Creation Science Book Review
The Battle for the Beginning
Chapter 10: Paradise Lost
Review by Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 6 August 2005
MacArthur begins with a discussion of morality. He errs in the middle of page 196 by saying about evolution, "Instead of teaching that man began at the bottom of the moral ladder and slowly rose higher by social and psychological evolution, Genesis 3 teaches us the opposite." Evolution is void of morals...there is no "moral ladder" of evolution, saying we started with no morals and became more moral as we developed. I may be missing something here...maybe some evolutionists claim they are evolving morally, but I'm not aware of this claim.
He then goes on to claim that sin is all around us, evil is pervasive in the world. I agree...it has been ever since the Fall, as MacArthur points out at the top of page 197. The effects of Adam's sin, passed on to us, has a definite affect upon our world. I agree with this...until he ties it to evolution.
He says "This clearly argues against evolution." He goes on to explain that death and decay are not part of God's original creation. I believe they were. Thus again, we are interpreting the same scriptures differently. No problems here for old earth believers...we know we interpret the Scriptures differently, and are glad to do so.
MacArthur presents the information about the Fall of Man in the following sections. None of this has anything to do with the age of the earth. Christians accept their sinful nature, and what happened during the Fall...both young and old earth creationists alike.
The Solicitor (Page 199)
For the most part, I agree with his discussion of Satan.
The Strategy (Page 204)
As Doug Craigen points out in his review of this book1, MacArthur inserts something into the Scriptures that is not there. At the bottom of page 204, he says "The serpent had deliberately confronted Eve when she was isolated from Adam and most vulnerable. He aimed his initial attack at her alone ("the weaker vessel"--I Peter 3:7)." There is nothing in Genesis 3, nor in I Peter 3 that would suggest that Eve was alone when she was tempted. Genesis 3:6 says "...She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." The text itself testifies that she is not alone when she partook of the fruit. For a fuller explanation, see the link below.1
There is not much else of interest for the age of the earth in this section.
The Seduction (Page 208)
No issues for this section.
The Sin (Page 209)
He says "Adam appears, from where we are not told, and discovering that his wife had already disobeyed the Lord's command, he partook with her." We had previously learned that Adam was already with Eve.
The Shame (Page 210)
Nothing of significance for the creation science debate.
1 http://www.dctech.com/physics/features/1002.php
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.
Battle for the Beginning Book Review Home
Chapter List
Chapter 10
Related Articles
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.