How science and Christianity do not contradict

If you are someone who struggles with reconciling science and religion, then this book is a must read (listen).
It''s written almost like an acemdimic paper, so be prepared for that.
The first half essentially covers the content of "The Lost World of Genesis One," but then gets into the Adam and Eve topics.
The author is very thurogh in his arguments and makes a very convincing case.

4 people found this helpful

Brave New World

I don't know if I agree with all the proposals of this book, but it is a great starting place for a new interpretation of the Genesis account. It's basis is not grounded in church history, but what the original author intended for the original hearers. This book will definitely get you thinking.

9 people found this helpful

N.T. Wright is N.T. Wrong

Beware!Bought this as a young Christian. I am now aware of the heretical views of N.T. Wrong. He denies substitutionary penal atonement among other core doctrines of the Christian faith. Don't waste your time or put in money into the pocket of this false teacher! Christ,John and Paul are harsh on false teachers, we should do no less than to contend for the faith delivered to the saints against wolves in sheep's clothing. N.T. Wright is a ravenous deceiver who should be shamed into silence. Don't buy this book!BEWARE!

3 people found this helpful

Vital topic for our day

The author explores this important topic in light of the Bible, other ancient texts and what is known scientifically. There is much to study and investigate. A person can have a strong faith along with accepting true scientific observations. Highly recommended for the clergy, layman, and the student of science.

3 people found this helpful

Not For Me

Let me preface this review by saying that I have not listened to this author's original work, "The Lost World of Genesis One". Having said that, let me say that I did recently listen to the EXCELLENT Great Courses lecture series titled "The Book of Genesis" by Gary Rendsburg, and so when I got this book, "The Lost World of Adam and Eve", I was expecting an amazing literary analysis of Genesis Chapters 2 & 3. That is the primary reason I got this audio book.

Now, perhaps my expectations were too high, I don't know, but I was extremely disappointed by this book. Perhaps I was expecting too much? Instead of a literary exposition of Genesis 2 & 3, I found myself listening to a pseudo-science philosophical interpretation of the Author attempting to merge modern science with the Genesis account, which is incompatible!! The irony here is that the Author admits that you cannot expect Genesis to concur with modern science, and yet he still tries to explain how Adam & Eve may not have been the first humans (an attempt to merge the Genesis text with modern science). Genesis 3:20 clearly states: "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living." Genesis clearly teaches that Adam & Eve were the first AND ONLY humans, any idea to the contrary is a deviation from Genesis' original author's intended meaning.

It is clear that the ancient Hebrews borrowed ideas from other civilizations living at the time when Genesis was written, and that the book of Genesis was tailored to their monotheistic beliefs. The idea that the ancient Hebrews alluded to evolution in their writings is a joke! Specifically, the idea that the use of the term "the Adam" (translated: the man) in Genesis refers to a "class" of humans, or a "species" of humans, and that the text allows for other species of hominids to have lived alongside Adam & Eve is a travesty of the ancient Hebrew text. Not only was this book disappointing for me, but as others have noted, the narrator was monotone and uninteresting. I regret spending money on this title.

If you are looking for an excellent exposition of the ancient Hebrew text found in the book of Genesis, do yourself a favor and just get Gary Rendsburg's "The Book of Genesis" by The Great Courses. If you are looking for an accurate, in-depth analysis of the Hebrew text concerning the Adam & Eve story, look elsewhere. All you will find here is wordplay as the author tries to force the Genesis account to work with modern science, and in my opinion, he fails at it.

34 people found this helpful

Dishonest

This book is not about Adam or Eve.
Does not tell their story.
Does not talk scriptures or time line.
Only talks about the authors scientific Opinion of scriptures being ancient!
And a theory of how to read scriptures.
The very worst book I have ever had the misfortune to mistakenly purchase!

I would definitely like my money back!

2 people found this helpful

Falls short of its “Genesis” predecessor

Although the research into near East literature is superb, it is this reader’s opinion that the author was not as concerned with biblical hermeneutics and therefore allows for the origin of Adam and Eve to not have importance as the first of mankind.

2 people found this helpful

Exceptional look into Genesis

Years ago I read The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder. It took a scientific approach to looking at Genesis. This book is to Religion what that book is to Science. It flips the tables and views Science through the lense of Genesis.

His thorough knowledge of Hebrew and the ancient texts allow John Walton to clear up the misconceptions of a contradictory relationship between Genesis and science. It's an amazing book I highly recommend to those struggling to square these two views.

5 people found this helpful

Great treatment of the subject. So-so performance.

I really appreciated that the author's goal was to find common ground on the essence of the text, taking a very high view of Scripture, rather than trying to argue that there's only one right way to interpret the creation account. This could have devolved into an argument FOR evolution from the Bible, but instead makes a convincing argument that the Bible is not primarily concerned with material origins and thus there is room for many opinions.

1 person found this helpful

This is a masterpiece

I wouldn’t expect anything less than a five star review for John Walton and NT right, and that’s exactly what I gave this book. As an expert in the ancient near east and someone who so cogently communicate that to a general audience John Walton has put out another masterpiece. Of course as a huge fan of NT Wright I was pleased and edified bye his additions. Taking a very careful and well balanced look at Genesis one and two while pulling in context of the ancient Lavant, Mesopotamian culture, and Egyptian culture, and then including new testament use of Genesis one and two with a first century context, this book post together and all of the relevant scholarly inputs and synthesizes that data into a coherent and convincing argument. I particularly appreciate the pastoral tone of the book with a whole lot of grace given to alternative viewpoints as Dr. Walton repeatedly supports alternative views which do not contradict scripture. The thesis of this book maintains that Christians do not require a scientific explanation for the origin of man or mankind, while also affirming that such a scientific revelation does not and would not contradict the literal interpretation of what reread and genesis one and genesis two.