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Review Summary: Creation as Science |
Date: 2008-11-03 |
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Details: As a Christian and physician I have had a sense of tension in my belief and position regarding the Creation vs. Evolution dichotomy. That is until now. Ross apologizes with the Biblical fidelity and scientific rigor I have been waiting for.
This book is best suited for those with scientific backgrouds that wish to search out the truth regarding the scientific support of Creation. |
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Review Summary: A Mormon's perspective of the book |
Date: 2008-05-28 |
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Details: I meet with a group of friends weekly to do Bible study. The group is made up of professionals, mostly engineers, with a strong interest in science and religion. The members are mostly evangelicals and mainstream protestant, with me as the token Mormon. The group has also had atheists, Catholics, and Jews attend from time to time. It's been a very interesting group to meet with and it's great to hear the different perspectives on things. We decided to take a look at this book due to a recommendation from one of the team members.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the author's writing was very clear and easy to understand. I agree that the evolution/creationism debate needs to be tempered on both sides and I though his idea of presenting a testable model worth a try. Ross does a very good job presenting a strong case that everything that needed to happen to create a habitable earth and life by sheer chance is astronomical. He's clearly done his research and brought up many things that I hadn't thought of that support his thesis.
From a Mormon perspective there are two major areas of disagreement with his models. This first is his (and most Christians) assumption of creation ex nihilo (creation from nothing); Mormons believe in creation ex materia (creation by organizing existing materials). The second major area is the assumption that the Earth is the only world that God has created with the purpose of populating with man. Mormons believe that God has created and populated unlimited numbers of worlds. Many of Ross' predictive tests in the simple sciences lean heavily toward the assumption that the universe has a fixed age (an absolute beginning) and that the Earth is unique in being the only habitable planet. I would expect new data to show that the elements have always existed in one form or another and also to show that many other solar systems show the potential to support life.
The last thing I want to bring up is my opinion that the Bible is meant to provide a testimony of Jesus Christ and His plan of salvation, and is not meant to be a textbook on astrophysics or biology. The main point the Bible makes is that Christ is the creator, but does not explain sufficiently how he did that. I'm OK with science trying to figure that out. I appreciated Ross' last chapter where he discussed the problem of science and religion trying to be mutually exclusive. They don't need to be. Science can figure out how things happen, but not why they happen; that is the job of religion and philosophy.
I recommend this book for anyone interested in science and religion. It was a fun, thought provoking exercise to read. |
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Review Summary: Excellent Read, well documented with very sound reasoning |
Date: 2008-02-08 |
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Details: Dr. Ross always delivers a good book and this is no exception. He presents complex subjects in a manner most lay people can get and always has a solid scientific basis for his views.
I would highly recommend this or any book by Dr. Ross. |
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Review Summary: Interesting and provocative. |
Date: 2008-01-17 |
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Details: I'm a Christian, but I also accept the infallacy of proof and the scientific method when properly applied. There are many things in science that cause me to question the authenticity of God's word and struggle greatly within my own mind. This book has both added to and relieved part of that struggle. Mr. Ross' conclusions are not irrefutable, but they are provocative. The part I like most is his call for all scientists to seek the truth, whatever that truth is, and accept it. I doubt that science ever proves or disproves God's existance during my lifetime, but if it does, I certainly hope it confirms him as the creator. I gave this book 4 stars because it does what it set out to do: provide a testable model for creation, yet I wasn't completely convinced by several of the arguments, particularly the one for the creation being much longer than 7 days. |
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Review Summary: No science to be found |
Date: 2007-12-11 |
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Details: "If the Earth were one half of one percent closer to the sun, water on Earth would boil off. If the Earth were one half of one percent farther from the sun, all the water would freeze." - Hugh Ross
The distance varies by over 3% in a given year, yet waters don't boil or freeze. The distance between Earth and Sun is near 92 million miles. The change in distance due to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is around 3 million miles.
Hugh Ross isn't about science, he is about propaganda and his beliefs. Don't be fooled.
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out of 28 Reviews
