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Exemplar Creation: Credible Origins for the Next Millennium

My Favorite Books

Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible. The book that started this entire project (not actually a physical book) is the Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible by Logos Research Systems of Bellingham, Washington. Logos Bible Software is a leading supplier of PC based biblical reference material. The Lexham electronic version of the Bible is capable of running on a personal computer. The Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia is used as the basis for the Lexham Interlinear Bible, with the Hebrew text appearing in a right to left format (opposite our English style) as originally written. The English translation is placed below the Hebrew text and is translated on a word-for-word basis.

Hebrew-English interlinear Bibles (bound paper books) have been around for a long time. The beauty of the digital Lexham Interlinear Bible is that it permits rapid searches on Hebrew words of interest. For example, in Genesis 1:1 “earth” is translated from the Hebrew word erets. With a few mouse clicks a search can be initiated which shows this word occurs 2770 times in the Old Testament. This permits the serious Bible student to easily examine Hebrew words of interest for consistency of translation, multiple legitimate meanings and questionable interpretations.

Strong’s Bible Concordance. My second favorite biblical related book is also not a physical book but a free Internet concordance at http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html. This electronic concordance contains information similar to a paper copy of the 1890 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; however, the online Strong’s version is considerably easier to use. For example, if a search is executed for the word “made” we find that in Genesis 2:22 the English word “made” is translated from the Hebrew banah (Strong’s 01129). A search can be executed on this Hebrew word by clicking on “01129.” We find that Banah occurs 376 times in the Old Testament and is translated “build” 340 times in the KJV.

By clicking on “Genesis 2:22,” the reader can access twelve different English translations of the verse plus the Latin Vulgate, Septuagint and Hebrew. The disadvantage of Strong’s is that some important Hebrew words in the study of Genesis are not included. The Lexham Interlinear Bible has the ability to be more precise when searching Hebrew words and their roots. When the Lexham Interlinear Bible and Strong’s are used together, they make a powerful Bible study combination.

Old Testament Parsing Guide by Todd S. Beall, William A. Banks and Colin Smith. This book identifies and classifies every Hebrew verb in the Old Testament. This is a good starting point for studying the verbs of Genesis and comparing their classification and usage throughout the Old Testament.

Peril in Paradise: Theology, Science and the Age of the Earth by Mark S. Whorton. This book discusses in detail the suffering, disease and death that occurred outside the Garden of Eden prior to Adam’s sin based on a long age for the Earth. Both science and scripture are addressed to refute the erroneous young-Earth creationist interpretation of “very good” in Genesis 1:31 to mean there was no death on the entire Earth prior to Adam’s sin.

The Design Inference: Eliminating Chance Through Small Probabilities by William Dembski. This book primarily discusses the mathematics of probability. Dembski shows that the resources of the universe are limited when we examine the material, time and frequency of occurrence for a chance event. Events with a small probability of occurring can be ruled out when the resources of the universe are significantly exceeded.

Although not discussed in his book, Dembski’s work can be directly related to chemical evolution. Chemical evolution proposes that the first single celled life in the universe developed from elemental materials, simple molecules, random molecular combinations and other undirected phenomena acting over significant time. Natural selection acting on beneficial heredity traits does not play a part in chemical evolution. Allegedly, the first microscopic life developed from non-life due to a series of undirected, natural, chance events. Based on our twenty-first century knowledge of the universe and the immense complexity of single-celled life, it could not have occurred due to undirected change.

Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design by Stephen Meyer. Based on our study of life, the first microscopic living organism had a significant amount of DNA. It also had a means of duplicating its DNA and making new proteins. Information stored in the DNA molecule is used for making new proteins in addition to arranging the organisms structure. The DNA molecule, the information contained therein and its associated systems could not have occurred due undirected change in the first microscopic life. Meyer’s does a phenomenal job of developing his thesis with a lot of detail and personal first-hand experiences. His book completely discredits the occurrence of chemical evolution and firmly opens the door for the acceptance of intelligent design as a scientific alternative to explain the origin of life.

Darwin’s Black Box by Michael J. Behe. His idea of irreducible complexity is the single most significant idea to challenge biological evolution in the twentieth century. Behe’s principle of irreducible complexity refutes the key elements of neo-Darwinian evolution based on random beneficial mutations and natural selection. The majority of a complex system must be built without any function before the last major piece is added to permit function. This requires a designer to conceptualize the entire system and then build it.

Genetic Entropy and The Mystery of the Genome by John C. Sanford. Essentially all mutations are either deleterious or neutral. Slightly deleterious or neutral mutations cannot be removed from a species genome by natural selection. Random mutations destroy information in a species genome, and their accumulation over time represents genetic entropy. The human genome is deteriorating rather than improving.

Icons of Evolution by Jonathan Wells. Evolutionists frequently cite a number of examples to support their belief in evolution as a powerful constructive mechanism. Among them are the Miller-Urey experiment, the evolutionary tree of life, similarity among species, observed changes in peppered moths, Darwin’s finches and the horse fossil series. When carefully examined, these examples are not proof of Darwinian evolution.