Genesis: a Study for Today

by Andy McIntosh

Professor McIntosh is a scientist who sees no contradiction between science and the events of creation in the book of Genesis. He believes that all Christian doctrine, directly or indirectly, has its basis in the literal events of the first eleven chapters of the Bible, and that these foundations of the faith have been undermined in the church by the fallible theories of evolution. This book argues from the complete accuracy of Genesis and the Bible. All fundamental Christian doctrine is found in embryo in Genesis 111. It provides key support in the creation evolution debate and written in such a way that the non scientist can understand it easily. The burden of Professor McIntosh is that Creation is no periphery issue. True revival of Christianity in the decadent West today will never be known unless we get back to believing Gods Word from the very beginning.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Meka · Rating 3 out of 5]

It… at some points it was an interesting read. Tiring on the most.

I could not and cannot wrap my head around the creation timeline, however I do not think I will stress myself over it too much as knowing exactly how the world is created is not the fundamentals of being a Christian.

Being a Christian is cemented on your relationship with Christ; accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and into your heart.

But yeah… in terms of parts where I found interesting/engaging/agreeable- one of them is the marriage part on the most (Chapter 5). The reinforcement about equality yet differences I do agree with, however some statements need to be backed with evidence of one makes a controversial/questionable/eye-catching statement, i.e “women are generally more quickly moved by the heart” under the subheading of ‘Eve was deceived, Adam was not.’

Chapter 6 about the need/encouragement to keep the Sabbath in the Christian religion I find questionable as the Sabbath, originally a Jewish observance, is viewed as a sign of the Old Covenant, which is considered fulfilled and superseded by the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ.

Also regarding light-years and all the mathematical and questionable points - stating all science is basically assumptions instead of facts turning the whole thing into a space of questions - perhaps it was too difficult for me to comprehend and frustrated as the arguments being used here can be used against Christianity/literalists too.

The way this piece is written is definitely not for beginners - with information being structured in chunks with terminology and calculations alongside bold statements can be a bit confusing for an average reader who just wants to know more about the Book of Genesis. However it being written by an academic with various degrees and scientific experiences reasons for the lingo; nonetheless I do not think this book is for beginners yet for those who want to study and not casually read.

However, points regarding the Genesis and the Saviour Chapter 11 - I find myself coming to terms with and agreeing with - how God thought of a solution to save humanity from the get-go and how blood was a necessary sacrifice.


All in all, I do definitely believe that God created the universe before and after reading this work and book, but the use of the Book of Genesis being strictly used a timeline to justify the world being only 6000 years old I still cannot wrap my head around. Yes this book illustrated the importance of the Book of Genesis but differently interpreted - which is fine as everyone interprets information differently and people either agree or disagree with that.

[Jarmo Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book deals with the relevance of the first chapters in Genesis for today. It shows how all the fundamental teachings of the Christian faith can be found in it's embryo stage in chapters 1-11. He also deals with some of the scientific issues for Genesis, the credibility of the historicity of the aforementioned chapters, how Genesis lays the foundation for marriage and God's intention behind it, as well as a chapter on family life. McIntosh also brings up a somewhat controversial and a bit forgotten topic from the Bible, namely the Sabbath, and gives it kind of new meaning based on God's Word for us today. The author also looks at how Genesis and the Gospel are connected and McIntosh gives some interesting angles, e.g. by adding up the names and their meaning from the family tree from Adam to Noah and how the gospel is reflected in it. The book ends with some interesting appendices towards the end, such as a critical look at today's dating methods, evidence for a worldwide flood, etc.

Although much of what McIntosh covers is not very new to me, there were some interesting insights from another angle, such as the relevance of a day of rest, and the meanings of the names considered from the family tree from Adam to Noah. A nice book about the importance of the creation and the flood account for us today.