Understanding the Creation Evolution Controversy

This is a very unusual book which attempts to offer some help to the reader in resolving the creation/evolution controversy. Of the 111 pages in the book, 26 deal with the origin of man and 4 pages deal with the origin of life. Dr. Ashby is a chemist with multiple awards from chemical societies and recognition from major universities, including Stanford, Auburn, Notre Dame, and Loyola. His credentials are impressive and the book radiates his expertise in chemistry.

The book begins with a quick review of cosmology, showing briefly that the cosmos is not 6,000 years old and that the big bang and the anthropic principle show strong evidence for the existence of God. The discussion of the origin of man reviews errors in evolutionary theory in the past and focuses on those attributes of man which better fit man's nature as a being created in God's image than a chance product of natural selection.

The strength of the book is in Ashby's discussion of the role of chance in the origin of life. Ashby quotes Charles Darwin saying, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have formed by numerous successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." Ashby does just that in a detailed chemical analysis with probabilities attached to biochemical processes. This discussion is detailed and complex, but within the reach of most college and high school students.

We recommend this book highly for anyone wanting to see how impossible atheist assumptions about the chance formation of life are. It is not a general apologetic book, but very useful in dealing with the origin of life.

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