Hugh Ross

A
MATTER
of DAYS

Resolving A
Creation Controversy

© 2004 by Reasons To Believe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from NavPress, P.O. Box 35001, Colorado Springs, CO 80935.

www.navpress.com

NAVPRESS, BRINGING TRUTH TO LIFE, and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress. Absence of ® in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc. 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 80920.

ISBN 1-57683-375-5

Cover design by Jonathan Price

Cover illustration by Aaron Garcia

Creative Team: Nanci McAlister, Rachelle Gardner, Darla Hightower, Pat Miller

Anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are documented. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® (niv®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Other versions used include: the New King James Version (nkjv). Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved; and the King James Version (kjv).

Ross, Hugh (Hugh Norman), 1945–

A matter of days: resolving a creation controversy / Hugh Ross.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-57683-375-5

1. Creation. 2. Earth--Age. 3. Biblical cosmology. I. Title.

BS651.R765 2004

231.7′652--dc22

2003023818

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

1. Flash Point

2. The Gathering Storm

3. The Clouds Burst

4. Wisdom of the Ages

5. The Creedal Climate

6. Toward Better Interpretations

7. Anchored in Scripture

8. Guided by Theology

9. Good God, Cruel World

10. Peace Through Paradise

11. Young-Earth Darwinism

12. Faith, Morality, and Long Creation Days

13. Big Bang: The Bible Said It First

14. Scientific Signs of Old Age

15. Challenges to an Old Cosmos

16. The Reliability of Radiometric Dating

17. The Scientific Case for a Young Cosmos

18. Physical Reality Breaks Through the Fog

19. Narrow Time Windows

20. The Significance of Man

21. A Clear “Day” Interpretation

22. Councils Attempt to Bring Calm

23. Tranquillity Through Testing

Appendix A: The Meaning of Faith in the Bible

Appendix B: Creation Passages in the Bible

Appendix C: The “Voice” of Nature

Index

Illustrations

Figures

16.1. Rubidium-Strontium Isochron Plot

21.1. The Point of View for Genesis 1

Tables

6.1. Major Creation Accounts in the Bible

9.1. Scriptural Evidences That Plants and Primitive Animals Experience Life and Death

21.1. Order of Genesis 1 Events

23.1. Putting Creation Models to the Test

In loving memory of Alice Coles, the Arkansas grandma

Content not shown in limited preview…
MD:RCC

About A Matter of Days: Resolving a Creation Controversy

Creation—it’s all in six days’ work. But did the creation days of Genesis last hours or epochs?

The length of time represented by the word day sparks a storm of controversy. Lightning strikes and thunder roars with questions at the core of this debate:

• Does belief in an old earth equate to belief in evolution?

• Was there any kind of death before the Fall?

• Does the Bible speak of a “big bang”?

• Is God’s plan a restored paradise or a whole new creation?

In A Matter of Days, respected author and astronomer Hugh Ross, Ph.D., addresses these questions and explores how the creation-day controversy developed. History, theology, science, and Scripture reveal creation’s big picture.

Support Info

mttrofdays

Table of Contents