CAT: Introduction - Who is Hugh Ross
In the introduction, Hugh Ross is introduced as founder of Reasons to Believe, having a Ph.D. in astronomy, and being a former pastor serving at Sierra Madre Congregational Church. Later it claims that Ross is:
the most visible spokesman for Progressive Creationism, a belief which opposes both atheistic evolutionism and historic Christianity's understanding of biblical creationism. (CAT-10)
We appreciate that the authors agree that progressive creationism rejects atheistic evolution. However let's go a step further to also say that we reject theistic evolution. But what about that last part - opposing historic Christianity's understanding... The implication here is that historic church fathers and early Christians can all be characterized by the distincives of the modern young earth position? I dont think so. We will address this in future entries, but lets continue on with the introduction.
The book then gives a definition of progresive creation from an audiotape message from Dr. Ross called "Dinosaurs and Hominids," 1990. Progressive creation from this definition is "the hypothesis that God has increased the complexity of life on earth by successive creations of new life forms over billions of years while miraculously changing the earth to accomidate the new life. (CAT-10)"
This is not a bad definition, but we can probably do better. We could hypothesize that Dr. Ross in this cassette recording was not trying to cover every angle possible so we'll give him some slack at this point.
Wikipedia has a pretty good definition for Progressive Creationism
Progressive creationism is a form of Old Earth creationism that accepts scientific geological and cosmological estimates for the age of the Earth, but posits that the new "kinds" of plants and animals that have appeared successively over the planet's history represent instances of God directly intervening to create those new types by means outside the realm of science. In contrast, theistic evolution holds that natural, evolutionary mechanisms were guided by God. Progressive creationists generally reject macroevolution as biologically untenable and not supported by the fossil record, and they generally reject the concept of universal descendence from a last universal ancestor.
The GodAndScience web site has a good introductory summary of PC here.
Back to the book under review:
While urging Christians to reject evolutionary theories for the origin of life, he teaches a billions-of-years history beginning with the Big Bang. (CAT-10)
First, we need to note that evolution doesn't (and can not) even attempt to answer the origin of life - it begins with a primitive life and then acts by random chance and natural selection from that point. So this point on rejecting evolutionary theories for the origin of life is spurious even in its formulation. But, there is another problem with this statement. It equivicates evolutionary theories with billions of years and the big bang. Yet, there is no required tie which binds one to the other.
According to Ross and other Progressive Creationists Adam and Eve were created from dust after the majority of earth's history had already taken place, including eons of death among the animals. His timeline includes millions of years of major disasters befalling the animals before Adam, including supernovas, asteroid impacts, etc. As a result, animals frequently became extinct, never to be seen by man. Progressive Creationists claims that God stepped in many times to create replacements or improved models -- sometimes completely abandoning entire groups of animals, changing the previous course of life on earth. Ross also teaches that the flood of Noah was local, not global. (CAT 10-11)
Admitedly these are progressive creationist distinctives. And we will admit that to someone who has only been exposed to the young earth interpretation, some of these ideas may seem instantly foreign to you.
the most visible spokesman for Progressive Creationism, a belief which opposes both atheistic evolutionism and historic Christianity's understanding of biblical creationism. (CAT-10)
We appreciate that the authors agree that progressive creationism rejects atheistic evolution. However let's go a step further to also say that we reject theistic evolution. But what about that last part - opposing historic Christianity's understanding... The implication here is that historic church fathers and early Christians can all be characterized by the distincives of the modern young earth position? I dont think so. We will address this in future entries, but lets continue on with the introduction.
The book then gives a definition of progresive creation from an audiotape message from Dr. Ross called "Dinosaurs and Hominids," 1990. Progressive creation from this definition is "the hypothesis that God has increased the complexity of life on earth by successive creations of new life forms over billions of years while miraculously changing the earth to accomidate the new life. (CAT-10)"
This is not a bad definition, but we can probably do better. We could hypothesize that Dr. Ross in this cassette recording was not trying to cover every angle possible so we'll give him some slack at this point.
Wikipedia has a pretty good definition for Progressive Creationism
Progressive creationism is a form of Old Earth creationism that accepts scientific geological and cosmological estimates for the age of the Earth, but posits that the new "kinds" of plants and animals that have appeared successively over the planet's history represent instances of God directly intervening to create those new types by means outside the realm of science. In contrast, theistic evolution holds that natural, evolutionary mechanisms were guided by God. Progressive creationists generally reject macroevolution as biologically untenable and not supported by the fossil record, and they generally reject the concept of universal descendence from a last universal ancestor.
The GodAndScience web site has a good introductory summary of PC here.
Back to the book under review:
While urging Christians to reject evolutionary theories for the origin of life, he teaches a billions-of-years history beginning with the Big Bang. (CAT-10)
First, we need to note that evolution doesn't (and can not) even attempt to answer the origin of life - it begins with a primitive life and then acts by random chance and natural selection from that point. So this point on rejecting evolutionary theories for the origin of life is spurious even in its formulation. But, there is another problem with this statement. It equivicates evolutionary theories with billions of years and the big bang. Yet, there is no required tie which binds one to the other.
According to Ross and other Progressive Creationists Adam and Eve were created from dust after the majority of earth's history had already taken place, including eons of death among the animals. His timeline includes millions of years of major disasters befalling the animals before Adam, including supernovas, asteroid impacts, etc. As a result, animals frequently became extinct, never to be seen by man. Progressive Creationists claims that God stepped in many times to create replacements or improved models -- sometimes completely abandoning entire groups of animals, changing the previous course of life on earth. Ross also teaches that the flood of Noah was local, not global. (CAT 10-11)
Admitedly these are progressive creationist distinctives. And we will admit that to someone who has only been exposed to the young earth interpretation, some of these ideas may seem instantly foreign to you.
It is the authors hope that if we will dig into the scriptures, that we may find that the Bible allows for a different perspective than what you may have previously learned. The impact is a call for less strident dogmatism and branding of the other camp as heretical or even non-Christian. The fruit will be to concentrate on the fundamentals of the faith instead of a civil war of ideas amongst brothers and sisters in the Lord.
May God continue to bless the study of His Word. Amen
May God continue to bless the study of His Word. Amen
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