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68 of 73 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Evangelical Biblical Scholar's Response, October 27, 2008
An issue that is very important to me, both apologetically and spiritually, is for Christian theology to be in honest conversation with scientific research, particularly as it affects our understanding of Genesis and origins. Young and Stearley have produced a hefty volume aimed at demonstrating that "several purported scientific claims advanced by young-Earth creationists do not stand up to scrutiny and fail to establish a young age for the Earth. These claims are generally based on incomplete information, wishful thinking, ignorance of real geologic solutions, selective use of data and faulty reasoning" (475). Despite this blunt assessment of young-Earth creationism, the authors' treatment of their opponents' views are characterized by great patience and charity. If simple dismissal of the young-Earth view were their aim, they would hardly have spent 500 pages (small font) establishing their case, nor would the authors have gone out of their way so often to strike such a wonderfully pastoral tone.
Our authors are both associated with the geology department at Calvin College, Young as Professor Emeritus and Stearley is professor of geology and department chair. Young will be particularly known by a broader Evangelical audience as the author of Christianity and the Age of the Earth (1982) and Creation and the Flood: An Alternative to Flood Geology and Theistic Evolution (1977). The present volume is a rewrite of the former, spurred on by Davis's colleague Stearley. Young should also be known to many of us as the son of the late Westminster professor of Old Testament, E. J. Young. That connection is not superfluous, as Young's treatment of origins from a geological point of view is fully cognizant of the theological and doctrinal issues with which Evangelicals struggle and the need to bring science and Scripture into vibrant conversation. And as I said before, the tone is pastoral: the authors have no interest in winning a rhetorical battle. Rather, their wish is to provide a thorough assessment of the available evidence, evaluate young-Earth creationism, and encourage those who hold an Evangelical faith with a paradigm for holding the two worlds together.
I first became aware of the book when, about three years ago, Young sent me the chapters on "The Bible and the Antiquity of the Earth" (chapters 6 and 7 of this seventeen chapter volume). Although their treatment of the biblical story in the ANE context is relatively brief in comparison with the book as a whole, whose focus is certainly geology, I was nevertheless very impressed at their treatment of this very important issue. More than that, the authors understood full well that the challenges of scientific research require alternate paradigms for understanding the nature of Scripture other than what is offered by young-Earth creationism. Toward that end, these two chapters rehearse the well-known position that Genesis is not a science book, but a document that spoke originally to a very ancient people. To expect a scientific model from Genesis is to misunderstand Genesis and to render incomprehensible the vast scientific data at our disposal. The authors are to be commended for moving their readers toward such a responsible synthesis.
Young and Stearley have produced a volume that not only deals a very serious blow to young-Earth creationism, but one with which Evangelical theologians and biblical scholars must reckon. The authors offer an implicit challenge to any contemporary interpreter who wishes to understand the nature of human origins in isolation from the world of scientific inquiry. If modern geology is on the right track, the age of the Earth is nearly 4.6 billion years. This challenges the young-Earth assumptions of Scripture and of the history of Judaism and Christianity until relatively recently (a topic the authors cover patiently for about 140 pages in chapters 1-5). Few Evangelicals would quibble with this, but the implications are far reaching. The scientific data, coupled with our growing knowledge of ANE literature, make a concordance model (one which reconciles science and Scripture) highly problematic to those with training in either field. Also, this seemingly innocent recognition that the actual age of the Earth does not correspond to what the Bible presents has broader implications, namely, that other portions of Genesis do not comport with scientific investigation.
From a geological point of view, the most relevant biblical episode is the Flood. Much of the book is aimed at discrediting the view that the fossil records make most sense in a catastrophic deluge model, which is the heart of a young-Earth apologetic. To speak plainly, the implication of geological investigation is that the Flood is to be understood not as a bare description of an historical event, but as an ANE story, necessarily limited in its scope, but that nevertheless tells a powerful and theologically rich story about the nature of God ands his relationship to the world. No doubt, this will not sit well with many Evangelical readers, but any counterargument will have to engage our authors on the level of evidence rather than personal preference.
Some may rejoin that such a position divorces the Bible's theology from historical events. Yes, this is true of the Flood story, but that does not mean that all of Scripture is divorced from history. This slippery slope argument will do little good in trying to present a balanced view of the issues discussed in this book. The topic under discussion is the Flood--not the resurrection, Paul's second missionary journey, or David's reign in Jerusalem. The geological evidence plus the ANE texts we have at our disposal pertain only to this particular portion of Scripture; they do not affect the historicity of the Christian faith in general.
Still, the evidence does most certainly affect our understanding of the historical nature of the Flood, and this is not small thing. In brief, what remains sorely needed in my opinion is deliberate conversation between biblical scholars and scientists (not just geologists, but physicists, biologists, anthropologists, etc., etc) on the question of origins.
On the whole, I found the book to be wonderfully well organized and presented. There are charts, graphs, and a good number of photographs. It was, however, for this humble biblical scholar, quite a challenge to get through. Even though the authors go to great lengths to present the material in as accessible a manner as possible, the discussion is necessarily somewhat technical and imbued with the jargon of the discipline. I was definitely taken out of my comfort zone of Hebrew infinitive constructs and Jewish hermeneutics and dropped down into the middle of such things as faunal succession, ecological zonation, localized natural traps, long-lived regional-scale depositional environments, Lompoc diatomite mass mortality layer--you get the idea.
Still, readers with serious interest in the intersection between Bible, origins, and science (which I hope is everyone) should attack this book with great enthusiasm, as it will profit anyone, even those without a background in science. Those that might benefit the most, however, are least likely to read it, i.e., those who feel that our understanding of Scripture can proceed in blissful isolation from advances in human thought. But their refusal to enter this vital conversation is their choice, and should not determine what others do. Young and Stearley have provided a wonderful resource for those seeking to understand our world and the God who made it.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A teacher's perspective, December 3, 2008
As a public school teacher who teacher Earth science and Physics I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in the antiquity of the Earth and how it connects with the Bible.
I found that the book was organized very well because the authors didn't come right out exposing the faults of young-earth creationism. The history of modern geology gives a great basis for understanding the authors throughout the book and how geologists do science.
In Part II: Biblical perspectives bought up some theological points that bring out the historical context of the book of Genesis in a way that is truthful and insightful.
When Young and Stearley bring up the geologic perspectives, they are able to explain the geology in way that people who have never taken a geology course could understand the text without much help. I found many of these examples the authors talk about to be very easy to understand. The nice thing about a few of the examples they discuss is that I have been to a few of the sites and even if you haven't you would be able to picture it.
As an Earth science teacher who teaches about the geologic record, I will be using many of these examples in class to show the antiquity of the earth. Every year in every one of my classes there are many students who can't believe or are confused about the antiquity of the Earth. Young and Stearley talk about students being shocked by the overwhelming evidence for the antiquity of the Earth and not knowing how to process the information.
This book needs to be read by all people who speak, discuss, or who are interested in the topic of the age of the Earth before more damage is done separating people of faith from understanding how God has magnificently revealed his power and creativity through the world that we continue to study.
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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Science - Good Theology - Great Book, May 9, 2009
It is difficult to overstate how important it is for modern Christians to interact carefully with the array of scientific data that conflict with some of the traditional Christian interpretations of the book of Genesis. This book, written by two deeply devout evangelical scholars, is an excellent resource that will draw careful readers to realize that the acceptance of an ancient earth is in no way a compromise of Scripture.
For many centuries Christians believed the Bible taught that Earth was fixed in space while the sun orbited it. Early proponents of heliocentrism were considered heretical, for heliocentrism conflicts with the "plain reading" of Scripture. As the evidence for heliocentrism continued to pile up, many Christian scholars came to see that biblical passages that seemingly describe a mobile sun were not meant to be taken literally. They described such passages as "phenomenological" instead, meaning the Spirit-led authors of these biblical passages were describing things "as they appeared to a casual observer" rather than "as they would be described scientifically in the far-off future, once the scientific method was in place." Scholars adopted this measure because the overwhelming empirical evidence led them to a fork in the road: they could either go on believing in the Bible as God's inspired Word, modifying their hermeneutic in order to incorporate God's revelation in nature without creating conflict with biblical teaching, or else they could go on interpreting the Bible as teaching geocentrism and thus conclude that the Bible was in error.
I fear many people today are led to a skeptical conclusion regarding Scripture because so many Christians insist that Scripture must be interpreted literally whenever it touches on scientific matters. Ironically, most Christian Bible scholars know better than to approach Scripture in such a monolithic, context- and form-defying manner, but the lesson is lost on the masses of faithful laity and, sadly, most often their pastors as well. For instance, few if any recognized experts in Old Testament literature, Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, Hebrew, or related fields insist that the Bible argues for a recent creation. They can see from linguistic and literary features in Genesis 1 and 2 that the text is not likely intended as a literal science report on God's work as Creator. They can also see that the topics discussed in these chapters seem tailor-made for addressing (and refuting) common non-Hebrew beliefs about the creation of the world that were current in Moses' day. Assuming Moses wrote Genesis in about 1440 BC, it is fitting that he would be given by God the task of bringing the Hebrews up to speed on the true theology of creation since they had just spent several generations enslaved in Egypt, learning the false Egyptian cosmogonies. It's safe to say that no Jew wandering through the desert with Moses was concerned to hear a scientifically defensible account of God's creation of the universe. What they wanted to know was: Which God is true? Why did he make humankind? What is our purpose? Why do we have war, strife, death, and alienation from God? These are the questions they were asking, and these are the questions God answered through Moses in the book of Genesis. Science was the furthest thing from anyone's mind.
I fear that many faithful Christians are reliving something like the geocentrism controversy all over again in the 21st century, putting Scripture in harm's way by insisting on a literalistic hermeneutic that conflicts with a broad, steady river of empirical evidence coming from our God-made universe. The irony is stunning: God through his creation tells us much truth about his doings as Creator, but many Christians use the Bible in such a way as to shut out his voice. This book by Young and Stearley carefully, methodically, winsomely, and very respectfully shows the many biblical and scientific fallacies of young earth creationism.
It is not true that science supports a young earth, as Christians who are practicing scientists can readily tell you. It is not true that the Bible insists that Earth is young, as the easy majority of Christian Bible scholars can tell you. And it is not true that you must compromise a high view of Scripture in order to accept an ancient creation, much less that you have to embrace a naturalistic worldview.
I follow Christ passionately, revere the Bible as God's inspired and inerrant Word, and love science as a means of delving into the glories of God revealed in creation.
Let Davis Young and Ralph Stearley introduce you to Christian discipleship that honors both Scripture and the testimony of nature.
Jeremy Royal Howard
[...]
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