Journal: Grace Theological Journal
Volume: GTJ 04:2 (Fall 1983)
Article: Creation Science and the Physical Universe: A Review Article
Author: John C. Whitcomb, Jr.

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GTJ 4:2 (Fall 83) p. 289

Creation Science and the Physical Universe:
A Review Article

John C. Whitcomb

1

What is Creation Science? by Henry M. Morris and Gary E. Parker. San Diego: Creation-Life Publishers, Inc., 1982. Pp. 306. $7.95. Paper.

In this significant landmark of creationist literature, Henry M. Morris and Gary E. Parker combine their scientific skills to undermine the credibility of evolutionism. In the previous issue of this journal, the reviewer surveyed Dr. Parker’s contribution in chaps. 1–3, “The Life Sciences.” In the present article, the final three chaps. written by Dr. Morris (“The Physical Sciences”) are analyzed, followed by a theological perspective on the entire volume.

“Creation and the Laws of Science”

In chap. 4, Morris skillfully ties the biological and physical sciences together into one gigantic unity. “Living systems must all function in a physical world. Biological processes, while far more complex than physical processes, nevertheless must operate also in conformity to the physico-chemical laws which govern nonliving systems…. So the question of origins is not merely a biological question, to be resolved by biologists…. The creation/evolution issue is one of cosmic dimensions” (p. 154).

In spite of the commonly heard assertion that creationism is only one of several possible alternatives to evolutionism, the only two possible models of origins are evolution or creation. Evolution contemplates eternal, self-existent, self-contained, natural processes continuing to happen today in a mass/energy, space/time continuum without plan or design (i.e., accidental, by chance). Religions that accommodate this world-and-life view include Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Taoism (p. 156).

On the other hand, creationism involves a supernatural design and unique, supernatural events to bring the universe and its various components into existence. Religions that presuppose this model include orthodox Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

GTJ 4:2 (Fall 83) p. 290

With regard to processes, “the creation model predicts only net decreases (for the universe as a whole),” but “stipulates nothing concerning the rate of decrease,” for “this may be almost zero in times of peace and calm and very high during great catastrophes” (p. 161). To put the contrast in different terms, the creation model “suggests that there should be a conservational and disintegrative principle operating in nature,” while, “if evolution is true, then there must be some innovative and integrative principle operating in the natural world which develops structure out of ...

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