The sole aim of Kevin Logan’s book Responding to the Challenge of Evolution was to present arguments from both sides of the creation/evolution debate and ask his readers to be the jury. I enjoyed much of his book. It is always helpful to know the arguments of the opposing view so that you may be better prepared to answer their criticisms in future debates. There was a very interesting second chapter on the spread of creationism and the results of various surveys that had been conducted on this very subject. I liked that fact that it didn’t often leave an argument from one side without a counter argument from the other. Most people reading the book would put it down when they had finished it and decide which side of the argument suited them best. This book would be excellent for a person who wants a simple, introductory presentation to both sides of the debate, with no conclusions drawn. What it cannot do is appeal to the learned scientific community and uproot the current evolutionary culture. With this is mind, it is hard to understand why the book is headed ‘Towards a Christian Counterculture’. How can it be that a book, which simply presents arguments for and against both evolution and creation, is moving us towards a Christian countrculture and responding to the challenge of evolution?
If the author is hoping to help us move towards a Christian counterculture, surely, I thought, he must present the evidence, knowing that any honest reader could not deny that the earth was created in six literal days. He could then announce in the conclusion that the evidence spoke for itself. It was with this in my mind that I read with great interest the final section of the book in which Mr. Logan attempted to ‘sum up’ the preceeding chapters. It was here, with an almost throw-away comment, that he gave his game away: “Creation and evolution are not evangelistic weapons”. I finally realised why he had written the book the way he had, and not tried to sway his reader of the position he thought to be correct. If creation and evolution are not evangelistic weapons, then there is a sense in which it doesn’t matter what position one holds, as long as one is happy with one’s own position. Mr. Logan tells us that “Christians, as they counter culture, must remind people about a Creator who has done things in His way, in His time, and wants a loving relationship with what He has made”. This comment is further backed up by many theologians, including Billy Graham and J.I.Packer, whom the author cites in chapter fifteen of his book, ‘God using evolution’. This is to say that as long as you believe God created the world somehow, it doesn’t matter what you believe. This is wrong – we must believe the words of Scripture, and, indeed, many scientists are now saying this world could not have possibly evolved. If we can present this evidence effectively, the results could be staggering.
The apostle Paul obviously considered creation to be an evangelistic tool. We read in 1 Corinthians 1:23 “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” Why was the gospel a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks? We can read the differing gospel presentations to the Jews in Acts 2 and to the Greeks in Acts 17, and the difference is significant. As Ken Ham has argued, the Jews in Acts 2 knew that God had created the world in six days, they understood the fall of man, knew why they sacrificed animals, and so understood the need of a Saviour. However, the Greeks were basically evolutionists. They had no concept of God the Creator, no knowledge of Scripture, and most importantly no knowledge of sin. Hence, when Paul preached the message of the Cross, it was, to them, foolishness. Read Acts 17 and notice how Paul goes all the way back to the beginning and explains creation, sin and then the gospel. We are living in a world where evolution is taught as fact, and we must as Christians show that this world cannot have evolved by chance. It is too complex. The fossil record is better explained by creation and Noah’s flood than a story of natural progression over millions of years. People will not accept the truth of the Bible if they believe that evolution has disproved it!
“For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that all men are without excuse.” [Romans 1:20]. Scripture says that on the day of judgement a man who says he has never heard the gosel preached will be without excuse, because God’s eternal power can be clearly seen in His creation. The story of the Cross has to be understood in the light of creation. To assert that creation is not an evangelistic weapon cannot be correct in light of the above evidence. Christians need to preach the gospel – starting from the very beginning. Then, if a person is convinced that man must have been created as quickly and literally as the Bible said he was, there is more chance he will admit that God is God, and live by His rules. This, I believe, is the way to move towards a Christian counterculture. Mr. Logan’s book, although having 17 interesting chapters, cannot do this.
For those wishing to gain specialised knowledge which can then be used to challenge learned evolutionary or creationist friends, this book will not appeal. For those with little or no knowledge about the subject, this would perhaps be a suitable book to get you aquainted with the main points of debate, from which you could approach more detailed specialist arguments. I would not be happy in recommending this book without qualification, simply because it makes no serious attempt to counter evolutionary culture.