What are our origins, how did we get here? Do we believe everything is true in the Bible, just as it is written? Or do we believe the theory of evolution? Perhaps, we want to have a foot in both camps. And that is what this book is about, Christians who want a little of each. A sort of hybrid Christian belief system made up of parts of the Bible, and parts of the evolution theory.
Currently, the biggest points of contention are the literal six-day creation, all of mankind descending from the same parents (a literal Adam and Eve), and a world-wide flood experienced by Noah in the ark. Some Christians today claim we are too modern or sophisticated to take the Bible at face value. Mankind’s great intellect has developed “flawless” ways of dating the earth. Since humankind could not be wrong, man’s postulations must trump the Biblical accounts, there has to be more to the story.
Quite a list of theories has been compiled by those who claim to know what God really did. This is a small sampling:
- There might have been a gap of millions or billions of years between the very first and second verses in Genesis.
- Or Adam and Eve were ape-like creatures that God brought into the Garden of Eden. God breathed the breath of life into them making them fully human. After that, they completely forgot about their animal past.
- Perhaps the creation story and Noah’s ark are just allegories or myths given to mankind.
- And finally, a flood did happen, but not world-wide. Ancient man was too unenlightened to know the difference between the small space he occupied on this planet, and the entire globe. So if his tiny village flooded, he would say the whole world had a flood.
Many Christian universities now have one or more professors or administrators not only disbelieving in a six-day creation, but adopting one of these theories, and teaching it to our future pastors. Less the reader think this is only happening in liberal universities, it is going on in Christian colleges that were once thought of as very grounded and conservative.
Ken Ham states that in many churches today, the status quo seems to be not to worry about the accuracy of the Bible concerning man’s history. Instead, ignore that question. Just believe in Jesus, and everything will work out okay.
Ken repeatedly makes the point that believing in a literal six-day creation, a world-wide flood, or Adam and Eve is not a salvation issue. Rather it is an issue of authority, the authority of God’s word, the Bible.
By not believing part of the Bible, the foundation of the church is being undermined. Without a firm foundation, a fall will take place. Ken states that is just what is happening as shown by the mass exodus of youth from Christian beliefs. Man’s theories, combined with throwing out, or adding to, God’s word has caused many, including countless young people raised in Christian homes, to completely give up believing anything.
There was another time when man decided he knew how God really meant for events to happen. That whole affair involving Abraham, Sarah and Hagar, and the resulting fallout of that decision. The world is still dealing with the chaos involving the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac today. The old quote, “those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it” seems to be appropriate here.
This is a five-star book that covers a subject I think all Christians should familiarize themselves with. The author does a good job in stating the case for believing the literalness of the Biblical accounts. Ham proves his points by using the words of Moses, Jesus and Paul who referred to an actual six-day creation, a world-wide flood and a real Adam and Eve. As Christians, we have been told to go to the Bible to discern truth. Depending on if something is in-line with the Bible, will determine what we will believe. I think the Bible should be used in that way with this subject as well.
Ham, a former atheist, is a seasoned Biblical scholar, a prolific writer and an enthusiastic believer in the literalness of the Bible. He has spent many years building an impressive museum devoted to proving the six-day creation account. This book contains a lot of information, and is not light reading. However, it is a readable work, and the knowledge gained will be well worth the effort.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of Six Days The Age of the Earth and the Decline of the Church from Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
Author Information: http://www.nlpg.com/ken-ham
Author’s Website: www.answersingenesis.org
Author’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aigkenham
Twitter: https://twitter.com/aigkenham
