Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Introduction: why should you read this book?

Let us ask some big questions… How old is the earth? How long is a day? Why aren’t humans just another animal? Was Adam the first Homo sapiens? If so, where do Neanderthals fit in? Did the universe have a beginning? How do I reconcile evolution with Genesis 1 and 2? Were lions vegetarians before the fall?

Seven Days that Divide the World deals with some real controversies- those topics that I try to steer away from in conversations. Not because I don’t believe that there are answers, but because in talking to both Christians and to those who don’t believe I have learnt that my thoughts may not be well received and I don’t feel adequately prepared.

Nevertheless, the questions are good ones that don’t always have straightforward answers. They are good questions because for some no serious consideration of the gospel will be attempted until they are answered. They are also good questions because by studying creation we can learn more about our amazing Creator.

So how to give the sometimes extremely detailed explanation for why a scientific theory is compatible to Christianity in less than a minute? Unfortunately this book will not help you here, but it will challenge you to think through some of life’s big questions and investigate the main schools of thought on each topic. It has forced me to think about what I actually believe on a couple of issues that I have thus far avoided making a decision on (see week 3 of this blog series).

I suspect that the readers of this book will be divided as there is little consensus within the Christian community on some of these issues and Lennox gives his opinion. But he does it with grace and presents his reasons clearly and biblically (I found myself opening the bible to re-read Genesis 1 and 2 more than I expected to). This book seeks to carefully study the Genesis account of creation afresh and investigate its point of contact with modern science.

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