A tough book to get through. I plan to read it again. ( )

A simple, succinct little book that does an excellent job of showing that the opening chapters of Genesis can legitimately be interpreted in ways that are consistent with current scientific data. For the most part, this book is not apologetic or polemical; it largely just presents different options for interpretation, thus proving that the Old Earth Creationist standpoint can be adopted without any harm to Biblical inerrancy. It's a good introduction to the subject, but further study will probably be desired by most readers who are truly interested in the Old Earth/Young Earth debate and the scriptural credence of the Old Earth view. ( )

Mehrheitlich einleuchtende Argumente für die Entstehung der Welt und des Lebens als Gottes Schöpfungshandeln. Der Aufbau des Buches leuchtet etwas weniger ein. So nimmt der "Anhang", in dem überdies wichtige Themen angeschnitten werden, fast die Hälfte des Buches ein. ( )

The author, John C. Lennox, is a professor of mathematics at Oxford University. I read this book for the Christian Reading Challenge based on a recommendation from a friend. My friend stated that the author would be able to prove that God created the world in 7 days. While I disagree with the author's ability to provide this proof, he certainly shot holes in the arguments of the New Atheists against creationism as well as coming up with quite a few interesting points about the Genesis Chapter 1 story.

The author begins by stating that he is a scientist who believes in both science and the Bible. He says that you can draw scientific implications from the Bible but that does not mean that the Bible is a scientific treatise from which you can deduce Isaac Newton's laws or Einstein's equations. The Bible was not intended to explain the origins of the universe in a detailed scientific language. It was intended to teach people about God.

A discussion over young earth and ancient earth creationist views is expanded upon to point out that the definition of the word "creationist" has changed over the centuries. Originally it referred to someone who believed in a creator with no implication for how the creating was done. Today, a creationist is usually referred to as someone who believes in a young earth. Also, these viewpoints are not new. They have been debated by Jewish scholars since times before Christ. Whether the 6 days in which God performed his creation were 24 hour cycles or epochs of unspecified lengths changes your perception of the age of the earth. Then there is the question of what is meant by "earth." Is it a planet, dry ground or something else? Consider whether you are interpreting the Bible from the era in which it was written or in the era in which you are currently living. That changes everything too.

All of these discussions were further expanded upon in the book. In addition, there are 5 appendices that dispute several theories of the New Atheists concerning the Genesis text. The book gets extremely scientific here, above my scope of knowledge.

The main thrust of the author's argument is that there is a way to understand Genesis 1 that doesn't compromise the authority of Scripture and at the same time take into account our increased knowledge of the universe. I thought that this was fabulous! Many of his discussions were above my ability to understand. I am not a mathematician or a scientist. I was impressed though with what he had to say.

I cannot remember a time when I was excited to read Genesis but John Lennox has made it seem important to study. He has highlighted the creation story for me in a fascinating manner. I highly recommend this book! ( )

Great book, I loved his explanation on interpretation. ( )