A well-argued reinterpretation of Genesis.
A Christian author seeks to reconcile the divide between religion and science in this examination of the biblical Creation story.
In this book, Hinrichs, a retired software engineer, challenges fundamentalist and conservative interpretations that reduce the Creation story of Genesis to a straightforward rendition of humanity’s origins. Rather than repeating religious platitudes, Hinrichs warns his Christian target audience that the book “will try to challenge you to defend your thinking about your faith.” The author offers a lay Christian perspective on Creation that manages to eschew the jargon of theological doctrine. Scholars may look askance at its lack of academic citations, but this is balanced by a straightforwardly logical, inquisitive approach. Primarily, this concise book argues that a literalist interpretation of Genesis ignores not only scientific consensus on evolution, the Big Bang, and Earth’s geological age, but also fails to distinguish the difference between truth and fact. In other words, it effectively posits that Genesis can offer theological insights into truths of God’s purpose in creating the Earth without providing a factual description of the scientific processes by which it was created. This is a nuanced work, one that urges religious readers to acknowledge their “built-in blinders” as it surveys contemporary scientific findings on life’s beginnings and contextualizes the origins of Abrahamic religions in ancient Mesopotamia. For instance, the author provides an intriguing comparison of the story of Genesis and the creation stories of other Near Eastern religions. Additional commentary urges fellow Christians to think critically about the canonization process for biblical books and rejects the demands of many denominations for dogmatic purity, noting that “no single Christian body owns all of Truth.” Nearly a quarter of the book’s pages are found in its appendices, which explore references to Genesis in the New Testament, provide a scientifically informed timeline of the universe from the Big Bang through the evolution of Homo sapiens, and offers other ancillary material that undergirds the author’s mission to bridge the divide between science and faith.
A well-argued reinterpretation of Genesis.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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