Customer Reviews

Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off

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I have a background in science (PhD in theoretical chemistry) and an equal and abiding interest in theology. As such, I've always been interested in areas where these two passions of mine intersect. This subject of origins is one such subject and is an area of incontrovertible importance to all people. But sadly, most of the books on this subject (on both sides of the debate) shed more heat than light. Finally, here is a book that moves the reader past hostile debate toward meaninful dialog and hopefully resolution. This is a book that has needed to be written for a long time. I'm glad that this book is finally available. Whereever you stand on this issue of origins, you will find this book helpful and informative.

I would highly recommend this book to science tearchers that are concerned that their students have not been given a sense of the number and type of problems that the current state of research into the origin of life has failed to solve. Its also a great resource to help someone without previous knowledge of the field get an idea of what types of articles to follow to determine how things are going in the major areas of origin of life research. There is an extensive bibliography. The book is a first attempt at comparing a scientifically integrated (general in addition to special revelation) biblical model with the evolutionary models for the origin of life. While it is a high level non-rigorous approach, it does however awaken one to big picture tests that should be taken seriously before quickly discounting the possibility of a supernatural designer. It was good to see that the simplistic probability arguments used by creationists in the past have become more sophisticated. While still not perfect (e.g. the allowed protein sequence space reference used to support Yockey's Cytochrome C analysis only considers the space of alternate side-chains and their conformations without allowing the backbone conformation to change), it still carries substantial weight.

I am very impressed with the science put forth in this book. This book gives fair attention to both sides (Naturalistic and Supernaturalistic). I have not been entirely convinced by some of the books coming out from the ID camp; but Ross and Rana (not formally affiliated with the Discovery camp) show that they have something very substantive to say.
A must buy for a skeptic who isn't completely closed off to the idea of causes other than naturalistic causes.

Rana and Ross present a disciplined and enlightening review of modern scientific theories pertaining to the origin of life on our planet. Who could imagine that an entire field of science would have fewer answers today than it did fifty years ago? Yet that is exactly what these authors demonstrate in compelling fashion. The complete absence of credible models in this field turns out to be one of the best kept secrets in the natural sciences . . . I know the profs at my university presented the origin of life as a reasonably well understood phenomenon - So much for that expensive undergrad education.

Origins of Life is written at a popular level, but those with at least a cursory a background in the biological sciences will find it more accessible. Conversely, the book is sufficiently technical to garner the attention of origin-of-life researchers and the scientific community at large. Written from a theistic perspective, the authors forward their own origin-of-life model for consideration. As resident scholars for a Christian apologetics organization called "Reasons to Believe", Rana and Ross present a biblically concordant scientific model for biological origins (complete with a set of falsifiable predictions). Their proposed "RTB" model proves credible and intriguing, primarily because it is consistent with both the modern scientific record and the origin-of-life accounts delineated in Genesis.

The authors' insightful scientific critique of naturalistic explanations for the origin of life gives the reader a full appreciation of the intractable problems that confound researchers in this field . . . As it turns out, there simply are no viable naturalistic models that adequately explain the origin of life on earth. As an alternative, Rana and Ross propose a biblically derived supernatural explanation that is astonishingly consistent with (and supported by) the current scientific data.

Readers will feel the strong theistic undertow of this book that is inherently requisite to its primary thesis. Origins of Life compels the intellectually honest reader to consider the possibility of a supernatural beginning to life on earth (along with its metaphysical ramifications). After reading this well-reasoned treatise, only the most dogmatic naturalist will dare dismiss the supernatural origin-of-life paradigm out of hand . . . Incredibly, the scientific evidence appears to be supporting just such a supernatural explanation.
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Rana and Ross have come up with a remarkable book that goes beyond merely asserting dogma--they give you a scientific model by which a critical reader can determine whether a Christian worldview produces credible scientific conclusions.

The book presumes several things: first, that the Bible makes testable scientific statements; second, that scientific data, properly interpreted, is consistent with the Bible, properly interpreted; third, that the evolution/creation debate really is scientifically determinable, and is not merely a "religious" feud; last, that the universe is as old it looks (billions of years). I say these are presumptions, but I should also say that they are implicit in the facts described in the book.

Whether you are a creationist, evolutionist, or undecided, the book is truly interesting reading. It makes science fascinating even for the lay person, and gives everyone an appreciation for just how amazing the earth's history really is. Much of the factual information is based on peer-reviewed studies that are current and found in reputable scholarly journals, so you're not getting stale information.

Overall, the scholarship evinced in the writing, content, and organization of the book is top-notch. The writing style is also interesting and efficient without being terse.

Although the book is easy to read, it is still intellectually challenging while being also a fascinating and entertaining read. This is truly a book for the scholar, the student, and the casual reader with a curious mind.

I found this book by Drs. Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross to be fascinating, honest, thorough and readable. The book presents a great combination of background information and cutting-edge science. It also manages to bring long overdue quantitative rigor to an area question which has been dominated by fuzzy speculation.

"Origins of Life" is one example of a resurgence in good science being performed and explained in the context of Christian theism rather than the prevailing presumption of naturalism. They display an enthusiasm toward scientific discovery which comes from the conviction that all truth is God's truth.

I appreciated the honesty with which the authors call for a face off between models. "Let the better model prevail" is the historical battle cry of honest science which has been lost in the last century and needs to be reclaimed.

Thoroughness is definitely the key word for this book. Between its covers is the most complete look at the origin of life that I have even come across. The authors describe their model and the competing models in thorough detail. Citing hundreds of recent scientific papers and discoveries, the authors effectively show that their testable creation model is the best explanation for the evidence.

By carefully explaining each technical area entered, the authors have allowed readers without much scientific background to appreciate the detailed evidence for the origin of life provided by nature.

Best of all, the authors make specific predictions about what should be discovered in the future if their model is correct. This emphasis on testability and credibility should satisfy any scientifically minded person.

One of the most common reasons for the rejection of the Creation viewpoint has been the so-called "argument from ignorance" which basically assumes Creationists invoke a Creator to make up for lack of (or the inconclusiveness of) evidence. However, many recent books (including this one) make it quite clear that the Creationist viewpoint can be presented intelligently, with a great deal of evidential support.

One of the most interesting discoveries I learned is the "evolution" (pun intended) of hypothesis' that the naturalist proponents have gone through as the evidence mounts. What was once assumed to become easier to explain over time and as science advanced has become more difficult from the naturalistic viewpoint: the search for the origin of life on Earth has become frustrating to the point where extraterrestrial origins have become more vigorous.

Similarly, history seems to be repeating itself: once, Copernican's Principle changed our viewpoint from that of Earth as unique and special to that of Earth as a mundane ordinary planet, but more recently we have begun to realize, again, that Earth is indeed a special planet with fine-tuned conditions meant to support life - and according to the authors, all life and conditions prior to the introduction of man were designed especially for a technologically advanced civilization that we have become.

At times, the position of creationism as presented in the RTB Model in this book seems a bit all-encompassing: whereas they eloquently show that the evidence invalidates many of the naturalists' evolutionary predictions, the Creator model does give the appearance of being a "catch-all". Meaning, of course the Creation model is going to account for it because a Creator can do whatever He wants through miraculous intervention. However, when you dig a little deeper, the RTB Model's precitions do satisify scientific investigation and can be falsifiable as well. Some of the scientific evidences presented in the book are very recent, which dates the book.

What's important is what makes sense over time as more discoveries are made and more evidence in presented. It's clear to me, at least, that Creation makes more sense now that we know much more about the universe we live in. While this book easily coincides with some of the ID (Intelligent Design) books by Behe, Dembski, and some of the other ID folks, its main concern is solely on the Origin of Life, not the evolution of man which is addressed in more complete form elsewhere.

Highly recommened!

When I 1st started reading this book I thought it was going to be flimsy with the information provided in regards to evidence and current research in the origins of life field. I thought it would consist mainly of quotes that many other pro-ID/teology books use.... as well as the same old tid-bits of research by those in the 'origin of life' field. Was I wrong.
Many times during reading this book I was taken aback by how honest the authors were with the current research as well as the general consesus within the scientific community regarding the most recent evidence.
I wasn't entirely convinced with their RTB model; however, they do present one of the more compelling cases against naturalistic origins. I can't say whether I'm completely convinced.... but I will admit that any objections I do have would be more of a philosophical objection as opposed to a scientific one.

One of the logical consequences of the authors' view is that there might actually be purpose to life. For the 1st time in a long time I entertained the possibility that maybe life is purposeful, and maybe there is meaning to all of this. I have to admit, it gave me a feeling of hope that I haven't felt for a long time.

Definitely worth the read, and points out the weaknesses in the naturalistic theories concerning life's origins. The one weakness of the book was the usage of Genesis 1:2 to "predict" life's early existence. While the early existence of life remains one of many problems for naturalists, I seriously doubt that either Dr. Ross or Dr. Rana would have been able to predict this in their model using Genesis 1:2 had not the fact already been established. Otherwise, a must read.