Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation [Hardcover]

Jason Lisle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2006

One of the major stumbling blocks to the presentation of the Gospel in our culture today involves astronomy. For decades, public school students (and even seminary students!) have been taught that the world is far older than the Bible chronology suggests, even billions of years older. This naturally causes a disconnect for people, who assume that modern "science" is unbiased and correct. The author debunks the most accepted teachings about evolution, giving tremendous answers for those struggling to reconcile the Bible and science. Readers are given solid answers to questions about the speed of light, geology, and the big bang.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Visitors to AiG's new Creation Museum will be able to experience the power and wonder of the universe through the planetarium programs that Dr. Jason Lisle is creating. An astrophysicist with a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Dr. Lisle has been a powerful and pioneering new voice in the creationist movement as a speaker and researcher with the Answers in Genesis ministry since 2003.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Master Books (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890514712
• ISBN-13: 978-0890514719
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Biblical World View Look at Astronomy, December 4, 2008

By 

Cynthia E. Downes "Cindy Downes" (Broken Arrow, OK, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation (Hardcover)

The purpose of this book is to provide an introductory resource in the field of astronomy which interprets evidences from a biblical creation perspective. The book explores passages of Scripture which conflict with the current opinion of the majority of scientists regarding, among others, the age of the universe, the so-called "distant starlight problem," and the idea of extra-terrestrial life.

In Lisle's words, "Many people think the creation versus evolution debate is about evidence, and although the evidence is important, evidence is always interpreted through a person's world view. So the debate is really about world views. The debate is over which interpretation of the evidence is best. Think about it this way: both creationists and evolutionists have the same evidence. They have access to the same fossils and the same rocks. They study the same principles of genetics, chemistry and physics. They observe the same universe. Why then do they draw such different conclusions when it comes to matters of origins? Ultimately, it is because they have different world views, and so they interpret the same evidence differently."

Lisle has created this book to help us understand Astronomy through the biblical world view. There are five chapters: The Splendor of God's Creation, The Universe Confirms the Bible, The Age of the Universe, The Bible and Modern Astronomy, and War of the World Views.

The comprehension level is about 9th grade and up, but used as family reading in small chunks and depending upon the interest of the child, it could be used for other grade levels.

Lisle includes analogies to help make difficult concepts easier to grasp, such as showing a balloon expanding with points on the balloon getting farther away to explain the concept of the expanding universe. A glossary in the back of the book helps with definitions of unknown terms.

The book is printed on glossy paper and features full-color photos and illustrations.

Dr. Jason Lisle graduated summa cum laude from Ohio Wesleyan University where he double-majored in physics and astronomy and minored in mathematics. He received his master's degree and Ph.D. from University of Colorado in Boulder.

I highly recommend this book for students who are interested in astronomy and physics and all students headed for college. For the general student, I would suggest other resources from Master Books such as Astronomy by Design.

49 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Different world views lead to different scientific views, October 13, 2006

By 

Jonatas Machado (Coimbra Portugal) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation (Hardcover)

This is a very interesting book. From a formal point of view it is simply outstanding, with a very nice layout and wonderful pictures of the Universe. Substantively, the book makes a very important point that I would like to mention.

We all interpret the evidence according to our world view. If one starts from naturalist assumptions about the Universe (v.g. the Universe is all there is; the Universe arouse by itself and is evolving), one will naturally try to explain the data according to this model, accomodating by adding assumptions, explaining away or even dismissing all evidence that doesn't immediately fit.

There are many scientific problems with the naturalistic evolutionary model of the Universe (v.g. where did matter and energy come from? What caused the alleged Big Bang? Was there an early inflation of the Universe? If so, what started it? And what stopped it? Why are galaxies quantized? Why do "earlier" galaxies look mature? Why are comets still moving around? Why are nebulas expanding? What caused nebulas gravitational collapse? Where did the moon come from? Where was the moon 2 billion years ago? Why is there a "faint Sun" paradox?). In spite of the huge scientific problems facing the naturalist evolutionary model of the Universe, from which the above mentioned are but a few examples, the naturalists will hold on to this paradigm, even if it means building a precarious castle of assumptions over assumptions. The reason for that is that this model is the only alternative they have to creationism. If they abandon their model they will become creationists, something they want at all costs to avoid. For many naturalists promoting this model is the only way to advance their academic carriers and to get a pay check from their superiors. It also avoids being ridiculed by other naturalists. When one doesn't side with God, one is always afraid not to be accepted by others.

Naturalism has no scientific basis. Many observations do indeed point towards the existence of design features in the Universe, as even british atheist astronomer Roger Penrose has recently admitted in a BBC Prime interview. He admitted that it is entirely possible to build a totally viable and observation-based model of the Universe in which our galaxy comes in the center of the Universe. He also admitted that if we go back in time we will find more and more order, and less and less chaos, which is another way to admitt that the Big Bang model is far from being a satisfactory explanation for the Universe.

Very often we see naturalists discarding scientific observations that point to design features of the Universe, just because they are a priori commited to explain how things developed "naturally". Well, that's not really science. That's ideology!

Creationists start from the assumption that the Universe is not all there is, and that it was designed for a purpose. They accept the Bible as the revelation of the Creator and build from that pressuposition. That doesn't mean that the Bible is a scientific book, whose verses are expected to describe all the details of the Universe. It simply means that the Bible provides the leading assumptions from where true knowledge can be accomplished.

Naturalists reject all design assumptions as a way to do science. Creationists reject all naturalistic assumptions as a way to do science. Naturalism assume that there is no God or if there is one, his action remains totally irrelevant and undetectable. Creationists assume that there is a God, and a very active One. Different world views lead to different scientific views and ways of interpreting the same data.

In my opinion, biblical creationism, with its model of Creation, Fall, Flood, Babel, Dispersion, etc., is more plausible and complete than naturalism, because it explains the origin of matter, energy, time, space and information (v.g. DNA), and can also accomodate both evidence of design (v.g. the fine-tuning of the Universe for Life) and evidence of decay (v.g natural disasters; predation; suffering; death).

Naturalism has no way to explain the origin of the Universe and Life, nor can it explain their design features, which becomes a very serious problem, especially when naturalists themselves (v.g. Dawkins; Sagan) admit that evidence of design is overwhelming and that the DNA of a cell has much more information than the whole Library of Congress. Time and chance are not enough.

The Bible tells us that the Universe is much more complex than we will ever be able to understand. That's why we should trust God's Word (and not fallible human ideas) as a starting point for our being and our thought. Both will have only meaning if they are sustained by God's Word.

Science has not any alternative to death and decay. Naturalist scientists can only delay decay when they introduce intelligent design. Genetic entropy and genetic engineering are a good example of this.

God has a clear alternative do death and decay, as was made clear through Jesus Christ's ressurrection with an incorruptible body (an historical fact that was witnessed by many who were willing to sacrifice their lives to proclaim it). This history changing event has shown, to all who are willing to see, that there is hope and life beyond death. God has demonstrated, in front of many witnesses, that He can generate life from non-life. Miller and Urey didn't even come close to that! Nor has anyone else after them.

35 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Visually Stunning, Easy to Read, and Scientifically Sound, February 25, 2007

By 

Tim Chaffey (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking Back Astronomy: The Heavens Declare Creation (Hardcover)

Taking Back Astronomy is one of the first books on astronomy from the young earth creationist's perspective. Dr. Lisle did a fine job of writing an introductory level book on a subject that is typically very difficult to understand for the average person. Visually, the book is stunning as it is filled with gorgeous pictures of various astronomical bodies. Truly "the heavens [do] declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19: 1).
The book is divided into five chapters. The first deals with explaining some of the incredible details in our universe. Few can fathom the size of our own solar system, let along our galaxy and universe. Dr. Lisle provides some helpful illustrations to help the reader understand the immensity of God's creation. In Genesis 1: 16 we are told that God "also made the stars." Something so magnificent and grandiose seems as though is was just an afterthought for God.
The second chapter deals with many of the biblical passages that touch on astronomy. Long before the days of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo, God inspired the biblical authors to write accurately on this subject. The Bible is shown to be correct in every area it touches upon.
The third chapter deals with the ever controversial subject of the age of the universe. Once again, the evidences for a young earth and universe are overwhelming - even in the field that supposedly has dealt the death blow to young earth creationism. Dr. Lisle eloquently points out some of the numerous unsolved problems with the current big bang theory.
In the fourth chapter of the book, Dr. Lisle takes aim at the philosophy of naturalism and shows how it has severely hampered scientific research in this field. Most astronomers hold to a naturalistic viewpoint and attempt to interpret their findings within that framework. Oftentimes, they are forced to add numerous ad hoc arguments to make the evidence fit the story. Dr. Lisle shows that much of this evidence fits in perfectly with the biblical account and does not need to add any of these "epicycles" to make sense of the data. This chapter also includes an excellent discussion on the ever popular subject of aliens.
The fifth and final chapter of the book deals with the influence that one's worldview has when interpreting the evidence. Everyone has a worldview and everyone must interpret the evidence through the lens of that worldview. Facts do not speak for themselves - they must be interpreted. The naturalist seldom acknowledges this because he does not want anyone to know that his view is not necessarily true science but only a philosophical interpretation of the evidence.
Throughout the book the author includes some sections entitled Creation In-depth. These sections are semi-technical but usually quite easy to understand. Here is a list of each of the subjects of these sections:
- The Hubble Law: What Does it Mean?
- The Law of Gravity
- The Horizon Problem
- Recession of the Moon (probably the most technical part of the book)
- Getting Around the Magnetic Field Evidence
- Magnetic Dynamo Versus Magnetic Decay
- Dr. Humphreys' Model of Planetary Magnetic Fields
- Where's the Antimatter?
- Extra-solar Planets
- What About UFOs?
- Internal Inconsistencies in Worldviews
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It should serve as a great introductory book to this complex topic. I also loved the numerous pictures of the planets, galaxies, and nebulae. It seems as though the earlier reviewer who attacked this book had more of an axe to grind against young earth creationism instead of dealing with the content of the book.