Bone of Contention is an excellent little book by Sylvia Baker and published by Evangelical Press (EP Books).
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Bone of Contention
This newly published book was originally published in 1976 as a series of articles. This new edition has been completely revised and updated so that the information has been updated to deal with current data. The purpose of the book is to show how/why a young-earth view of Genesis 1 (the creation of the world) is, as the majority of church history has proposed, the correct understanding.
This book is certainly small (89 pages) and yet it packs a large punch! In chapter one, Baker discusses how Darwinian evolution has taken over, even within the church.
In chapter two, she discusses fossils and whether or not the fossil evidence supports or destroys Darwin’s theory of evolution. This chapter was very fascinating as she brought the Noahic flood, Neanderthal man, Giants, and the problem of extinction into the discussion.
After dealing with Genetics in chapter three, she jumps into the age of the earth in chapter four. Truthfully, this chapter was what led me to pick up this book. Again, in just a very short amount of space, Baker gave an excellent (though by no means exhaustive) treatment and argument for a young earth. This section is not primarily dealing with exegesis, but how the scientific data actually supports the traditional exegetical treatment of Genesis 1, i.e. a young earth.
The final chapter of this book, however, does aim to specifically provide the biblical account of creation and the history of the earth.
I have read some rather lengthy books on the topic of creation and the age of the earth. However, this small book by Baker is one of the best that I’ve read, and probably the first one that I would recommend to those struggling with the issue of the age of the earth and its relationship to the Bible and scientific evidence. I am grateful for this new edition by EP, and I trust that the church will be blessed by the reading of this material. I gladly recommend it. Tolle lege, take up and read!
Disclaimer: My thanks to Evangelical Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
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