Dirt-Cheap Science: Activity-Based Units, Games, Experiments and Reproducibles Book

I first heard of this book in a sermon on the subject of Christian Evidences a couple of weeks ago. My interest was raised so I found a used paperback copy on line and bought it. I must say that most of the book was a disappointment.

In the first chapter Mr. Stoner attempts to harmonize the first chapter of Genesis with the prevailing theory of his day on how the universe came to be. Some of the things he mentions are, of course, very dated since the book was first published in 1958. To harmonize Genesis 1 with the prevailing theory of Mr. Stoner's time or with the "Big Bang" theory of our day is an impossible task. A careful study of Genesis 1 when harmonized with other scriptures on the subject clearly teaches that God created all things in 6 literal 24 hour days. God leaves it up to the reader to believe or disbelieve what He said.

In the second chapter Mr. Stoner attempts to reconcile what Genesis 1 and 2 says about the creation of life with the "geological record". However, there is no place on earth where the geological record, as depicted in modern science books, actually exists. In the real world so called "older layers" are often found on top of "newer layers". Genesis 1 and 2, when harmonized with other scriptures on the beginning of life, teaches that God created all life such that each species produces offspring "after its kind" - and that He did it during the 6 literal 24 hour days of creation week. It is left up to the reader of Genesis to believe or disbelieve it.

The most helpful chapters of the book are the 2 chapters that deal with the probability that prophecies in scripture could have been fulfilled by chance. Mr. Stoner presents interesting and compelling information that shows that it is mathematically beyond reason that men writing hundreds of years before an event could accidentally correctly predict the event. The evidence he presents regarding the prophecies concerning Christ is by far the most compelling.

If I had it to do over, I wouldn't buy this book. I would, however, try to find a free copy and read it.