Dr. Kurt P. Wise is often considered the authority on origins research in Christendom today. His work with Precept Ministries International, namely, the Genesis study co-written by Dr. Wise and Mrs. Kay Arthur, have made him a respected figure in the interpretation of Genesis in conservative Christian circles.
While maintaining a very strong reputation in Christian circles, Dr. Wise’s work has earned him an equally vivid reputation in the scientific community, though probably much less positive given the generally atheistic community of scientists in the field. Doctor Wise and his work was discussed by biologist Richard Dawkins, in his infamous work, The God Delusion.
While many atheists reject the theory of young-earth creationism to which Dr. Wise adheres, and for which he is a primary advocate, they still respect him as a well educated scientist, which a background in paleontology and an M.A. and a Ph.D., both from Harvard. And because of this respect, Dr. Wise is able to dialogue with atheistic biologists about the origin of the universe in a way a less educated or less articulate person would never be able to do.
Therefore, in the scientific community, Dr. Wise is the chief herald of Christianity, a Biblical worldview, the authority of God’s Word, and a regular hermeneutic in interpreting It. Because of this regular hermeneutic, meaning that he takes things literally according to their context and genre, he holds to a very strictly literal interpretation of Genesis, and believes it to be inerrant truth, inspired by God, and the only “eyewitness” account of the creation of the universe.
The following sections are a summary of the book, and what I thought of the book namely, its strengths, and a conclusion.
Summary
The book is divided into five main parts: Part 1: God’s Word on the Matter; Part 2: The Dating Game; Part 3: Creation Week; Part 4: From the Garden to the Grave; and Part 5: from Noah to the New Earth. Each of these parts is divided into individual chapters, and those into subsections, but there is no need to list them all here.
Part 1 deals with God. Wise very openly tells the reader that he believes in God, and he makes no apologies for his Christianity. This book is not written as a biology textbook, but rather as a Christian look at the tough issues of origins that Christians had, in the past, been either too ignorant or too timid to answer. Wise is answering those questions, starting at the beginning: “In the beginning, God created…”
That is the crux of the matter. God did create, and as the only eyewitness to the creation account, what He says in His Word is the supreme authority for all things related to the origin of the universe. If God says it in His Word, and God is perfect and immutable, then so must be what He says truth is. If God says that the world was created in six days, that must be what He meant, and since He is infallible, that must be the truth of the matter.
In Part 1 Dr. Wise also addresses the reasons for Christians to study science; some of the reasons apply only to believers, while others apply to atheists and the like as well. He walks the reader through the logical process of general revelation: If God has revealed Himself in His creation, which He claims to have done in Romans 1, then we should study creation to better understand God. And since creation is revealing God, we should study His word to better understand creation. And when one conflicts, we must assume our flawed mind is misunderstanding something, usually something to do with the physical world.
He also calls us back to the traditional way of interpreting the disciplines: Through theology and philosophy. I’ve often said that Theology is the father, philosophy is the mother, history the elder brother, and linguistics the godfather, and from these come all disciplines. Dr. Wise’s conclusions here are not too far from that saying. He calls Christianity back to a stance of interpreting all things through our theology and philosophy, both of which are crafted from a biblical understanding of reality.
Part 2 deals with the issues of dating. Wise makes the greatest point I’ve ever heard on the biblical understanding of the age of creation in the opening lines of this section: “There is no doubt that God knows exactly how old everything is. There is also no doubt that if He chose to tell us how old things are, He would tell the truth. If such information was revealed in His Word, the nature of God would guarantee the accuracy of the information...” This is the outworking of Dr. Wise’s clear-cut, straightforward, regular hermeneutic at work in his views. It also shows his respect for the immutable, perfect, and divine nature of the God of the Scriptures.
He continues to work the idea that a regular hermeneutic, which is paramount and essential to the understanding of the Scriptures for all Christian doctrine, is incredibly clear in the fact that the age of the earth is something like six-thousand years, rather than the old-age theories ascribed to by most of modern science—secular and Christian alike. Basically, Dr. Wise makes it sound like a good Christian who is consistent in their approach to Scripture cannot believe in old-age creationism or secular origins theories without being inconsistent. At the end of the day, he calls Christians to believe the Bible at all costs, and to assume the science must be off somehow, because the Bible isn’t.
Wise also covers how radiometric dating, sometimes called carbon dating, works, and how atheistic scientists interpret radiometric dates. He explains how, using a Christian worldview, a regular hermeneutic, and considering the biblical account of the flood, one could reinterpret the scientific data in such a way to make the two completely compatible. Though this is possible in theory alone, due to the fact that flood circumstances cannot be replicated today, the theory is quite sound. But given the fact that we’ve recently covered this topic in class, and I’m limited on space, I’ll forgo it, and move on.
In Part 3 Dr. Wise deals with the biblical account of the creation week. He deals with how creation is ordered, the importance of natural laws, and how God has designed creation in such a way that it is evidence of His very nature. Wise goes on to recognize a key tenant of the Christian worldview: God created the earth for man, and man for the earth. As the Westminster Confession of Faith’s Shorter Catechism says in the answer to question 1, “The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever.” By enjoy it means the traditional meaning, to bring joy to someone. Our purpose is to glorify God and cause Him joy. We do this on earth, and God created the earth as our platform, our stage if you will, upon which to act out our existence to His glory and for His joy. As you can see, the belief that the earth is our stage and we’re to have dominion and rule—to manage and steward—goes against the grain of modern environmentalist thinking. Wise doesn’t dive into that here, but he touched on the tenant that is the cause for the Christian view of the environment.
Wise then covers the nature of genetics, and how things are created after their own kind, and what that means and looks like. I still don’t think I really get it, in the sense that some of the people in our class do, but this book helped to sum up, outline, and explain the relatedness and implications of the nature of DNA, genetics, and how microevolution is involved in this process. I’m still very confused, but I definitely am far more able to see the big picture now than I was before reading Faith, Form, and Time.
He then goes on to talk about Man, and how we are a special creation, the Imago Dei, what that means, and the importance of it. He talks about the cultural mandate, which he calls the dominion mandate—which I believe is a more appropriate term—and how we are to be the little-kings, representing God, and doing His work of filling and forming the creation. This is something I’ve been preaching for a year or so now, so I found his scientific take to be very interesting and helpful. Dr. Wise also shows some differences between us and the rest of creation: we have a culture, a mature language, and are the only beings endowed with souls.
The rest of the book can be summed up by saying that he walks through the scientific and theological implications of the Biblical account of the time between creation and the fall, the fall and the flood, the flood and Abraham, and from there where time will take us—a sort of scientific interpretation of the metanarrative (creation, sin, captivity, redemption), including an eschatology.
I also love that the last chapter includes an invitation to be saved. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Wise and his family, and it is just so true to form. For the brilliance of his mind, and articulateness of his tongue, and the wisdom of his soul, he is incredibly humble and loving—something severely lacked, by theologians and scientists alike.
Strengths
I found this book incredibly helpful, for a plethora of reasons, here are a few:
First, this book used plain language to explain very complex ideas. This is something I could give to a bright high-schooler in the youth group in which I minister and not be worried that it would be over their head. At the same time, I could give it to a doctoral candidate friend of mine and know that he would have plenty to wrestle with and work through, that he would learn much, and not be disappointed.
Second, I found it to be concise—only the important stuff on the topic. He covered it thoroughly, and he covered the tough issues of origin studies, but he wasn’t wordy, and he didn’t write like it was a commentary for the ten percent of theologians atop the totem pole, or that upper echelon of scientists who we lesser humans cannot communicate with.
Third, I felt it was the summing up of everything we study in Biological Origins. This is a resource I can come back to later in life, as a sort of refresher of our course. I feel like this is the “Cliff’s Notes” of our Biological Origins curriculum, and that it is something that I will use for a very long time, as I interact with students and adults who struggle with where, when, and from whom all things came into being. This is my new go-to book for them.
Conclusion
I must say, given the strengths listed above, and the numerous strengths omitted for the sake of time and space, this book is a new favorite in my nonfiction library.
Given the relevance of the issues it addresses, the volatility of the state of Christianity in regards to hermeneutics, and the importance of the issue of origin in our experientially minded culture, this book is something every Christian needs to read. It’s the basic apologetic for the biblical account of creation.
I’ll be asking my parents to read Faith, Form, and Time, and then asking them to make my siblings which they homeschool to read it for science next year. I’ll be recommending it to my pastor back home, and to my old youth pastor.
Any Christian who might ever encounter an educated atheist and need to address the struggles and issues they have with Christianity needs the tools found in this book at their disposal. It’s simply a must for every Christian library.
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