Re: request for good library books

I also reckon the primary aim should not be to convince anyone of evolution
but that the earth is old (ONE million is enough for me!) and also show that
this was the dominant evangelical position from 1800 to about 1980

Michael

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ted Davis" <tdavis@messiah.edu>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>; <mrb22667@kansas.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 6:41 PM
Subject: Re: request for good library books

> YEC's don't mind the "warfare" view b/c they accept it in one of its
> obvious
> forms (namely, accepting modern science *does* necessitate abandoning
> Christian theology). Here is a very short list of books I strongly
> recommend, in descending order of my recommndation for your school
> library.
> My list is very, very short on purpose, so I'm leaving out zillions of
> excellent books and thus slighting none of them; and it's done with
> secondary school students in mind, and with their Christian convictions in
> mind.
>
> Ted
>
> ****
>
> Michael Poole, Beliefs and Values in Science Education. By far my highest
> recommendation, and ditto for home schoolers. Goes far beyond origins
> issues, and makes extensive use of HPS as well as basic science. Very
> readable too.
>
> Ronald Numbers, The Creationists. Extraordinarily accurate and well
> written history. The personal stories are revealing and often not
> told--but
> they should be.
>
> Davis Young, Christianity and the Age of the Earth. Required reading for
> YEC teachers and students alike.
>
> Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards, The Privileged Planet. The DVD
> version gives viewers no clue that the earth and universe are old (this
> was
> a deliberate strategy when the DVD was produced), and the DVD is popular
> with YECs. Having the book available to consult--and it might attract
> viewers if it's available--will dispell any misimpressions. Since the
> authors are linked with ID and the "creation-friendly" DVD, readers might
> be
> more open to accepting the possibility of an old earth if espoused by
> these
> particular authors. And no one who reads the book will conclude that the
> authors believe in a young earth/universe. Thus I recommend it for your
> library.
>
> David Hagopian, ed., The G3N3S1S Debate. A collection of three long
> essays, each defending a different hermeneutical approach to Genesis 1-3.
> Negatives: All authors are very conservative Calvinists (and remember, I
> am
> sympathetic to much of Calvinism myself, so this is a friendly criticism),
> so the book does not provide much theological scope; all authors reject
> evolution, so students have the impression that TE is beyond the pale; and
> authors of the YEC section (who actually have the gall to deny that they
> are
> YECs, saying only that a literal 24-hour view is required by Scripture) do
> not even try to engage science at all. Positives: the second of the 3
> negatives I just listed is a positive, for this particular school's
> teachers
> and students, allowing them perhaps more readily to consider alternatives
> to
> the "literal" view. That's really a huge positive, in this context. And
> the fact that the reasons given for the 24-hour view are just so weak, in
> the opinion of this historian (they are mainly arguments from history and
> tradiition, and the same arguments would readily lead one to reject
> heliocentrism along with evolution and an old earth), that they leave the
> door wide open for the more reasonable (IMO) literary arguments of the
> "Framework" advocates in the third section. Hugh Ross co-authored the
> second section on the "day age" view, and there's a lot of good astronomy
> in
> that part though the biology/anthropology isn't very good. Stick to the
> physical sciences, leave biology out of this, and many YECs can be
> convinced
> that OECs are also good Christian believers.
>
> I'll limit myself to these five, or I'll be typing all week.
>
> Ted
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Received on Wed Apr 26 15:57:37 2006