Creation Science Book Review
The Battle for the Beginning
Epilogue
Review by Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 6 August 2005
There are several issues MacArthur brings up in this final section. On page 216, he speaks of God cursing the ground, so that it will bring up thorns and thistles. Yes, this is true, however, if you will remember, MacArthur said there were no weeds, and all the earth was God's perfect creation. So where did these weeds come from? Did God do another creative act, and create weeds, after the six days of creation were over? No, it is clear that Scripture does not teach this. The weeds were already there, outside the Garden of Eden. Remember, the Garden was a separate place from the rest of the earth, signifying that it was different from the world around it. Adam would now be expelled from the Garden, and he would experience this firsthand.
Also in this curse, MacArthur adds "harmful germs and viruses, disease, disaster, and decay of all kinds." He goes on, adding floods, earthquakes, droughts, famines, and other natural disasters. Read Genesis 3:14-19 again...none of these features are mentioned in God's curse...MacArthur adds to Scripture. The curse was three-fold...the serpent crawling, Eve's child-bearing pain increased, and Adam toiling with the soil. There is no mention of earthquakes or any other natural disaster.
He quickly glosses over Eve's child-bearing curse. This is typical of young earth proponents...they know this provides a problem for their beliefs, so they choose to ignore it. God said "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth." It says Eve's pain level in childbirth will increase. The pain of childbirth was already part of Eve before she sinned. Young earth creationists claim there was no pain prior to sin. They answer this verse by saying "Greatly multiply" can mean going from no pain to much pain. However, let's examine this mathematically. If the pain is "0", and you multiply this pain by 10, what do you get? Zero times ten equals zero. Is God that bad of a mathematician? I don't think so! God knew he could not multiply her pain if there was no pain to begin with, so Eve must have been able to experience pain prior to her sin.
The Assurance of Humanity's Survival (Page 217)
MacArthur admits in the first part of this section that the words of God in Genesis 2:17 did indicate that they would die physically. He goes on to say they did die spiritually, but "their lives were graciously prolonged." He also claims that God's Word to Adam (in Genesis 2:17) was "perfectly fullfilled." How could this be if God backtracked on his proclamation of death in Genesis 2:17? This is a completely unworkable solution that MacArthur paints himself into.
The Guarantee of Satan's Destruction (Page 218)
No issues for the creation science debate.
The First Promise of a Redeemer (Page 218)
MacArthur uses this section mainly to tell of mankind's redemption through God's wonderful plan of salvation. It is a fitting end to the book, as it wraps it up emotionally for the young earth believer. Young earth creation science believers, who take MacArthur at his word, without verifying the science or reasoning, are totally convinced the earth is young, and are ready to defend it. This is the purpose of this book, to shore up the defenses of young earth creationism against the advances of old earth creationism.
Even though MacArthur includes a challenge for the reader to examine his position in Christ, the book itself will not convince a non-believing evolutionist. There are way too many emotional "God of the Gaps" appeals for that to work. This book is for those who are already young earth believers, to keep them from slipping into old earth creationism. Since you can be a Christian, and an old earth believer, either with or without evolution, this book is completely unnecessary.
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.
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