In Six Days : Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation [Paperback]

John F., Ph.D. Ashton (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

The Creation vs Evolution debate continues to be a hot topic around the world. This book brings together in one volume the views of many scientists who believe in creation. In this fascinating collection of articles from 50 leading research scientists, all with doctorates, some of whom are emeritus professors at top British and US universities, each scientist explains in layman's terms why they hold to a literal 6 day Biblical creation and not evolution.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book is a great "weapon" in the hands of any creationist or Christian... -- Roger Howerton, Acquisitions Editor, Master Books --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Dr. John F. Ashton holds research degrees in the areas of Science and Philosophy. He was awarded the Institute of Educational Research Prize at the University of Newcastle for his PhD thesis which outlined a holographic model for the interpretation of data. Dr. Ashton is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and is the author of several highly successful books in the area of environment and health.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: New Holland Books (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864364432
• ISBN-13: 978-1864364439
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,174,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

180 of 222 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A less-than-inspiring format for a compelling topic, January 6, 2003

By 

Daniel L Edelen (Mt. Orab, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Six Days : Why Fifty Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation (Paperback)

"In Six Days", for those wishing to understand "young earth" creation theories, provides thought-provoking questions and answers. As with any book that looks at a highly charged issue, it is important to come to it with an open mind. That many reviewers here on both sides of the issue cannot keep from vehemently pointing fingers at each other says nothing about the actual content of "In Six Days", unfortunately, so I hope this review can find some middle ground. Rather than making this review simply another in a line of rabid apologetics for one side or the other, I hope to relate whether the book succeeds in accomplishing what it intends.

To create this book, many Christian scientists (of various disciplines) from around the world were asked "Why do you believe in a literal six-day biblical creation as the origin of life on earth?" The fifty best responses ultimately were included.

Sadly, this format makes "In Six Days" less than useful - on any level. The answers provided resemble testimonies rather than useful scientific analyses. Respondents tended to repeat each other, answer too generally, or (conversely) too technically on a single point. Further compounding the problems of the book, the great majority of the scientists refer to points outside their own discipline. If I were looking for serious answers to important questions about a six-day creation, would I want to read a mechanical engineer's musings on organic chemistry? Probably not. This book would be infinitely more helpful if the question had been posed as "What are five discoveries within your field of expertise that point specifically to a six-day creation?" But as phrased here, the original question automatically leads to unfocused answers.

In truth, only about twenty of the respondents provide compelling arguments. Of those twenty, half spoke about ideas outside their disciplines. That doesn't leave the reader with much unimpeachable "ammunition" to counter evolutionists.

This is not to say that nothing here satisfies. Twenty percent of the respondents had compelling information that either casts doubt on treasured pro-evolution precepts or supports a God-inspired young earth. Unfortunately, for those that have some passing knowledge of the Creation vs. Evolution hysteria, few of those ten scientists had anything new to contribute to the body of work out there already in the pro-creation community. For this reason, it must be assumed that this book is intended for people who have never explored the claims of creationists. Given some of the issues already mentioned, the result is less than stellar.

And this is a shame since there are many excellent books that make strong arguments for the creation viewpoint. Several of the scientists quoted in "In Six Days" refer to these books. My question is then: "Why not skip 'In Six Days' and just read those more scholarly and better-constructed books?" One book, "Darwin's Black Box", was mentioned repeatedly - it's probably a good bet.

If you have some knowledge of the debate, pass on this book. If you know someone who is asking questions and doesn't have a tremendously technical bent, "In Six Days" might work for them in spots. Otherwise, there are increasingly more pro-creation, young earth, and intelligent design books out there that offer the reader a better use of their time.

35 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book for both creationists and Evolutionists, March 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: In Six Days : Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation (Paperback)

From my experience working in a laboratory with scientists I have learned that many scientists accept the world view of those around them, which is often called evolutionary naturalism. They see this world view as natural and valid partly because they are unfamiliar with the intelligent design world view, but also because of the tendency to accept the greatly distorted picture of creationists commonly presented by the media. Most scientists have little familiarity with the estimated 10,000 conservative creationists and the other 30,000 creationist scientists in America alone. This book consists of brief discussions to introduce the reader to the evidence behind the creation worldview, and as a result helps the reader to understand the thinking process of these estimated 40,000 creation scientists. The common response to ideas that we are unfamiliar with is to react emotionally, and reject as out of hand the unfamiliar views. This tendency is apparent in some reviews of this book (although to compare a theistic world view with the Nazi scientists that rejected Einstein's ideas is a cheap shot). This book is a must for all persons interested in this rapidly growing international movement. It helps the reader to understand why so many scientists now accept some form of intelligent design. The book contains a balance of scientists from a wide variety of backgrounds. In harmony with the trend towards pluralism, it would seem that more effort should be expended to understanding this often misunderstood and commonly maligned minority. This book will help remedy this gap.

63 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing and Solid Book!, October 24, 2000

By 

Richard Burley "Dr.Volt" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Six Days : Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation (Paperback)

I found "In 6 Days.. to be an outstanding collection of essays by noteworty scientists from a variety of disciplines. Perspectives from Mechanical engineers, Biochemists, Mathematicians, Zoologists, Meteorologists, Medical Researchers, etc. are represented. Serveral of the scientists are well known for their excellent work in promoting Creation Science (like Dr. John Morris, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, and Dr. Werner Gitt). And, this assortment of scientists quickly dispels the common myth that "good scientists" do not believe in a literal understanding of the book of Genesis and how we all got here. Though the essays do become technical at times (which is to be expected...and appreciated) they are always explained and not above the understanding of the layman. For example, Dr. Ed Holroyd, PhD in Atmospheric science, explains his fascination with the stars and their proof for, not only the supernatural creation of them, but very recently. He relates:

"...there is an interesting phenomenon among the stars that gives a time scale in agreement with that in the Bible. By watching other galaxies of similar composition to our own, we know aboiut how often there are supervovae explosions in our Milky Way because of the nebula remnants of the explosions. We can calculate that we should be able to detect those nebulae for millions of years before they diffuse and blend into the background. Our radio telescopes can see through the dust with ease and detect many more supernova remnant than we can see at optical wavelengths. How many supernova remnants are out htere in our own galaxy? There are only enough for about 7000, not millions of years of explosions."

And such statements are made over and over again in the book with clarity and punch. From the design complexity of DNA, to the make up of intelligent language, to the improbabilities of evolution vs. the 2nd law of thermodynamics etc. the authors share the sparks that started the bonfires of their faith. And this is a remarkable thing, for they show powerfully that a person can have a fundemental belief in Biblical inerrancy, therefore believing in a literal Genesis account, and still believe in objective science. And that, is about time!

Moreover, the testimony type format of the book is very effective. For, not only do they present the arguments in favor of Creation and revealing the bankruptcy of evolution, they also do so in a way that reveals their own journeys of faith. It puts interest and substance into the essays.

This book provides tremendous proof in favor of God creating the world in 6 literal 24 hour days and puts further nails in the coffin of Darwinism. This book should be read by every person wh o is a skeptic, who has a passion for Creation or science, or just anyone who wants a better perspective on how literal creationists see things. This is a refreshing, solid book (both scientifically and theologically) and I highly recommend it.