Six Days by Ken Ham: Review

Have you ever wondered why it matters if you believe God created the earth? Creation scientists argue it matters because it undermines biblical authority. When the authority of God's Word is put into question from the very beginning of Genesis, questions arise about its validity throughout. Ken Ham's life mission is to show how science confirms rather than contradicts Scripture. His newest book, Six Days (from Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing), delves into the damage done by compromise.

I've been studying and reading for the last two years about the origins of life and how we can reconcile the fossil record with the words given to us by divine inspiration in Genesis. I've attempted to learn as much as I could about as many views as possible from biblical creationists to atheistic evolutionists. I haven't been trying to decide where my belief lies, but rather understand why each holds their different beliefs. Six Days is a great book to begin with to understand the perspective of creationists. 

I appreciated first that Ken Ham clarifies he and the Answers in Genesis ministries do not claim this is a salvation issue. Unfortunately many say this is true and it simply is not. What he does say is believing one must ignore Genesis in order to reconcile current scientific thought is dangerous because it can undermine belief in the gospel. Ham explains that since no one was around to observe biological evolution when referring to molecules evolving into new creatures, it is necessary to have faith in order to believe it.

In Six Days Ken Ham lays out the basic arguments for why believing the earth is young is a reasonable. This book also explains how the fossil record can be interpreted begins with your starting belief. Those who start without a belief in God will look for ways to explain our origins without Him. Interpretation of the fossil evidence will therefore be shaded by those lenses.

Six Days also explains how those within the church community who have relegated Genesis to mythology are undermining the authority of God's Word and ultimately leading younger generations to doubt the credibility of Christ. I believe all young people who have grown up in the church go through a questioning period when they must define what they believe for themselves. This is not a bad thing, but when many have been taught the Bible cannot be trusted in one aspect is it any wonder they turn away from God and doubt He is who He says He is?

Ultimately Ken Ham is correct in that a belief in a young earth or old earth, evolution or divine creation does not determine your salvation. The intense and often hostile dialogue occurring currently between creationists and evolutionists leaves me wondering how to engage in a respectful dialogue where I can articulate why I can believe what I believe without being barraged with insults and treated as if I am uneducated. This book has gone a long way in helping me know how to do this.