In the just-published scholarly book, Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth, fourteen evangelical theologians bring together the most rigorous, up-to-date biblical and historical arguments in favor of reading Genesis chapters 1–11 as factual history. No one who accepts the idea of millions of years or says that the age of the earth doesn’t matter can ignore the careful arguments that Coming to Grips with Genesis presents in favor of a six-day creation, the global Flood, and a young earth. It will also strengthen the convictions of those who do believe Genesis.
The question of the age of the creation is not just a debate about science, but more importantly about Scripture. Are God’s words our final authority? Can they really be interpreted in a way that accommodates millions of years?
Book chapters include:
* Analysis of the Hebrew verbs in Genesis 1 to assess the historicity of the chapter * Arguments for taking the genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 as complete chronologies * Theological implications of accepting natural evil and death before Adam’s sin * Discussion of Jesus’ and the apostles’ teachings regarding a young earth * The Flood account in Genesis 6–8 and its geological implications * . . . and much more
No serious article on the subject of evolution and the age of the earth will be complete without consideration of this landmark reference work. And while it is a scholarly book for use in seminary and Bible college courses, the editors and authors worked hard to make it accessible to serious-minded lay readers. Early feedback has confirmed that it is.
The editors, Drs.Terry Mortenson and Thane Hutcherson Ury, have lectured in many countries on this subject and are members of the Evangelical Theological Society. The forewords are by renowned Bible teacher Dr. John MacArthur (pastor and president of The Master’s Seminary), and the late Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research.
The debate about Genesis and the age of the earth will not go away, as long as the integrity of God's Word is at stake.
Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth (Green Forest, AR: Master Books, November 2008), 460 pages.
Editors:
Terry Mortenson (M.Div., Ph.D. in history of geology, Coventry University, England) was a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ for 26 years before joining Answers in Genesis in 2001 as a speaker, writer, and researcher. Answers in Genesis, founded and led by Ken Ham, is well known for its new high-tech Creation Museum and its stand on “upholding the authority of the Bible from the very first verse.”
Thane Hutcherson Ury (Ph.D., Systematic Theology, Andrews University) was a professor of theology and philosophy for fifteen years at Bethel College, Indiana, before joining the faculty at the United Wesleyan Graduate Institute, Hong Kong, in 2006.
For review copies or for interviews with the editors (above), contact:
Stacey Drake, Publicity Dept. New Leaf Publishing/Master Books Stacey[at]newleafpress.net 1-800-999-3777
Editor’s note: One of the appendices of Coming to Grips with Genesis is the document “Affirmations and Denials Essential to a Consistent Christian (Biblical) Worldview,” which is meant to be a supplement to the affirmations and denials in the statements on biblical inerrancy and biblical hermeneutics by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy published in the early 1980s. As helpful as those documents were for the church’s understanding of Scripture, the authors of Coming to Grips with Genesis believe that the statements related to creation, evolution, and the age of the earth were inadequate and opened the door to false ideas in the church. We invite others who are theologically trained and agree with us to add their names to the list of signatories and to do all they can to encourage Christians in their sphere of influence to embrace, teach, and defend these additional affirmations and denials. To add your name to this list of signatories, please follow the instructions on this form. Please be sure to make other potentially interested candidates that you know aware of this document by giving them the web address AnswersInGenesis.org/go/affirmations.