93
Reprinted by permission of the
Creation Research Society
U
Uniformitarian Failure/Niagara Falls, John R. Meyer and
Emmett L. Williams, 232 (P)
Uniformitarian History/Demythologizing, John K. Reed,
156 (A)
W
Walker, Tas
“The Big Sky Paving Gravel Deposit”/Comments on,
107 (L)
Where Garden Meets Wilderness, Don B. DeYoung, 65
(R)
Whole Shebang/The, Don B. DeYoung, 50 (R)
Williams, Emmett L.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison River/Formation of,
148 (A)
Creation Research Society Quarterly
Fossil Wood From Big Bend National Park, Texas ...
Part V - Origin and Diagenesis of Clays, 31 (A)
Flysch/Turbidite Deposits and Translational Sliding
in Marathon Basin, Texas, 95 (P)
The Heavens Declare the Glory of God, 169 (R)
The Javelina—Another Look (Or Smell), 103 (L)
Making the Best of a Bad Situation, Back Cover VersaDecember (D)
Niagara Falls: A Uniformitarian Failure, 232 (P)
Panola Mountain, Georgia: Exfoliation Evidence in
Support of Flood Exposure, 41 (P)
Past Erosion of the High Plateaus of Utah, Back Cover
Versa-December (D)
Rapid Canyon Formation.... 148 (A)
Ring Muhly—A Grass That Grows in Circles, 193 (A)
Trace Fossils in Petrified Wood.... 93 (P)
Woodmorappe, John
Field Studies in Catastrophic Geology, 199 (R)
More Evidence Against Plate Tectonics, 11 (L)
Book Review
Creation and Change: Genesis 1.1–2.4 in the light of changing scientific paradigms by Douglas F. Kelly
Christian Focus Publications, Great Britain. 1997. 272 pages,$15.
Reviewed by John K. Reed
One of the interesting aspects of modern creationism is
the leadership vacuum displayed by the professional
theologians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries
and the filling of that vacuum by the laity, especially professional scientists. As we are all aware, sometimes the
most vigorous defenders of evolution and
uniformitarianism (and most vociferous critics of
creationists) are theologians and church leaders. This has
resulted in the inability of Bible-believing Christians to
affirm God’s truth and respond to the assaults of modern
naturalism with the full spectrum of truth. And yet naturalism has shown itself to be the most vulnerable to arguments from the theological and philosophical disciplines
once the scientific facade is penetrated. Integrating those
foundational insights with scientific experience will result in the more rapid downfall of the naturalistuniformitarian establishment. This reviewer has attempted to highlight both the need for and the potential
of this type of “combined-arms” assault (Reed, 1996,
1998). One of the major conclusions of those works was
the need for professional Christian theologians and phi-
losophers to take a key part in the battle against
naturalism.
Dr. Douglas Kelly, Professor of Systematic Theology at
Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC, has
stepped into the breach with a remarkable book that integrates his deep theological insight with the efforts of
many creation scientists. Many names familiar to the
CRS readership jump out from the numerous footnotes.
Although Dr. Kelly is not a scientist, he has obviously
become familiar with many aspects of the scientific
debate. He brings the refreshing candor of a theologian
committed to the plain truth of God’s revelation as the
only reliable basis for certainty in understanding earth
history. He admits frequently to his scientific shortcomings, but always returns to the position that God’s Word
is preeminent over any scientific “fact” in defining historical truth. He understands that exegesis is defined by first
understanding the biblical text itself, and not assessing
its truth by reference to modern natural history. In short,
his position appears to avoid the error of so many modern
theologians who want to balance the Word of God
Volume 36, September 1999
against the conclusions of Sagan, Gould, Dawkins, et al.,
and then inevitably bow to the pressure of the secular
“experts”. Dr. Kelly defends the epistemological primacy
of the Scripture, and stands firm, even when challenged
by the scientific elite. In the ongoing debate in conservative reformed circles between advocates of sound biblical
interpretation and those who want to maintain their
“intellectual-elite-stamp-of-approval ratings,” Dr. Kelly’s
book will provide timely support to the former and a challenge to the latter. That challenge is to move to the forefront of what he terms a “paradigm shift” away from
naturalism and towards an integrated Christian
worldview.
Creation and Change is presented as an expanded
outline and interpretation of the creation account of
Genesis. Successive chapters step through the six days of
creation (yes, they were real days), and add supporting
discussion of key theological issues. The wealth of footnotes and end-of-the-chapter expanded notes is tremendously beneficial. These combine with sufficient indexed
references to make the book useful to a broad audience.
Neophytes can plow through the basic text without being
sidetracked, and old hands can follow many interesting
side trails. Although CRS members may be familiar with
many of the scientific arguments woven into the text
(and may pick a few nits one way or the other over pet
theories), any and all will benefit from the author’s expertise in Hebrew, Old Testament studies, and systematic
Errata
CRSQ 36(1), June 1999, page 8. The first sentence of
the first full paragraph should read, “The chloroplasts
also possess an electron transport system for producing
ATP.”
CRSQ 36(1), June 1999, page 34. The wrong picture
was used in Figure 4. The correct picture is shown to the
right.
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theology. Creation from preexisting matter, the Gap
Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and the more trendy
“Framework Hypothesis,” popularized by Dr. Meredith
Kline, all emerge tattered and tarnished by Dr. Kelly’s
insistence on proper exegesis and a theologically sound
interpretation of the relevant passages. Those who assert
the primacy of science and seem to use the Bible to add
theological shine to their scientific theories (Hugh Ross,
Davis Young, etc.) will have reason to regret the publication of this book.
I strongly recommend this book. It has much to offer
to a broad audience. It is well researched and referenced.
It presents significant exegetical and theological insights.
Most of all, it hopefully presages a vanguard of theologians that stand firm on the truth of God’s Word in the
face of intellectual pressure from the scientific elite, see
from their unique perspective the many weaknesses of
modem naturalism, and join the scientists in the
trenches.
References
Reed, J.K. 1996. A biblical Christian framework for
earth history research, Part I—Critique of the naturalist
uniformitarian system. CRSQ 33:6-12.
Reed, J.K. 1998. Demythologizing uniforrnitarian history. CRSQ 35:156-165.