The author of this short book is a qualified medic who has worked as a medical missionary in Africa and as a general practitioner in Devon. For most of the time, he considered himself to be an ‘old-earth creationist’ and sought to reconcile the biblical account of creation with a timescale lasting many millions of years.
During that time, he tried various formulae for resolving conflict, including progressive creation and the literary framework theory. However, in the end, he came to the conclusion that he had been trying to evade the clear meaning of Scripture.
At the same time, he also realised that the witness of science is capable of reinterpretation and that much of what passes for science is actually secular science – a science that is filtered and packaged to promote an atheistic worldview.
Imagine you have been invited to a small gathering to hear the testimony of a missionary about bringing the gospel message to our secularised culture. You hear him explain why origins issues are important and how they affect the way we think about God, about ourselves and about salvation.
He talks about his own background in medical science and his intellectual pilgrimage. He explains how he has come to see the issue as crucial for challenging and reorienting those who are under the influence of an ideology that is alien to the Bible.
That talk is this book. It is readable, clear and challenging. As the Darwin bicentenary approaches, we would all do well to be familiar with these issues.
