Paul’s favorite resources:
Web-based
John Byl’s blog: https://bylogos.blogspot.com/
This blog is a great blog written by a retired Canadian Christian mathematics professor. His blog includes many excellent & theologically sound entries on creation in six days, and includes links to free copies of John’s three books. If you are going to check out only one blog, this one should be it!
God and Cosmos - A Christian View of Time, Space and the Universe, Revised Edition
The Divine Challenge - On Matter, Mind, Math, & Meaning, Revised Edition
How Should Christians Approach Origins, Revised Edition, 2020 - highly recommended
2. Answers in Genesis: https://answersingenesis.org - Be sure to use the search capabilities of this site to search for topics of interest to you and your children. See especially articles by Terry Mortenson.
Other websites dealing with Christianity and origins
3. Institute for Creation Research: www.icr.org
4. Creation Ministries International: www.creation.com
5. Intelligent Design: www.uncommondescent.com - Website created by William Dembski to support the Intelligent Design Community. Now obsolete, but still accessible.
6. Evolution News & Science Today: www.evolutionnews.org - Published by the Discovery Institute and part of the Intelligent Design community. Picks up where the uncommondescent.com website left off.
Books
Books on Creation-Evolution (annotated)
Bedard, Paulin, In Six Days God Created, Refuting the Framework and Figurative Views of the Days of Creation, Ligonier Ministries, 2013 - This book presents a critique of the framework hypothesis, which is a figurative reading of Genesis 1-2 promoted by Meredith Kline and others. The framework hypothesis has been gaining a lot of ground in Reformed circles, so it is good to be equipped for defending the plain reading of Genesis against this view. Be sure your child is aware of the framework hypothesis and its critique before they go to college. The Endnotes and Bibliography sections are filled with references, many of which include associated weblinks. A similar, but less detailed, critique, referenced by Bedard, is Tim Chaffey’s thesis paper on “A Critical Evaluation of the Framework Hypothesis” available for free download at this link.
Byl, John, and Goss, Tom, How Should Christians Approach Origins, Revised Edition, 2020 - Highly recommended. This is an excellent booklet (67 pages) for middle & high school students to introduce them to the core issues of the creation (in 6 days) vs evolution debate. It has two short but excellent appendix (Appendix: Comparing Positions on Origins). It is available for free download at this link.
Hummel, Charles, The Galileo Connection, Resolving Conflicts between Science & the Bible, 1986, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (read with caution) - This book is written at the high school level and provides a good historical introduction to the beginnings of modern science, with a view favorable to Galileo’s discoveries and theories. It then uses the issues surrounding the development of modern science as a framework for interpreting the current debate between the young earth creationism of the Bible & evolution (including theistic evolution). It can be difficult to determine Hummel’s position, but, in my opinion, he is a theistic (2/3) evolutionist (see T Mortenson’s classification), meaning that he appears to reject biological evolution (ape -> man) but accepts cosmological and geological evolution. This book can be used (with appropriate care) to show how “typical” theistic evolutionary Christians counter the straightforward reading of Genesis 1-11 when seeking to accommodate the Bible to science. An excellent primer to use before reading this book would be J Byl’s booklet “How Should Christians Approach Origins.”
Kelly, Douglas, Creation and Change, Genesis 1.1 – 2.4 in the light of changing scientific paradigms, Christian Focus Publications, 1999 - This book is written at the college level and will be useful for high school students. The book is the result of the research that the author did when teaching a large adult Sunday School Class at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1990’s on the subject of Creation. It is an excellent resource for the mature high school student.
Mortenson, Terry (ed.), Searching for Adam, Genesis and the Truth about Man's Origin, 2016, Master Books - This book is written at the college level, but the last chapter is worth the price of the book. Chapter 16, by T. Mortenson, “Adam, Morality, the Gospel, and the Authority of Scripture” is an excellent chapter which interacts a lot with theistic evolutionists. See esp. pgs. 471-475, “The Foundational Issue of the Age of the Earth,” which explains that evolutionary theory is really a 3-part theory (cosmological evolution, geological evolution, and biological evolution). Many Christians have mistakenly sought to accommodate the Christian faith to evolutionary theory by accepting cosmological & geological evolution, but denying biological evolution (typically called theistic evolution).
North, Gary, Is the World Running Down?, Crisis in the Christian Worldview, Institute for Christian Economics, 1988 - Excellent critique of the modern scientific worldview. Written from the perspective that six-day creationism is true. Written from a presuppositional perspective. North is critical of scientific creationists. He has some excellent Appendices, including “The Disastrous Quest for Scientific Common Ground” and “The End of Illusions: “Creationism” in the Public Schools.” For the theologically mature reader. This book is available for free download at this link (Note: All of Gary North’s books are available for free download at this link).
Otis, John, Theistic Evolution: A Sinful Compromise, Triumphant Publications Ministries, 2013 - Excellent critique theistic evolutionary ideas, covering the popular proponents of our day, including the BioLogos Foundation, Tim Keller, Ron Choong, PCA Long-Agers, C. John “Jack” Collins, and Peter Enns. Pastor Otis includes extensive quotes from the theistic evolutionists’ writings, and then critiques them. Pastor Otis’s purpose in writing the book is to alert believers, and especially elders, to the danger that theistic evolution poses to the church. Pastor Otis states that he considers “BioLogos as one of the greatest dangers to Christianity in our time …. They have seriously compromised the truth of Scripture and have wed the Christian faith with the view of evolutionary theory.” Written from a presuppositional perspective. See also my critique of theistic evolution in the discussion of Historical Science, esp. Section 16.
Sarfati, Jonathan, Refuting Compromise, A Biblical and Scientific Refutation of “Progressive Creationism” (Billions of Years), As Popularized by Astronomer Hugh Ross, Master Books, 2004/2011 - Written from a young earth creationist perspective. Hugh Ross is a progressive creationist who holds to a day-age view of Genesis. Dr. Sarfati interacts a lot with various scientific arguments. It has a good summary of radiometric dating assumptions. Interacts with a lot of Hugh Ross’ materials. This would be a good book to check out of the library for reference. For similar material, Terry Mortenson’s “Critique of Hugh Ross’s Creation Story” and other articles on the AIG site.
Sarfati, Jonathan, The Genesis Account, A theological, historical, and scientific commentary on Genesis 1-11, Creation Ministries International, 2015 - This 700+ page book is an excellent companion when doing an in-depth study of the first eleven chapters of Genesis. It defends the (Biblical) six-day creation perspective, and is written from a creation science perspective. It would be excellent for Sunday School teachers covering the creation-evolution debate. It is also a great resource for homeschooling parents and students. Please be sure to read the reviews on Amazon also.
Taylor, Ian, In the Minds of Men, Darwin and the New World Order, 1991, TFE Publishing - This is an well written and well organized book that includes a lot of historical information on the development of evolutionary theories. The author helpfully critiques those theories from a Biblical perspective. I found his discussion of the six assumptions of radiometric dating (pg. 303) to be especially helpful. See also the reviews on Amazon. This would be an excellent high school resource.
Books Critiquing Naturalistic Evolution from an Intelligent Design Perspective (annotated - under construction)
Johnson, Phillip E., Darwin on Trial, InterVaristy Press, 1993/2010
Johnson, Phillip E., “Creator or Blind Watchmaker” in January, 1993 edition of First Things
Johnson, Phillip E., Reason in the Balance: The Case Against Naturalism in Science, Law, and Education, InterVarsity Press, 1995/1998
Johnson, Phillip E., The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism, InterVarsity Press, 2000
Hunter, Cornelius G., Darwin’s God: Evolution and the Problem of Evil, Brazos Press, 2001/2019 - This is a very thought-provoking book. C. Hunter is a molecular biophysicist who argues that the main supporting basis for Darwin’s philosophy has always been a theological argument: “God wouldn’t have done it that way.” Rather than demonstrating that evolution is capable of the wonders they attribute to it, Darwinists rely on a man-made version of God to argue that God never would have made life with the particular set of features we observe. Hunter shines a light on Darwinian theology, making clear what is too often obscured by technical jargon. (This is a modified version of M Behe’s review of the book). Hunter argues that if you cannot understand evolution without understanding its presuppositions and how it uses them. If you want you and your children to understand what Darwin was thinking about God when he developed the theory of evolution, and how to counter such views from a Biblical perspective, read this book! For the theologically mature reader.
Hunter, Cornelius G., Darwin’s Proof: The Triumph of Religion over Science, Brazos Press, 2003 - Do similar features found among different animal species prove a common ancestry? Is evolution purely science, as evolutionists claim, or are there other factors involved? How can we account for the evil in the world? In this book C. Hunter tackles these questions head on, revealing evolution's scientific, philosophical, and theological failures. Following the success of Darwin's God, Hunter delves more deeply into the issues raised in that book. He exposes the weaknesses in evolution's scientific "proof" and reveals its philosophical contradiction: despite claims that religion plays no role in their theory, they rely on assumptions of God's character in order to argue that he could not have made this world. Hunter shows how Western religious traditions of Darwin's time laid the foundation for evolution, and offers Christians a reason for hope - the world is magnificent yet flawed, and only the Bible can adequately explain why this is so. For Christians who want a scientific, philosophical, and theological response to the claims of evolution. (Taken from the Amazon description). Chapter 10 “Come Let Us Reason: the Intelligent Design Theory” is a good introduction to ID (Intelligent Design) theory. Be sure to read the other reviews on Amazon. For the theologically mature reader.
Hunter, Cornelius G., Science’s Blind Spot: The Unseen Religion of Scientific Naturalism, Brazos Press, 2007 - Hunter shows that modern science has been greatly influenced by theological and metaphysical considerations, resulting in the significant influence of what he calls “theological naturalism.” Naturalism is therefore not a result of empirical scientific inquiry, but rather a presupposition of science. This bias is science’s “blind spot,” and it has profound implications for how scientific theories are evaluated and thus advanced or suppressed. Hunter proposes a better way - moderate empiricism - and shows how ID fits into such a method. (Taken from the back cover of the book) For the advanced reader.
Under Construction
Books on the History of Science
Books on Scientific Creationism / Creation Science
Books on the Philosophy of Science
Books Exploring the Relationship between Christianity and Science
Books on the Biblical View of Miracles & Signs
Books on Mathematics from an Historical Perspective
Books on Physics from an Historical Perspective
Books on Christianity’s Influence on the Development of Modern Science
Books Critiquing the Modern Scientific Mindset (not necessarily from a Christian perspective)
Miscellaneous Books
Bowden, Malcolm, True Science Agrees with the Bible, Sovereign Publications, 1998 - This hard-to-find book is an excellent and interesting book written from a Biblical perspective. It covers a wide range of topics, and has a very interesting set of Appendices, including, A Critique of Relativity, Is Today’s “Science” true?, and Geocentrism - A Heresy? Recommended for high school students.
Under Construction - You may ask for my current “abstract” via the Contact Form for a more detailed list of books, etc.