and then realize an entire series of information was left out. Has that happened to you before? It's sure happened to me in my lifetime.

So before crossing off the topic or even denying the importance, consider discovering the all sides. It's poor judgement for anyone to make a decision without all the facts. You may still choose to believe another way, but at least you will have done it with intelligent purpose and not on assumptions.

Ask the questions. It's intriguing to see what comes from those questions. In fact, it always seems like an adventure to me to discover and learn about something new.

This books is clear and direct. I like the format they use, as in a trial. Based on good hermeneutics (interpretation of the Bible), it exposes the fallacies and straw-men arguments posed by old-earth creationists. You may believe the Bible is true or not, that is your choice. But to say that it teaches an old earth, is to delude yourself.

Old-Earth Creationism on Trial: The Verdict Is In by Tim Chaffey & Jason Lisle, 240 pages, an easy read. Written in easy language light in references and technicality. For some this is a weakness (those should read Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth), and for others Old-Earth Creationism on Trial will help to provide a simple summary of the old-earth, young-earth debate. The book's goal is to put forth the evidence (Biblical and otherwise) for a young earth and to critique (place on trial) the claims of creationists who say that the Biblical account of creation is compatible with a very old (billions of years) age of the earth. The areas specifically analyzed in the book are 1) plain teaching of Scripture on age of earth, 2) Extend and effects of the flood, 3) Philosophy, bias, and correct use and application of science, 4) Gaps in the Genesis geneologies, 5) Commentary on the intelligent design movement, and 6) Big bang. The book could be improved by more documentation and detailed references (instead references are generally made to other books one could read for more detail rather than specifically referencing claims). Nevertheless, as an introduction for the Bible-believing Christian to the important young-earth, old-earth debate, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial is a helpful read.

Old-Earth Creationism on Trial was an excellent book with a fresh approach, namely the court-style interrogation of competing ideas. For those who frequently read Creationist material some of the book may appear to be content you are already familiar with, but this doesn't remove any of the purpose to read it in my honest opinion.

Having read numerous books on Genesis, and the conflict between Biblical Creationists and the poor exegesis of Old-Earth Creationists, I am still glad I took the time to read this book in particular.

One of my favorite things in this book had to be the apparent influence from other authors and well-respected defenders of the faith like the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen. This book covered the importance of approaching difficulties in text with the regenerated mind of Christ, meaning we take God's Word as the final truth in the matters it clearly communicates.

I gladly rate this book four stars. It serves as a great primer to educating yourself on the distinction between the ministerial and magisterial approach to Scripture, and also a refresher for those of us who are well-read on the topic, but benefit from healthy and recent coverage of the issues.

This book is yet one more metaphorical nail in the coffin of anti-biblical hermeneutics espoused by compromising Christians who seek to mold God's Word to man's fallible understanding of Creation.

If you frequently practice " don't confuse me with facts my mind is already made up!", then this book is not for you. This book will give you a clear concise reason what young earth creationist believe and why they don't accept old earth creationist views; objectively, accurately, and fairly,the views of both sides. No logical fallacies,no straw man arguments, no personal attacks on a persons character that seems to be the rage in many quarters today.
They present facts both biblical and scientific as objectivly and fairly as one can. Don't believe it? Check their footnotes, I did. It is easy to slip into misrepresenting what and whay someone believes when you are passionate about your views.You will discover that they go to great lengths to be fair to their opponents view point.
It is a good,well thought out and honest representation of the current debate between young earth creationists and old earth creationists.

I read the draft for Tim Chaffey's portion of the book about two years ago. Even then I thought it was the best book on creationism from a Biblical perspective that I have ever read. This is KEY: Tim puts Old Earth Creationism on trial from a Biblical perspective. (Dr. Lisle adds the scientific portion of the argument.) You do not need to be a theologian or a scientist to understand and benefit greatly from this book.

It is shocking to me how old earth creationists (OEC) hold to an inerrant, infallible, verbally inspired Bible, but then get all wishy-washy when dealing with the creation accounts in Genesis. Tim graciously and effectively demonstrates the weakness of the OEC interpretation.

If you are a young earth creationist, you will applaud this book. If you are an OEC, I think an honest reading will surprise you. Either way, your confidence in the reliability of Scripture will be strengthened.
(Disclaimer: I am a personal friend of Tim Chaffey and have appreciated his ministry through Midwest Apologetics.)

Does a Christian have to totally shun science? "Old-Earth Creationism on Trial: The Verdict is In" takes a new approach to the creation of the Earth that looks to appease both science and Christian faith and discusses the topic in great detail, going over the many topics within the issue. Covering both the prosecution and defense, "Old-Earth Creationism on Trial" looks at a different opinion and discusses with spiritual and scholarly intent, recommended.

Yes, the verdict IS in! The VAST majority of Biblical scholars have concluded that "young earth" and "planet wide flood" interpretations of Genesis rest on faulty hermeneutics and outdated presuppositions. Even Augustine of Hippo, back around 400AD, found reasons within the text itself to question this so-called "literal" interpretation of Genesis.

NONE of the arguments offered here are new or persuasive. Only those with limited scientific backgrounds will be convinced. All of the questions raised about radiometric dating have been conclusively answered over and over by people like Dr. Roger Wiens (himself a Christian). Young-earth proponents with academic degrees in relevant scientific fields (like Jason Lisle) are rapidly becoming extinct. Soon books like these will only be authored by wrong-headed clergy (like Tim Chaffey).

I am most disturbed by the inaccurate portrayal of modern scientific theories as being "unbiblical." Jason Lisle has a history of ignoring history, with statements like,

"...the big bang theory is a secular story of origins. When first proposed it was an attempt to explain how the universe could have been created without God."

This is simply untrue. The big bang theory was proposed initially by a Catholic priest (Lemaitre) and rejected by many for having too many theistic implications. Lisle distorts history for the sake of his own persecution complex. His attacks on evolution are similarly misguided.

If only Lisle and Chaffey could see that this reformulation of modern science as anti-Christian is ridiculously antithetical to traditional Christian doctrine, and serve only to tear down the God they are supposedly arguing for.

Old-Earth Creationism on Trial is just what the title states. It is a rational, logical, evidence-based challenge to those Christians who believe that God created the earth and life millions or billions of years ago. Christians may hold this view for a variety of reasons as I once did. The reasons for believing in old-earth creationism are clearly presented in this book along with the evidence that challenges those reasons. This book presents a solid case for trusting the young-earth scenario.

This is an important topic because if one chooses to believe in the old-earth scenario, then one must get used to reading what the Bible clearly states and convince oneself that it really doesn't mean what it says. If one can do this in Genesis Chapter 1 and Exodus 20:11, then one can do it anywhere in the Bible. This is a spiritually hazardous path. This is why this subject really matters for Christians.

Old-Earth Creationism on Trial is for people who deeply desire to have their beliefs aligned with what is true. Most of us don't want to believe in things that are false or believe things to be true that are in reality false. We want our thinking, and therefore our lives, to be as closely aligned with reality as possible. This means that we must be willing to question and test our own beliefs and their underlying assumptions when presented with reasonable challenges. If we discover our beliefs are based on some key presumptions that are wrong, we make course corrections in our thinking. If we find that our beliefs and underlying assumptions have withstood objective testing, our confidence is increased. Our desire is to believe in what is true -- that what accurately represents reality.

Consider the question "If what you believed was not true, would you want to know it?" If you can honestly answer "yes" to this question, then you will find this book valuable regardless of whether you begin reading it as a young-earth creationist or an old-earth creationist. If on the other hand your answer to the question is "no", then you will likely be offended by this book and be tempted to disparage it. You may be more interested in protecting your position than in discovering a truth that opposes a belief with which you are very comfortable.

For all of us, I suggest that we always be alert to the following "Barriers to Discovering Truth":
1. Believing that there is no absolute truth
2. Being deceived--either by others or by oneself
3. Being distracted or too busy to test for truth
4. Inaccurate or illogical thinking
5. Not testing the underlying assumptions or evidence
6. Presuming that one already knows what is true
7. Unwillingness to follow where truth may lead

If you are willing to protect your thinking from these barriers and you have an interest in this subject, then you will find this book to be an adventure and very worthwhile.

In about 200 pages (including footnotes and appendices), the authors present a case to Bible-affirming Christians for young earth creationism. They follow the rules of logic and point out some commonly applied logical fallacies which they are avoiding. Topics range from biblical interpretation of Genesis' creation and flood accounts, descriptions and simple refutations of alternate interpretations (day-age theory, gaps in genealogies, local flood), to a short discussion of the scientific evidence "for" and against an old earth.

The authors, Dr. Jason Lisle and Tim Chaffey, emphasize the importance of using the Bible as our foundation for science. Because of this commitment they are able to present a consistent cosmogony and worldview, but they are not in this book writing to skeptics or people of other religions. Though Old-Earth Creationism on Trial argues that a biblical foundation is the only scientific starting point that is not self-defeating, and therefore the best approach to combating erroneous theories, their objective in this book is to encourage and challenge Christians.

Through a short examination of history, the authors prove that young-earth creationism is not a reaction to biological evolution, but that it has been the majority interpretation of the church (and plainest reading of Genesis) for thousands of years before Darwin wrote Origin of Species. In fact, a portion of the church had begun to compromise on the age of the earth earlier in the 19th century. Thus the debate inside the church has been going on for about 200 years.

One of my favorite parts of this easy-to-read reference book was the use of Proverbs 26:4-5, which says: "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit." Therefore, to be consistent in our own position, we do not have to grant the false assumptions of our opponents in order to debate them. However, it is a valid debate technique to point out the fallacy of their assumptions by showing their logical conclusions (which can be proven to be false). This is the format, in fact, of the whole book.

Compared to Coming to Grips with Genesis, Old-Earth Creationism on Trial covers most of the same information in a more concise and layman-friendly format. The authors also do a good job of focusing on the age of the earth (and universe) question, without going too far into the associated questions of biological evolution. Christians are discouraged from accepting the philosophies of naturalism and uniformitarianism, even in conjunction with other biblical beliefs. The book is a strong polemic against naturalism and uniformitarianism, which both underlie the theories of evolution.

To God be all glory,
Lisa