BOOK CRITIQUE of Bush, L. Russ. The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age. Nashville, TN: B & H, 2003. APOL 500 (fall 2014) Introduction to Apologetics Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Deena M. Robertson November 23, 2014 ‘Our age is not what it used to be. We are now living in an age of advancement.” Which is the exact rationale for L. Russ Bush to write his book, The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age. His goal in writing this book is to uncover the deception of the modern worldview, which is rooted in naturalistic philosophy. Bush coined the name “Advancement” for this new worldview. This worldview consists of a conglomeration of naturalistic evolution, process theology and the idea of inevitable progress. Bush reveals that these views have led to a generation of people, including Christians, who are truly ignorant and resistant to absolute truths, and apathetic about even trying to discovering them. Bush zealously presents truth in the midst of a generation of error, challenging the church to come out of its slumber and “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3). This is a book critique of Bush’s theological masterpiece. This critique aspires to discover the elements and opulence of Bush’s toil, through a summary of The Advancement, followed by a critical interaction with the great mind and work of L. Russ Bush. Summary The purpose of this book critique is to summarize, interact with and glean from the great insights of L. Russ Bush, in his writings on The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age. Advancement thinking, naturalistic evolution, process theology and the idea of inevitable progress have led to a generation of people who are truly ignorant about absolute truths and apathetic about discovering them. This is why Bush takes bold and courageous stands in this book, and he challenges the church to wake up and gain the knowledge and insights needed to take firm stands against the wave of deception that is engulfing our culture. Bush points out that “Christians living through the era of the Advancement no longer have the luxury of a majority consensus in Western society.” Christianity is now becoming the minority and the ‘old fashioned’ mindset, and with many Christians sitting the bench in the game and playing both sides of the field, the deception Advancement thinking is blinding the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. Believers are now very comfortable taking on a blend of Process Theology and Open Theism, believing that God is ever changing with His Universe, and jumping on the train of inevitable progress. “Intellectual leaders who guide the Christian community through these final days before the harvest must be able to discern the dangers of intellectual compromise. The church has greater spiritual power than all of her enemies combined, but compromise is her Achilles’ heel.” Bush reveals that One of the doors that opened the beginning of the end of Christianity in Europe was the Age of Enlightenment. The European Age of Enlightenment in the early 1700’s swept in the ideas of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution. There were a group of philosophers who did everything in their power to weave scientific reasoning into all parts of life. During this time period a major shift occurred in the way Europeans thought about the world. At the very core of these new ideas was a strong belief in the power of a human’s ability to reason. These teachings were taught by philosophers utilizing Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies, such as Schleiermacher and Kant. “The influence of Kant and Schleiermacher can be seen in the shift away from accepting the objective teaching of Scripture as being the very Word of God toward a more subjective theology of personal experience and opinion.” This idea of human enlightenment, reasoning and thought, permeated through all areas of science, politics, economics, art, and literature. During this time period men came to believe that they had the ability or right to reason their way into believing things about God or even if there was a God. Man began to believe that his reasoning and experiences determined what truth was. Key scientists “gave up their belief in God and began to interpret the scientific data on naturalistic or materialistic assumptions.” Thus, the rise of modern materialism. Bush reveals that during this time period there were many scientists who came on the scene and enlightened the world with naturalism, ushering in Evolutionary thought. Men like Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer brought evolutionary thought to the forefront. “Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” to describe Darwin’s theory of “natural selection” to a culture that was ready for such a view. “The capitalist economy of the West was ready-made to support such ideas. Poverty became the sign of inherent inferiority. The strong began to use evolutionary philosophy to justify whatever was necessary to achieve their goals of political, social and economic power.” At this point human life lost its value, which was a huge turning point in human history. Bush communicates that when Hegel came onto the scene in the nineteenth century there came a loss of truth. During this time period individuals began to question the fact that there was an absolute truth. People began to seek answers from universal laws to be able to explain the natural world around them. Hegel found that “true reality was in essence a synthesis of being and nonbeing. It was dialectically, rationally unfolding and growing. Nothing was stable. As a result, there could be no absolute truth.” Bush retaliates and communicates that human life does have value, because it is created in the image of God, and there is absolute truth, and it is found in God’s word. Bush asks some very hard questions to explain why the theory of naturalistic evolution fails on every level. He then winds up his book presenting amazing arguments about “why not naturalistic evolution and advancement thinking?” Bush gives very detailed information about Christianity and its absolute truths and freedom, and why the advancement thinking, modern worldview must be rejected. Critical Interaction Overall Bush does an amazingly simplistic work that is very easy for the layman, with no evolutionary modern thought to draw from, to understand. Bush concisely lays out each argument in a very accurate and historically correct manner. Bush’s book is only eight chapters and he covers an incredible amount of ground in such a short amount of time. He is very straightforward and to the point on each of the very controversial topics that he discusses. Bush brings the crucial deception of modern thought to the forefront and nails it, shining light into the darkness with the truth. “The modern view does not grow necessarily out of the facts available. It is relativistic. It is self-defeating.” This book critique writer has gleaned greatly from the insights and knowledge of L. Russ Bush. The pointed technique that Bush utilizes in creating a timeline of events, naming and describing each major player in the chain of events that transpired to enact this deception was simply genius. The story was like a well-built chain that is put together link by link, with a glorious Maker tying it all together to bring truth and light to His people. The Bible says that “men love darkness more than Light” (John 3:19), and that “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” (Rom. 1:25) Man desires to be his own god, the own master of his fate, and captain of his own ship. “It is a sophisticated return to selfishness and to a self-destructive set of values.” This is how and why modern thought has come upon the culture. Man now determines truth, and “truth is relative to the moment.” There is no firm foundation to stand on. And as Bush so eloquently points out if our minds, that are now determining truth, that is relative, “can we trust our minds to give us the truth about reality if our minds are only a product of that reality, even if they are a product achieved from a transcendent array of potential opinions? The answer is no.” According to Bush, “The loss of God as an essential part of one’s life and worldview is a loss of the only sufficient foundation for meaning, hope, and significance.” The Bible says that, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psa. 14:1) In modern thought God is not there, and “without God as a control center, everything floats on a sea of relativity.” One important piece that Bush failed to point out in all of this is that the Bible says teaches that, “man is dead in his trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1) What can a ‘dead’ man choose? Can a “dead” man choose to see God? But then there is Romans 1:20 that says “they are without excuse, because God has made Himself evident to them.” There is such a tension in this, and yet such a need for this truth to be told about the sovereignty of God over His creation. The truth is that now all of creation lies under a curse, except for the ones who have been bought out of slavery and been set free (Rom. 6:7; 8:2). All of creation is eagerly waiting the day that her true King will come and take His rightful place as Ruler. Bush does an excellent job in exhorting Christians to “stand firm” on truth in this “evil day” (Eph. 6:13), continuously pointing to the Creator of all life (Col. 1:16). Our faith is real, and our hope is real and sure. We know that “God created man in His own image” (Gen. 1:27). Man did not come from some haphazard chance appearing. He is created on purpose, for a purpose. This book critique writer sees the most impactful argument for getting man to see the ignorance of his thought patterns is that “If our minds naturally evolved exclusively from biological processes, they can only function in certain predetermined ways.” Is this all man truly sees himself to be? This leaves out any hope or faith in a Creator God “who is free and able to grant us responsible intellectual freedom.” A God who can heal, restore and enlighten as He wills. Do we place our trust in “unthinking chemicals and blind chance?” Or in a Creator that “breathed the breath of life into us” (Gen 2:7)? Conclusion In conclusion, Bush’s book is an amazing tool in the hands of a hungry learner of truth and an asset to any library. This book critique writer gained greatly from his toil. Bush has shown that the hand of God is clear in His Creation, and that no one should deny Him His glory. The verse that seems to stand out above all in the subject of God’s sovereignty over Advancement thinking, naturalistic evolution, process theology and the idea of inevitable progress, is in Romans 11:36, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” “Not just “all things” except evil things. Not “all things” on a general scale but not on a small scale. All things come from Him, exist through Him, and ultimately exist for His glory.” BIBLIOGRAPHY Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2009. Bush, L. Russ. The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age. Nashville, TN: B & H, 2003.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:15:34 +0000
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