We used to live near a large Amish area and I soaked it all in. Even as a young girl, I remember thinking it would have been wonderful to live an "Amish life". As a wife & mother, I now selectively choose what to take out of that lifestyle, applying it to our family. There's something about Amish story books that I have always enjoyed though; Wanda Brunstetter being one of my favourite Amish authors. I was happy to be asked to review Goodbye to Yesterday that will be released in February.
Luke and Meredith Stoltzfus have been married for about a year, Luke having been out of work for several months of that. Having read Amish books before, the story is fairly typical of lifestyle. Possibly less common is Luke leaving for a few months to learn a new trade, hoping this will get his family back on their feet financially. Meredith has agreed it is best for her to stay at home; yet, she has a few unspokens on her heart.
This book was shorter than I anticipated, as I read it through in just over an hour. The first of 6 mini-novels, one will be released each month beginning in February. I enjoyed what I read in this first of "The Discovery Saga" mini-series, but I'm not the type of person who would read a few chapters each month for half a year to get through a book. I think I'll wait until the whole series is out to read in its entirety. If you're a Wanda Brunstetter must-have fan, you'll want to pre-order the entire series now though!
Like The Discovery Saga on Facebook and join in their Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win some great prizes, including a Kindle pre-loaded with Wanda Brunstetter books and the 2nd book in this series, The Silence of Winter. February 5, 2013 is the release date for this first book, available now as pre-order!
25 years later, this book still rings true and is even more important to read today as evolution and millions of years is taught as "fact". Over the last several decades, schools and society in general have been steering people to look within themselves for some type of enlightenment. Accepting that there truly is a God who is Creator of all means accepting individual responsibility for our sinful lives. It would mean acknowledging that God really did set beneficial rules in the beginning. Our choice to not obey and follow His guidelines means eternal separation from the most High Lord of all life. Ken Ham brings lies we are told to light and stresses the additional concerns we should have over Christians buying into these lies.
While I didn't read the original The Lie book, it seems that one of the most important additions to this book is found in addressing Christians who are compromising the Truth; those trying to make evolution fit into the Scriptures. There is no possible way for evolution and Biblical Creation to mesh. The most pointed fact is found on the 6th day of creation, when God created man in His own image (not in the image of an ape or pond scum). There was no death before sin, thus no death before Adam disobeyed God. Trying to fit millions of years into 6 days just doesn't work because there was no sin/death before Adam and Eve's devastating choice. In addition, God ended each day commenting that His creation was "good", culminating in it was "very good." God would never call sin or any of it's horrific after-affects good; thus there was no sin/no death/no millions of years.
Differentiating between OBSERVABLE science and HISTORICAL science is something that is left severely understated (or missing completely) in many circles (Christian and secular). How many times have I heard or read the argument that someone is "all about science" so to them that is the end-all to the Creation vs evolution debate! Just being able to give someone the definition of what observable and historical science mean is a huge first step to understanding how "science" itself is defined and how it relates to the past. I love that this is explained and expanded on in this book. It's something we need to not only know for ourselves but is of utmost importance to teach this differentiation to our children so they understand and will know how to defend the Bible/Biblical Creation against attacks to God's truths.
One quote that stood out is, "The public has genuinely been misled into thinking that evolution is only scientific and belief in God is only religious." (pg 72/73) Ken Ham explains this in much more detail than I could. Even secular museums displaying fossils, plants, and animal specimens are merely displaying evidences that they are interpreting based on "evolutionary beliefs"; a hypothesis of what could have happened. The same fossils, plants, and animal specimens could be on display in a Creation museum with interpretations based on the Biblical details of Creation, the sinful fall of mankind and and resulting corruption of everything in this world, the worldwide flood of Noah's day (with resulting upheavals/carving-out of the global surface and laying down of massive amounts of rocks layers/fossil-creation), etc. Interpretation is all relative to the glasses you are looking through. No one is here now to tell us all about the beginning of creation/time itself, but God was there and as Creator He has left us with THE record of the history of the world.
This is an excellent book to begin with or to read in addition to other Biblical-creation based books. Expand your knowledge on the subject and don't be the one to shrug your shoulders or walk away the next time someone throws the "well, I just believe in science" card on the table. Evolution and millions of years isn't observable, testable science. It's a theory that has no proof; just many voices that try to fit pieces together in an effort to push the one true God they don't want to acknowledge out of the picture. If you look at the same 'evidences' through the light of what God tells us happened in the last 6,000 years, there is ample proof (using the same 'evidences') that what God said happened did happen.
Psalm 11:3 "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Our battle today isn't just evolution/millions of years versus Creation. The Christians who are trying to fit evolution into the Bible are ultimately destroying the foundations of God's Word. His Word is infallible. What He says is truth and when you mess with God's Word you are causing people to question that anything in the Bible is true. Don't be the one to corrupt His Word with lies or you could be the one to lead others on a wide path away from the God who created and loves them.
The Lie is published by Master Books, a division of New Leaf Publishing Group. I received a copy to review and all opinions are my own.
