What About Origins? (CreationPoints)
Page 1
Copyright
© Day One Publications 2010
First printed 2010
ISBN 978–1–84625–261–7
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data available
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV)®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Commendations
Dr Monty White’s critique of the idea of theistic evolution is so thorough and devastating that anyone who reads it and still clings to the position of theistic evolution does so in willing contradiction to biblical teaching.
Dr Duane Gish, former Senior Vice-President, Institute of Creation Research
What About Origins? is a book designed to challenge those who think there is little, if any, evidence for the biblical account of creation, and to encourage those who just want supporting facts about creation and a way to share it with their friends. Dr Monty White both accepts and defends biblical creation unashamedly and will challenge you to do so too, as well as equip you to expose evolutionist error.
John Mackay, International Director, Creation Research
This book gives an excellent up-to-date summary of the key arguments for biblical creation. I particularly like the chapter on the origin of life (abiogenesis), which I think is one of the biggest challenges to the theory of evolution.
Professor Stuart Burgess, Bristol University, UK
When the first edition of What About Origins? was published, there were very few books which promoted the biblical view of origins. Today there are many, yet this revised and updated edition is a welcome addition to the range now available. Monty begins with Scripture, making God’s Word the ultimate authority on origins issues. Those who have heard Monty speak will find that he writes in a similarly entertaining and easy-to-understand manner, and I recommend this revised updated edition of What About Origins? as a good, up-to-date guide to biblical creationism.
Geoff Chapman, Director, Creation Resources Trust
I believe that the greatest challenge to Christians today is establishing the truth about our origins, and that arriving at the correct conclusion is absolutely foundational to our faith in God. Long before I produced my first television programme and before launching Revelation TV, I saw the necessity of dealing head-on with three main topics, one of which is presenting sound scientific evidence that supports the biblical account of creation as recorded in Genesis. Today, Christians receive greater criticism and challenges to their faith in God and his Word than ever before, hence the need for them to be equipped with facts and information that can easily be assimilated and passed on to others. This is why I am delighted to recommend Dr Monty White’s book What About Origins? for it truly is a comprehensive educational work which gives the evidence and information that supports what the Bible teaches about origins.
Howard Conder, Christian broadcaster,
and founder of Revelation and Genesis TV
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the
Lord God, who has shown
unto me His mighty and
mysterious and glorious works.
Table of Contents
Copyright
Commendations
Dedication
Epigraph
Foreword to the first edition
Foreword to the second edition
About the author
Preface
Chapter 1: The Creator and his ways
Chapter 2: Theistic evolution?
Chapter 3: Mind the gap!
Chapter 4: The age of the earth: biblical considerations
Chapter 5: Scientific dating methods
Chapter 6: The origin of the universe
Chapter 7: The origin of life
Chapter 8: The origin of species
Chapter 9: The origin of humans
Chapter 10: General conclusion
Advertisement
… it is axiomatic that if we are in error about the origins of things, whether of the universe, or life, or religion, or salvation, we shall be in error about all that follows. That is why the questions … [of origins] … are of crucial importance for the Christian no less than for mankind in general.
Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, Christianity and the Problem of Origins
Foreword to the first edition
In this book, What About Origins?, Dr White has combined his command of the Scriptures with his scientific training and experience to show the true relationship between the biblical doctrine of creation and the scientific evidence related to origins. His critique of the idea of theistic evolution is so thorough and devastating that anyone who reads it and still clings to the position of theistic evolution does so in willing contradiction to biblical teaching. Dr White also exposes the fallacies inherent in the Gap Theory.
Dr White’s analysis of the scientific evidence from the fields of cosmology, biochemistry, geochronology, biology, and palaeontology exposes fallacies and weaknesses in evolution theory and demonstrates the superiority of direct special creation as an explanation for the origin of the universe and of the living things it contains. All who love and honour the Bible as the Word of God, and are interested in the relationship of God’s written Word to the revelation he has given us in nature, will enjoy and profit from reading this book, and its reading can provide an interesting and challenging experience to all others.
Dr Duane T. Gish
Institute for Creation Research
1978
Foreword to the second edition
In today’s scientific world, the critics of biblical creation commonly claim that there are no real scientists who believe that the world or life was created. With a Ph.D. in Chemistry for his research in the field of gas kinetics, combined with his roles on the university campus over many years, Dr Monty White is a living disproof of such criticism.
On TV, and in schools, universities and churches, Monty has for decades consistently spoken out against the errors of Darwinian evolution and publicly defended and promoted both Creator and creation against Darwin’s present-day followers.
Darwin’s great-grandson Richard Keynes wrote in 2002 about the tragic death of Darwin’s favourite daughter, Annie, which profoundly influenced Charles Darwin and motivated him to publicly author On the Origin of Species. Keynes stated, ‘After Annie’s death [in 1851], Charles [Darwin] set the Christian faith firmly behind him … Freed from the last vestige of belief that the world was perfect because God created it that way, Darwin continued without spiritual restraint to work out his theory on the origin of species.’1
Most present-day evolutionists fail to remember that Darwin never lived long enough to observe anything evolve, knew nothing about genetics or mutations, and was the first to admit in his chapter on Geology in On the Origin of Species that the fossils didn’t help his case at all. Darwin never proved evolution, he simply presupposed it and argued from there, emotionally motivated by an anger which caused him to reject God and substitute death and suffering as t
he norm and the way by which all life evolved.
Charles Darwin graduated from the University of Cambridge with an MA in Theology and he knew exactly what he was seeking to disprove—the first eleven chapters of Genesis. Every Christian does need to know how and why Darwin’s work has so radically affected Christianity and how to share the facts of creation and the Creator Jesus Christ with those who think that evolution is a fact and who consequently believe that the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation can be ignored. Monty White’s book helps us where the rubber hits the road. As the world has been celebrating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, this new updated edition of What About Origins? will prove a great help to both scientist and layperson alike.
After I graduated in Geology, one big difficulty I faced was the evidence for the billions-of-years age of the earth. You will be as greatly helped by this new expanded and updated edition as I was when I first read the well-summarized evidence in Monty’s first edition. The evidence does not show that the world has had billions of years to evolve, and there is much data supportive of and consistent with the biblical picture of six-day creation. The dating section proved to be my favourite in the original, and I have won not a few debates because of the accuracy of the information it contains.
What About Origins? is a book designed to challenge those who think there is little, if any, evidence for the biblical account of creation, and to encourage those who simply want supporting facts about creation and a way to share it with their friends. Dr Monty White both accepts and defends biblical creation unashamedly and will challenge you to do the same, as well as equip you to expose evolutionist error.
I am personally very happy to commend this book to everyone because Monty doesn’t just talk about the Bible and Jesus Christ being true; he shows it in the life choices he makes and shares publicly.
John Mackay
International Director of Creation Research
2010
Notes
1 Quoted in Science, 296/5575 (14 June 2002), p. 1974.
About the author
Dr A. J. Monty White was converted to Christianity from atheism in 1964, when he was an undergraduate student at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. While reading for an honours degree in Chemistry, he also studied Geology, which led to his belief in theistic evolution—that evolution had occurred, but God had controlled the processes. He thought that this was the only way he could reconcile evolution with Scripture. In 1969 he undertook a study of the Scriptures and also of the scientific ‘evidence’ proffered as proof of evolution. After two years he came to the conclusion that ‘in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them’ (Exod. 20:11). His first book, What About Origins?, was written as a result of this study.
Monty obtained his B.Sc. in 1967 and was awarded a Ph.D. in 1970 for his research in the field of Gas Kinetics. After a further two years of chemical research at Aberystwyth, Monty moved to Cardiff, where he held a number of senior administrative posts at Cardiff University until September 2000, when he became Chief Executive of Answers in Genesis (UK/Europe), which has its headquarters in Leicester. After leaving Answers in Genesis in July 2008, Monty set up Biblical Foundations; since then he has had an itinerant ministry, speaking and preaching, with his wife, Irene.
Monty has written four books and has had hundreds of articles and pamphlets dealing with the subject of creation and evolution published worldwide. His writings have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Portuguese and Swedish. Monty has spoken and lectured extensively in the UK and throughout Europe, as well as in Hong Kong and the USA. From 1983 until 2001, Monty was a guest lecturer on the subject of ‘The Bible and Science’ at the State Independent Theological University of Basel, Switzerland.
Although Monty has retained his interest in Chemistry and is a Chartered Chemist and a Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, he has also continued his love of Geology and, together with his wife, spends much of his spare time studying geological formations in the field and searching for fossils.
Monty has three grown-up children and one grandson.
Preface
When I first wrote What About Origins? there were very few resources propagating creationist views. I had begun to speak publicly about the biblical view of origins and I was producing a bi-monthly newsletter (Creation News Sheet) that had a circulation of several thousand. More and more people were asking me to write something substantial about origins and so I put pen to paper (literally, as there were no PCs at the time!). The result was What About Origins? I approached a number of publishers, but they were not interested as I was an unknown, and they maintained that no one was interested in the subject of origins. Christian friends were praying that I would get my manuscript published and, one day, a good friend, Brian Grantham-Hill, telephoned me to say that he knew a printer who was looking for this type of material to publish. This resulted in my meeting Thomas Daniel, who at that time owned Dunestone Printers, a small printing business in Kingsteignton in Devon.
Thomas said that he would only publish my manuscript if I could get a well-known creationist such as Dr Duane Gish to write the Foreword. A few weeks later, the late David C. C. Watson, who had recently had his creationist book The Great Brain Robbery published, contacted me to say that Dr Duane Gish was in the UK and that he wanted to meet me. David brought Duane to Cardiff, where I asked him if he would read my manuscript and do me the honour of writing the Foreword. A few weeks later, I received a very supportive Foreword from Duane and, as result, What About Origins? was published by Dunestone Printers in 1978.
The origins of the universe, of the earth, of life, of species and of humans are questions that have taxed the minds of scientists and philosophers for centuries. Who or what is responsible for all the things that we see around us? Is anyone or anything responsible? Where did everything come from? How? When? Why? These are some of the questions for which answers have long been sought. Many hypotheses, explanations and ideas have been put forward to try to explain the existence of the cosmos, yet the ultimate answers to the questions of origins are only to be found in the Bible. It is in this book, and in this book alone, that we discover the answer, not only to the question of who is responsible, but also concerning the methods employed, when everything originated and also, importantly, why everything originated.
The intent of What About Origins? is to examine exactly what the Bible teaches about origins. The reasons for this are many and varied, but principally twofold. Firstly, there can be no compromise between the evolutionary views of scientists and the biblical account of origins. Secondly, the majority of people have been brainwashed by education systems and the media into believing that evolution is a proven fact when this is manifestly not so.
Christians may take issue with me for writing on the subject of origins. Some argue, for example, that the message of the gospel—‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16)—is the vital message for every individual and that the question of origins is of low priority. Some may ask, ‘Why waste time fighting on the creation/evolution battlefront when there are far more important issues in which to be involved?’ Some argue that the creation/evolution question has been settled by the scientists and they have proved evolution to be a fact, so why take issue with them? Others may wonder whether it really matters if we believe that the Genesis account of the creation and early history of the earth is historically accurate; surely, as long as we believe that God was in control of the processes, that is all that needs to concern us?
A Christian’s beliefs concerning the Genesis account of creation are, however, important, in that they indicate that person’s attitude towards the authority of the Word of God—not only for the book of Genesis, but also for other books of the Bible, especially the ones that explicitly explain t
he way of salvation. Ultimately, the biblical view of origins boils down to the question: Creation or evolution? Now, this question is basically a question about authority—the authority of God versus the authority of scientists; the authority of the Word of God versus the authority of the words of scientists; the authority of the Bible versus the authority of scientific textbooks. It also needs to be pointed out that the gospel message does not make sense unless a historical Christ died because a historical Adam sinned.
The contents of this book are based on the assumption that the Bible is the infallible and totally inspired Word of God: ‘All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:16–17).
I have no intention of defending Scripture—the Bible fights its own battles: ‘For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart’ (Heb. 4:12). Because this is my presupposition, I have quoted Scripture liberally throughout this book, believing that the Bible does not merely contain some truth, but it records the truth.