Christians stand in debt to Andy McIntosh and his friends who labour so effectively in the battle for the truth of creationism. In this book, the battle lines are drawn between Christians who stand for biblical inerrancy and those Christians who try to impose the evolutionary viewpoint onto the text of Scripture.
McIntosh challenges those evangelicals who feel that they can be orthodox in regard to the gospel without believing in creation occurring over six 24-hour days. He argues that to have pre-Adamic creatures evolving and dying before the Fall is to undermine the theology of the atonement, as taught in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15.
That is the reason for the publication of this volume and, in that regard, it is a work of apologetics. However, it is written as a straightforward verse-by-verse commentary on Genesis 1-11.
The particular value of this slim commentary (with NKJV Bible text included) is that it is written by someone who is both a biblical scholar and a scientist (he is professor of thermodynamics and combustion theory at the University of Leeds). His insights and explanations of Genesis 1 are therefore invaluable.
The book is packed with much material. ‘It is perhaps the most concise, clear and credible explanation of the first eleven chapters of the foundational book of the Christian faith’, writes Brian Edwards. That so much is condensed into a small space requires focused reading, but the language is simple and the teaching accessible.
As well as maintaining a six-day creation, Andy McIntosh insists that there are no gaps in the genealogical records of Genesis. He, therefore, has a young earth of some 6,000 years. He draws from the works of Henry Morris, especially in dealing with Genesis 10. He also utilises the commentaries of John Calvin and John Gill. There are several cross-references to his earlier book, Genesis for today, but one doesn’t have to have read that to profit from this companion volume.
There is something refreshing about this book and I recommend it warmly, as do Joel Beeke, Stuart Burgess, Brian Edwards and others. It is required reading for pastors, young Christians, students, parents — anyone!
Roger March
Wolverton
