BIBLICAL COSMOLOGY AND MODERN SCIENCE, by Henry M. Morris. Published by Craig Press, Nutley, N.J., 1970. 140 pages. Price $3.95, paper $2.50. Reviewed by Rev. Henry Erffmeyer, pastor of the Twelfth Avenue Christian Reformed church, Jenison, Michigan.
This is a provocative book! It makes the reader think! It raises some serious objections to the theory of uniformitarian ism which is the basic premise of evolutionism, particularly the much touted uniformitarianism claimed to be evident in geologic strata. If one reads books on geology or visits national parks, he invariably is confronted with lecturers who claim the “evidences” of billions of years in the formation and stratification of these monuments.
The author makes a strong case for Creationism and proceeds to set forth Biblical Catastrophism as the dominating factor that has resulted in the geologic formations and stratification of the earth’s surface. This, of course, is in conflict with the “uniformitarianism—the application of present laws and processes, operating the same manner and at the same rates as at present, to the understanding of past deposits and activities. This principle obviously implies aeons of geologic time, in order to account for the tremendous extent and depths of the deposits in the earth’s crust” (p. 25).
Morris believes that the Noachic flood was worldwide and accounts for the geologic formations found today. He appeals to II Peter 3 and to the geologic column which reveals an inconsistent chronology in the layers containing fossils.
Of course Dr. Morris believes in a “young” earth along the lines of the Ussher chronology. Chapter VI on “World Population and Bible Chronology{ is very interesting. On the basis of 30 generations, considering 35 years a generation and 4 children per family, the earth would have 3,220,000,000 in 1050 years. On the basis of 52 generations, 3 children per family, there would be a population of 4,340,000,000 in 1820 years.
However, the average family must be somewhat less than three but more than two; for, with just two as the average, the population growth would be zero!
On the other hand if the million-year history of mankind assumed by the evolutionist be accepted, you would have 28,600 generations and a world population of I followed by 5000 zeros! An astronomical figure which is utterly impossible!
The Chapter on “Sedimentation and the Fossil Record: A Study in Hydraulic Engineering” is equally intriguing, and I believe it deserves careful consideration.
Perhaps the chapter that is the weakest is Chapter IV: “Biblical Eschatology and Modern Science.” The author is committed to Premillenial Dispensationism.
I strongly recommend the reading of this book by Dr. Morris. It is a real challenge to the unsubstantiated claims of the evolutionists which have greatly influenced the thinking of too many who claim the Christian faith.
PAUL’S JOY IN CHRIST, Studies in Philippians, by A. T. Robertson. Price $2.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Rev. Simon Vroon of Holland, Mich.
A delightful commentary on a delightful book of Holy Scripture!
Thus Paul’s Joy in Christ. must be classified. It is the work of a New Testament scholar who puts forth a real attempt to get at the meaning of the Word of God as recorded in the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, and with outstanding success.
Do you wish to understand this epistle, get a picture of Paul’s heart for his beloved Philippians, a picture of the Roman Empire in Paul’s day, a picture of a beloved Church not yet perfect, 11 picture of Philippi and much more read this interesting commentary. Fact is, it is written so well and in such an interesting way, that when one begins to read this book, it grips you and you feel inclined to read on and on from cover to cover. Not all commentaries on Scripture are written in such a beautiful and attractive style. Nor do all read so interestingly. You won’t tire of reading this excellent book.
Robertson makes the Epistle 10 the Philippians live. The word “relevant” is a much overworked word, but I take the liberty to say of this commentary that it makes Philippians “relevant” for our age. Following are a few examples.
The author correctly states that joy is the keynote of Philippians. How it speaks to our day and generation, and to Christians! There is so little joy in our modern world, even in the Christian Church. It is truly the lost chord in the lives of many Christians today! The general tone of life today is one of a persistent pessimism and gloom rather than joy.
“Joy is the missing note in many lives which are too easily upset by little worries.” Alas, only too true for many today in this age of turmoil and tensions. Paul’s Philippian epistle can be so helpful in instilling more joy into the Christian’s life.
The tone of gratitude can be heard throughout this epistle as Robinson points out. One of the commonest failings and one of the rarest of Christian graces is gratitude. Our present world is seething with discontent. Young and old, rich and poor, look where you will, where do you find contented people nowadays? What an enrichment of human life and a blessing for the church if all would learn to say with Paul, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am therein to be content.”
Again, there is in this excellent commentary a wholesome emphasis on prayer, its meaning and power. In fact it is a book full of gems.
The author, Dr. A. T. Robertson, is a scholar of real exegetical ability. He has succeeded very well in getting at the real meaning of the epistle by a careful study of the Original language. The original Greek and the more technical matters pertaining to translation are found in footnotes. This makes it possible for all to read this commentary with profit and at the same time get at the real meaning of the epistle.
Here we have then a commentary of Philippians, scholarly, profound, yet practical so that the average man can read it with great spiritual profit. There is a happy balance in the commentary between good scholarship and practical application of this great epistle. The author succeeds so well in presenting the more difficult doctrinal passage in Philippians in a very understandable way. A good example of this is the “Kenosis” passage (Phil. 2:5–11).
This reviewer has two suggestions:
1. Obtain a copy of this commentary. Open your Bible to Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, study your Bible with the help of this commentary, and Philippians will become for you one of the most beautiful, practical, and instructive of any of Paul’s epistles. Your spiritual life will be great enriched by good solid Bible study. This reviewer has just completed this process and, although he has taught and preached from this epistle many times in forty years, with the help or this commentary, Philippians has become richer than ever before.
2. Bible study groups, if you have not yd done so, obtain copies of this book, and spend a year in Philippians. Your lives will be enriched and you will be thrilled and your soul wonderfully fed by the bread of life that comes forth out of this Philippian Epistle of the great theologian and practical teacher of Christian doctrine and conduct, the Apostle Paul. If you desire a solid, safe, sane, Reformed commentary on Philippians, there are few that excell this one.
I can heartily recommend it and commend the publishers for putting it in paperback form at a price within the reach of most. It also would make a fine and worthwhile gift. Read it and be blessed.
This is a provocative book! It makes the reader think! It raises some serious objections to the theory of uniformitarian ism which is the basic premise of evolutionism, particularly the much touted uniformitarianism claimed to be evident in geologic strata. If one reads books on geology or visits national parks, he invariably is confronted with lecturers who claim the “evidences” of billions of years in the formation and stratification of these monuments.
The author makes a strong case for Creationism and proceeds to set forth Biblical Catastrophism as the dominating factor that has resulted in the geologic formations and stratification of the earth’s surface. This, of course, is in conflict with the “uniformitarianism—the application of present laws and processes, operating the same manner and at the same rates as at present, to the understanding of past deposits and activities. This principle obviously implies aeons of geologic time, in order to account for the tremendous extent and depths of the deposits in the earth’s crust” (p. 25).
Morris believes that the Noachic flood was worldwide and accounts for the geologic formations found today. He appeals to II Peter 3 and to the geologic column which reveals an inconsistent chronology in the layers containing fossils.
Of course Dr. Morris believes in a “young” earth along the lines of the Ussher chronology. Chapter VI on “World Population and Bible Chronology{ is very interesting. On the basis of 30 generations, considering 35 years a generation and 4 children per family, the earth would have 3,220,000,000 in 1050 years. On the basis of 52 generations, 3 children per family, there would be a population of 4,340,000,000 in 1820 years.
However, the average family must be somewhat less than three but more than two; for, with just two as the average, the population growth would be zero!
On the other hand if the million-year history of mankind assumed by the evolutionist be accepted, you would have 28,600 generations and a world population of I followed by 5000 zeros! An astronomical figure which is utterly impossible!
The Chapter on “Sedimentation and the Fossil Record: A Study in Hydraulic Engineering” is equally intriguing, and I believe it deserves careful consideration.
Perhaps the chapter that is the weakest is Chapter IV: “Biblical Eschatology and Modern Science.” The author is committed to Premillenial Dispensationism.
I strongly recommend the reading of this book by Dr. Morris. It is a real challenge to the unsubstantiated claims of the evolutionists which have greatly influenced the thinking of too many who claim the Christian faith.
PAUL’S JOY IN CHRIST, Studies in Philippians, by A. T. Robertson. Price $2.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Rev. Simon Vroon of Holland, Mich.
A delightful commentary on a delightful book of Holy Scripture!
Thus Paul’s Joy in Christ. must be classified. It is the work of a New Testament scholar who puts forth a real attempt to get at the meaning of the Word of God as recorded in the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, and with outstanding success.
Do you wish to understand this epistle, get a picture of Paul’s heart for his beloved Philippians, a picture of the Roman Empire in Paul’s day, a picture of a beloved Church not yet perfect, 11 picture of Philippi and much more read this interesting commentary. Fact is, it is written so well and in such an interesting way, that when one begins to read this book, it grips you and you feel inclined to read on and on from cover to cover. Not all commentaries on Scripture are written in such a beautiful and attractive style. Nor do all read so interestingly. You won’t tire of reading this excellent book.
Robertson makes the Epistle 10 the Philippians live. The word “relevant” is a much overworked word, but I take the liberty to say of this commentary that it makes Philippians “relevant” for our age. Following are a few examples.
The author correctly states that joy is the keynote of Philippians. How it speaks to our day and generation, and to Christians! There is so little joy in our modern world, even in the Christian Church. It is truly the lost chord in the lives of many Christians today! The general tone of life today is one of a persistent pessimism and gloom rather than joy.
“Joy is the missing note in many lives which are too easily upset by little worries.” Alas, only too true for many today in this age of turmoil and tensions. Paul’s Philippian epistle can be so helpful in instilling more joy into the Christian’s life.
The tone of gratitude can be heard throughout this epistle as Robinson points out. One of the commonest failings and one of the rarest of Christian graces is gratitude. Our present world is seething with discontent. Young and old, rich and poor, look where you will, where do you find contented people nowadays? What an enrichment of human life and a blessing for the church if all would learn to say with Paul, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am therein to be content.”
Again, there is in this excellent commentary a wholesome emphasis on prayer, its meaning and power. In fact it is a book full of gems.
The author, Dr. A. T. Robertson, is a scholar of real exegetical ability. He has succeeded very well in getting at the real meaning of the epistle by a careful study of the Original language. The original Greek and the more technical matters pertaining to translation are found in footnotes. This makes it possible for all to read this commentary with profit and at the same time get at the real meaning of the epistle.
Here we have then a commentary of Philippians, scholarly, profound, yet practical so that the average man can read it with great spiritual profit. There is a happy balance in the commentary between good scholarship and practical application of this great epistle. The author succeeds so well in presenting the more difficult doctrinal passage in Philippians in a very understandable way. A good example of this is the “Kenosis” passage (Phil. 2:5–11).
This reviewer has two suggestions:
1. Obtain a copy of this commentary. Open your Bible to Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, study your Bible with the help of this commentary, and Philippians will become for you one of the most beautiful, practical, and instructive of any of Paul’s epistles. Your spiritual life will be great enriched by good solid Bible study. This reviewer has just completed this process and, although he has taught and preached from this epistle many times in forty years, with the help or this commentary, Philippians has become richer than ever before.
2. Bible study groups, if you have not yd done so, obtain copies of this book, and spend a year in Philippians. Your lives will be enriched and you will be thrilled and your soul wonderfully fed by the bread of life that comes forth out of this Philippian Epistle of the great theologian and practical teacher of Christian doctrine and conduct, the Apostle Paul. If you desire a solid, safe, sane, Reformed commentary on Philippians, there are few that excell this one.
I can heartily recommend it and commend the publishers for putting it in paperback form at a price within the reach of most. It also would make a fine and worthwhile gift. Read it and be blessed.