Review – The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One

Davidson, Gregg, and Turner, Kenneth. The Manifold Beauty of Genesis One: A Multi-Layered Approach. Kregel Academic, 2021, 210 p. There are many Bible-believing Christians who see no conflict between the opening chapters of Genesis and acceptance of an ancient Earth and universe. There are also many ways in which these old-Earth Christians interpret Genesis. A …

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Analysis of an Answers in Genesis Cartoon

My young-Earth creationist (YEC) friends often have misconceptions about how old-Earth Christians (OECs) such as myself interpret the book of Genesis. Sometimes they are simply a bit bewildered, wondering how any Christian could interpret Genesis in any other way than how they do. Some YECs, on the other hand, are much more blunt, accusing OECs …

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What does Mt St Helens teach us about Noah’s flood? Almost nothing.

All I got from Mt St Helens (MSH) in the days following its May 18, 1980 eruption was a few pretty sunsets. I was an undergraduate student in my first year at the University of Utah, and most of the ash cloud passed far north of Salt Lake City. MSH became more significant for me …

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Review – The Fool and the Heretic

The Fool and the Heretic by Todd Charles Wood & Darrel R. Falk, Zondervan, 2019. Are young-Earth creationists intellectual fools? Are theistic evolutionists heretics? More fundamentally, can two Christians, one who is an ardent young-Earth creationist, and the other a committed theistic evolutionist, learn to respectfully dialogue and even love one another deeply as brothers …

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A catastrophic video

This five-minute "Noah's Flood and Catastrophic Plate Tectonics" video was recently released by Genesis Apologetics. It has as shown up in my Facebook feed several times this week, so I decided to watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68p75xhrSk I have no doubt that the producer(s) of this video mean well. They believe the Bible, and want to provide …

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Six Geological Reasons Why I am Not a Young-Earth Creationist Part 1 — Igneous Rocks

This is the first in a planned six-part series of Six Geological Reasons Why I am Not a Young-Earth Creationist. I am a Christian who holds to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible, and who also has a master’s degree in geology. I have previously given my biblical and theological reasons why I believe …

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Review — The Genealogical Adam and Eve

Swamidass, S. Joshua, 2019, The Genealogical Adam and Eve: The Surprising Science of Universal Ancestry, IVP Academic, 246 p. There have been many books written on origins, most of which don’t have anything new to say. The Genealogical Adam and Eve by S. Joshua Swamidass is a book that has some new things to say …

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Book review — Friend of Science, Friend of Faith

Davidson, Gregg, 2019, Friend of Science, Friend of Faith: Listening to God in His Works and Word, Kregel Academic, 297 p. Gregg Davidson, a Christian, is Chair of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of Mississippi. Friend of Science, Friend of Faith opens with the story of Riley, a Christian college student working toward …

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Five reasons young-Earth creationism is not biblically necessary

I was a young-Earth creationist (YEC) during my first few years as an undergraduate geology major, believing that the Bible required that the universe is no older than about 10,000 years, and that geology, properly understood, supported that position. I was a student member of the Creation Research Society, and looked forward to the day …

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Novare Science and Math — Upcoming Biology Textbook

Here's some good news for Christian science teachers, whether in a Christian school or home school setting. In the past, science educators in Christian environments had to chose between using secular textbooks and Christian textbooks. The Christian science textbooks were written mostly from a young-Earth, anti-evolution, anti-environmental perspective, and were therefore unsuitable in the minds …

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Review – Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins

Bishop, R.C., Funck, L.L., Lewis, R.J., Moshier, S.O., and Walton, J.H, 2018, Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins: Cosmology, Geology, and Biology in Christian Perspective, Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 659 p. https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Scientific-Theories-Origins-Christianity/dp/0830852913/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1547601156&sr=8-1&keywords=understanding+scientific+theories+of+origins Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins is authored by five professors from Wheaton College. Wheaton is an Evangelical institution with rigorous admissions standards, and therefore …

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Review – A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture

A Reformed Approach to Science and Scripture is largely a summary of the insights of the late theologian R.C. Sproul on the topic of the relationship between science and Christian faith. The author is Keith Mathison, professor of systematic theology at Reformation Bible College in Florida, and the book is available as a free Kindle …

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Six Books to Understand Genesis — Old-Earth Edition (updated: eleven books)

The web site of the young-Earth creationist documentary Is Genesis History has listed "Six Books to Understand Genesis," all written from a young-Earth perspective. As a counterweight, here are six old-Earth books written by highly-qualified, Bible-believing, inerrancy-affirming, theologically-conservative scholars. As old-Earth Christians, these academics believe in the truthfulness of Scripture just as much as any …

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Three Young-Earth Students

The web site for the young-Earth documentary Is Genesis History? has posted a video following three young-Earth creationist (YEC) students from Wheaton College as they tour the Ark Encounter replica of Noah's Ark in Kentucky (see How did Theistic Evolution Bring 3 Wheaton College Students to the Ark?). These students had formed a YEC group …

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Six theological reasons why Christians do not have to embrace six-day young-Earth creationism

A vocal set of Christians believes that the book of Genesis requires the age of the universe and Earth to be something like 6000 years. This belief is being reinforced by the release last year (2017) of the documentary Is Genesis History?, which was narrated by Del Tackett, and produced by Thomas Purifoy. The film …

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Attempting to respond to hostility with grace

I get called all sorts of names by some of my young-Earth brothers and sisters in Christ: Liar, Compromiser, Rabid Theistic Evolutionist, So-Called Christian. I am accused of listening to the hissing of the serpent, of following Baal rather than Yahweh, and of denying the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am sorry that …

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Book Review – Dictionary of Christianity and Science

My ignorance will always exceed my knowledge. This is true even in subjects in which I have a considerable level of expertise. I have been studying various science-faith topics for more than three decades, and have substantial depth of knowledge in some areas. Over the years, I have focused most intensely on the relationship between …

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RTB review of Earth Science textbook

Reasons to Believe (old-Earth Christian apologetics organization of Hugh Ross et al.) has a nice review of my new textbook Earth Science: God's World, Our Home. "Overall, Earth Science: God’s World, Our Home is an outstanding textbook to add to an old-earth science curriculum. Compared to a few years ago, we now have a rich …

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Biologos interview

The folks at Biologos.org have interviewed me regarding Earth Science: God's World, Our Home, my new middle school textbook published by Novare Science and Math. http://biologos.org/blogs/chris-stump-equipping-educators/new-science-textbook-celebrates-ancient-age-of-earth-from-christian-perspective

An old-Earth Christian at the Creation Museum Part 1 —  Rescuing souls but sinking the ship

I recently spent about seven hours at the Creation Museum run by the young-Earth creationist (YEC) organization Answers in Genesis in northern Kentucky (I visited the museum, not the new Ark Encounter). As I anticipated, the exhibits at the museum are all of the highest quality. Whether the displays were animatronic dinosaurs, dioramas of the …

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