Navigating Genesis: A Scientist's Journey through Genesis 1-11

Every Christian needs to read this book. Real science is not the enemy of the Bible. Christians do not have to check their brains at the lobby when they enter the church building. It can all make sense without being an infidel. There is a Biblical alternative to the YEC viewpoint.I think Dr. Ross is an even better writer than speaker, but maybe that is because I am a better reader than I am a listener.I thank God for Reasons To Believe. And yes I have put my money where my mouth is.

For space reasons, OUC=Old Universe Creationist, YUC= Young Universe Creationist.This is an update on his earlier The Genesis Question. Ross puts in later discoveries inscience since 1st ed. He goes thru the account in 1st 11 chaps of Genesis, and talks abthow there doesn't have to be conflict between science and the Bible. He speaks for theOUC side. I don't agree with a lot he says, but found it very interesting, especially thescience "stuff". He often talks about how the universe shows design by a Creator, andhow God was/is in control and it was not just "accidents" of nature. For instance, he talksabout how meteorite material replaces the loss of air and water vapor that is lost. Later hedeals with other topics such as the "Sons of God" in Genesis 6, and the flood, the origin ofthe languages, races, etc.People interested in science can learn from these books, even if you don't agree with him.Several years ago one of my Bible teachers, in a class on Genesis, used a Ross bookTFOG to show how science points to a Creator (of course he made clear how he didn'tbuy Ross's numbers as he is a confirmed YUC).Is there problems, yes. As to the "Sons of God" in GEN 6, I don't know why there should bea problem. In the gospels, Jesus said angels are sexless beings (MATT 22:30, MK 12:25).All thru the Bible, sons/children of God are humans belonging to God (the one exception beingJOB 38:06-07). The sons of God were the descendants of Seth.One thing that really puzzles me is OUC's insistence in a "local" flood (chaps 15-17). What doesthat have to do with the age of the universe?! I used to wonder where all the "extra water" camefrom, but no problem (figured it came from space). One can talk about the "problems" of mixingsalt and fresh water, or the increased water pressure, but so what, either way there were a numberof miracles done. As Yahweh said to Sarah, "is anything too hard for the LORD? (GEN 18:13-14)The question is still valid, why was it necessary for Noah to spend a century building a boat big enoughfor his family and 2 of all the animals & birds if the flood only covered a limited area? When Goddestroyed the cities of the plain, the angels ordered Lot and his family to go elsewhere, here thepeople and animals were directed to go onto the ark - Lot had a place to go, here, they did not. Withlanguage like "ALL the life on land", and "everything under the heavens", that's enough for me. Likeother issues, I don't know how God could made it any plainer.2 more passages. One is PSALMS 104:06-09. People point to where it says that God put a boundaryon the seas, so they'll never again cover the earth". Have they never heard of exceptions? ECC 9:05-06says "the dead never again have a share in anything done under the sun", but there are 8 exceptions, 3 inthe OT, 5 in the NT, not counting Jesus, and the ones resurrected at His death (MATT 27:52-03), and Peterused the global "sea" at creation, and the (global) flood to point out that the whole earth (and universe) willbe destroyed at the 2nd coming of Christ (even the elements will be dissolved 2 PET 3:03-12).A final comment. Both YUC's & OUC's do have one advantage. Both believe in creation. If someonedoesn't believe in GEN 1:01, why believe anything else in the Bible? If one doesn't believe any otherpassages in the Bible, he/she isn't likely to believe the passages in the NT that deal with the plan ofsalvation. And if one doesn't believe and obey the gospel plan of salvation, the future after death is notgood (2 THESS 1:07-13, and many others).Very interesting book.

With proper insight this work reveals that science is more and more aligning with the Bible.

This book along with Hugh Ross' other books have made me re-evaluate what I believed regarding the Creation Science model of a young earth. I grew up in a conservative Christian home that taught this model and fiercely rejected anything other than the 24 hour, 7 consecutive day creation. While we allowed that to think otherwise didn't affect a persons salvation, we truly did believe that any Christian believing otherwise was greatly deceived and had the potential to deceive others. My family all took a trip together to see the ark and creation museum; this was that important to us.After reading this book, I realized two things:1. There is another, more than valid way to interpret the Creation and Noah's Flood account. Science truly can and does support both. You can hold fast to the inerrancy of the Word and know that the laws of science, that were created by God, are also accurate and give evidence of our wonderful Creator.2. Rather than judge another Christian's beliefs, I must be willing to investigate myself and weigh it with careful consideration, asking God for wisdom as I do so.If you, like me, have not had all your questions answered by the Young Earth Creation model or have said to yourself, as I have, "hmmm...that doesn't quite make sense or add up", then I would urge you to read this book and Hugh Ross' other books.While there are still things I am pondering, I think that it is ok with God if we grapple to find truth.

Easy for a layman like me to grasp and understand. Dr Ross has done an excellent job of bringing the facts of science and the truth of the Bible together. There is one God and He is the author of both the Bible and the sciences.

I have enjoyed other books by Hugh Ross and this one is no exception. He interconnects science with scripture seamlessly making reading the book not only interesting but inspiring. After reading this book, one will feel confident in their Christian beliefs.

Hugh Ross has been such a great resource to me concerning science and the bible. It almost seems he is an apostle to the scientist. He gives such a different perspective than anyone else I read. He equally knows science and also the bible. He is extremely well studied on both science and the bible. So refreshing.

Physics without the math; perspective on intellengent design and purpose for our existence explained in a unique way. Gives a welcome perspective about the misinformation being promulgated nowadays.

Hugh Ross does an excellent job with this book. He has done all the hard work for those of us who either believe that there is no conflict between Scripture and the book of nature and provides evidence for anyone who is uncomfortable with YEC to confidently move to OEC. It is also a great reference for evangelism providing evidence-based reasons for dispelling the myth of the conflict between science and faith. After reading this, there us no excuse for not trusting the Bible. Highly recommended.

Very informative book. Enjoyable read with complicated topics explained in an understandable way.

Brilliantly written. I have revised my thinking as a result of reading this book. (I was a young earth creationist)

thank god for Hugh Ross hope they teach this in schools one day and the world will be a better place.

Mein bisheriges Verständnis der Bibel, speziell der ersten Kapitel, war die Auffassung, dass die Bibel nicht den Anspruch erhebt wissenschaftliche Aussagen zu machen, sondern eher die „warum“ Fragen zu beantworten. Wissenschaft und Theologie spielen quasi in einer anderen Liga.Unter Angabe vieler wissenschaftlicher Quellen verschiedener Fachbereiche, wie Astronomie, Geologie, Archäologie, Biologie, Linguistik, Geschichte, Theologie, Statistik etc. zeigt Ross, dass die Bibel - insbesondere Genesis – durchaus wissenschaftlich relevante Aussagen macht, wie z.B.: Genesis 1,1 „Am Anfang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde“ welche durch wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse gestützt werden. Dass das Universum einen Anfang hat wird durch die Big Bang Theorie, das heutige Standartmodell, bestätigt.Nach seiner Auffassung sollte Wissenschaft und Theologie nicht strikt getrennt, sondern integriert werden. Sowohl die Bibel als auch die Wissenschaft (als das Buch von Gottes Werken) liefert Wahrheit, so Ross – Wenn beides stimmt müssten sich beide Bereiche ergänzen.Im ersten Teil des Buches zeigt Ross, durch wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse informiert, wie er zu seiner Interpretation von Genesis 1 kommt. Dabei löst er scheinbare Konflikte christlicher Weltanschauung mit Naturwissenschaft in seinem integrativ-biblischen Modell weitgehend auf. So handelt es sich z.B. bei den Schöpfungstagen laut Ross nicht um 24 Stunden Tage, sondern das hebräische Wort für Tag wird u.a. auch für unbestimmt längere Zeitabschnitte mit klarem Anfang und Ende verwendet. Da die Wissenschaft das Alter des Universums auf 13,81 Jahre und das der Erde auf 4,6 Milliarden Jahre schätzt, legt das die Auslegung des Wortes hebräischen Wortes „Tag“ als einen längeren Zeitabschnitt nahe, so Ross. In diesem Sinne nimmt Ross die Bibel weiterhin wörtlich, da sich die „Tag“ sich ja auf eine wissenschaftlich bestätigte Realität beziehen und bewegt sich innerhalb von dem was der Text an Interpretation ermöglicht.Gleichzeitig zeigt Ross auch wie es historisch durch andere Interpretationen und dazu in Wiedersprich stehende wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse zu verhärteten Fronten zwischen Theologie und Naturwissenschaft kommt, wodurch christlicher Glaube in der Öffentlichkeit eher als etwas Subjektives bzw. Privates angesehen wird, der sich nicht auf nachprüfbare Erkenntnisse sondern „blinden Glauben“ stützt. Nach Ross Auffassung ist dies unnötig – nach biblischem Verständnis gründet sich Glaube auf Erkenntnissen und diese sind seiner Meinung nach hinreichend vorhanden.Als gläubiger Christ hat mir das Buch geholfen den Genesis Text aus neuer Perspektive zu sehen. Ross setzt sich sehr tiefgehend mit den biblischen Texten auseinander und macht hinsichtlich des Wahrheitsanspruchs der Bibel keinerlei Abstriche, sondern zeigt auf, wie die über 3000 Jahre alte Texte, durch neue wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse in einzigartiger Weise Bestätigung, statt Wiederlegung erfahren und somit der christliche Glaube nicht in Ablehnung, sondern gerade in Auseinandersetzung mit Wissenschaft gesellschaftliche Relevanz bekommt. Gleichzeitig hat mir das Buch geholfen historisch Zusammenhänge bzw. geschichtlichen Konflikte von Glaube und Wissenschaft besser zu verstehen.Ich finde das Buch macht Mut sich gerade im akademischen Bereich weltanschaulich nicht zu verstecken.