THE NEW CREATIONISM
Building scientific theories on a biblical foundation
By Paul Garner. Evangelical Press. 242 pages. £8.95
ISBN 978-0-85234-692-1
I set myself the task of first reading the book Why Evolution Is True (Oxford University Press) by Professor Jerry Coyne of the University of Chicago, before reading this book by Paul Garner, which comes from a creationist point of view. It proved an interesting experience.
First of all, while Coyne seeks to attack creationists and makes some telling points which need answering, he totally ignores some of the central difficulties for his position, like the origin of DNA and of the first living cell (as complex as New York City). Garner on the other hand does not shy away from the difficult questions which face the creationist position. Second, while Coyne betrays a misunderstanding of what creationists are saying and deals in cartoon caricatures, Garner is careful and civil towards those he opposes. Third, reading Coyne’s book I realised afresh that the problem with atheistic evolution is that it has to explain absolutely everything and it is simply not capable of bearing so great a burden.
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