Were Adam and Eve real people? Were they really the ancestors of all people? Does it even matter? A new online course entitled ‘The Historical Adam’ explores these questions in the light of Christian theology, palaeontology and molecular biology.

Created by Dr Todd Wood, president of the newly launched Core Academy of Science, this self-guided short course consists of six hour-long sessions, with optional quizzes to evaluate your learning.

This course is being offered FREE for one time only beginning 5 August 2013. As part of the free offer, all the video lessons will be available for six weeks, so the lessons can be enjoyed once a week or watched in a single sitting. Subscribers will also be able to download written course materials (handouts and powerpoints) for future study.

To take advantage of this exciting opportunity, please visit the new Core Academy of Science website to register. There is no limit to the number of people who can participate in the course, but you must sign up before 5 August in order to enjoy the course for free. In July, everyone who signs up will receive an email with instructions on how to access the course.

God’s command for Israel to destroy the Canaanites is one of the most commonly raised objections to the morality of the Old Testament. In two articles recently published in the newspaper Evangelicals Now Stephen Lloyd addresses this issue. In the first part (February 2013) he argues that while the destruction of the Canaanites is indeed horrific, it is morally justified in the light of everything else the Bible teaches. In the second article  (March 2013) Stephen considers the assumptions that lead people to question the morality of the command. He argues that only if physical death is understood to be a just punishment for sin can the morality of the command be defended. If physical death is not a punishment for sin (as many theistic evolutionists would insist) the destruction of the Canaanites becomes an act of violence, not an act of justice, and thus morally unjustified.

The Journal of Creation Theology and Science Series B has published a series of reviews of C. John Collins’s book, Did Adam and Eve really exist? One of the reviews is by Steve Lloyd. The journal also includes a response by Dr Collins to the set of reviews.

For more on the contemporary debate in the church over the historicity of Adam in the light of recent scientific challenges you can listen to Steve Lloyd’s talk at the 2012 John Owen Centre Conference  here.

Dr Steve Lloyd appeared on the BBC1 programme ‘The Big Questions’ on Sunday 13 January. The question was, “Is it time for all religions to accept evolution?” Steve was one of 12 guests on the show so there was limited time to contribute. Nevertheless, Steve was able to highlight the research that is done by highly qualified scientists holding to a young earth framework. In addition, he explained that the conflict between Christianity and evolution is seen most clearly in their different understandings of physical death: in evolution physical death has always been present whereas the Bible teaches that physical death was absent in the original creation, only entering the world as a punishment on sin.

The programme can be seen on the BBC iplayer until the end of the week.

Part one of Paul’s article ‘Evaluating Christian views of origins’ is in this months (January 2013) edition of Evangelical Times. Available online here.

Another article from Paul, ‘The Church Fathers on the Genesis Flood’, can be found in CMI’s Creation magazine, Volume 34, Issue 4, pp.14-15, October 2012.

Dr Steve Lloyd will be appearing on ‘The Big Questions’ on BBC1, 10am, Sunday 13 January. The question for discussion is “Is it time for all religions to accept evolution?”

Steve Lloyd gave the Martyn Lloyd-Jones memorial lecture at the John Owen Centre 2012 conference on Monday 10 September. The conference theme was ‘Adam in the Bible, the church and the world.’ The evening lecture, open to the public, focused on the contemporary debate in the church over the historicity of Adam in the light of recent scientific challenges.

The talk is now available for download here

The powerpoint slides accompanying the talk are also available.

Paul Garner is not available for speaking engagements for the time being, but will be taking bookings for autumn 2013 onwards. In the meantime, Steve Lloyd will continue to be available for speaking opportunities and we also hope that at least one visit by an overseas speaker may be arranged in the near future. Four associate speakers have also agreed to help us with engagements in 2012-2013. To book one of these speakers for your meeting please contact us on 01353 721578.

Dr David Tyler has a background in the physical sciences. He is a Reader at Manchester Metropolitan University, a Fellow of the Textile Institute and a Member of the Institute of Physics. He is Secretary of the Biblical Creation Society and has written many articles that seek to develop a Christian perspective on origins. He and his wife are members of Mottram Evangelical Church in Cheshire. Topics that David can speak about include Science and faith: why are there tensions? / Biblical creation: does it matter what we believe? / Design in nature: can it be handled by science? / Geology and the Flood / Understanding the rock record.

Dr Sylvia Baker is a biologist who trained under Professor John Maynard-Smith at Sussex University. Subsequently, with her family, she co-pioneered the thriving Trinity School at Stalybridge near Manchester for many years. She is author of Bone of Contention, a popular introduction to the origins debate which has sold over 250,000 copies in 10 languages. She recently gained a PhD for her research on the Christian schools movement in the UK. She currently attends a Baptist Church in Cheshire. Topics that Sylvia can address include Creationism in the classroom / Creation or evolution: what should we believe? / The rocks and the fossils: what should we believe? / Genesis and genetics: what should we believe?

Dr Marc Surtees has a PhD in zoology from the University of Reading. He is the director of an independent consultancy to the pharmaceutical industry and also manages a science and nature shop called Paradigm Shift in Edinburgh. He and his wife are active members of an independent Baptist Church and Marc lists his interests as his family, education, information technology, DIY, camping and walking. He is also an active member of the Edinburgh Creation Group. Topics that Marc can speak about include The God delusion? / Whales: created or evolved? / Are humans evolved apes? / The origin of life / Did birds evolve from dinosaurs? / Fossils: what do they really mean? / Evidence for a young earth / Was the eye designed?

Dr William Worraker has a BSc in Physics and a PhD in Engineering Mathematics. Currently employed as a developer of industrial software, he has been an active amateur astronomer for over twenty years and has participated in collaborative professional-amateur observing projects on variable stars. He and his wife are members of Abbey Baptist Church in Abingdon. Topics that Bill can address include General astronomy / Age and formation of the solar system / Astronomy of stars and galaxies / Cosmology / Existence (or otherwise) of life in space and related topics.

Conference report by Stephen Lloyd

This was my first time at the Origins conference organised by the Creation Biology Society and the Creation Geology Society.

The conference this year was held at Patrick Henry College, a Christian College in Purcellville, Virginia, about a one hour drive from Washington DC.

The first day of the conference was taken up with a field trip to the Shenandoah National Park. As we drove across the Blue Ridge Mountains we learnt about the local geology and ecology and we also had plenty of time to talk.

The technical sessions the following day covered geology, biology and theology. One of the highlights for me was John Whitmore’s talk on deformation features in the Coconino sandstone that provide further evidence of its formation in water.

In the evening we were treated to an overview of various key topics. Kurt Wise set out the current state of the Catastrophic Plate Tectonics model and Andrew Snelling explained the latest creationist thinking on radiometric dating including proposals for the further work that is needed. Todd Wood discussed various approaches to creation biology and summarised the progress that has been made. He also set out a stimulating new framework for creation biology research that derives from a biblical doctrine of creation rather than the questions that arise in responding to evolution.

Steve Austin finished the (long!) evening giving a fascinating account of his ongoing research on Dead Sea sediments that provide evidence for earthquakes in Israel’s history, including the one associated with the crucifixion in AD 33.

The final day was open to the public with various speakers invited to address different areas of theological importance for creation. Topics included the alleged mythical character of Genesis 1-3 and the historicity of Adam.  I finished the conference giving a talk entitled: ‘Flood Theology: why does Noah’s flood matter?’

Conference abstracts and powerpoint presentations from some of the theology talks can be downloaded from the Creation Biology Society website.

Steve Lloyd took part in a debate on the age of the earth on Monday 28 May 2012 at Gunnersbury Baptist Church in London. Hugh Ross and Ken Samples from ‘Reasons to Believe’ defended an old earth position. Steve and Andrew McIntosh presented young earth positions. Justin Brierley of Premier Christian Radio chaired the debate. The evening was recorded for Premier Radio and it was broadcast as the ‘Unbelievable’ show on 17 June 2012 and is available for download here.

The recording begins with four opening presentations of 15 minutes each (Steve is the fourth speaker), followed by a round-table discussion, then questions from the floor and finally closing statements of 5 minutes from each speaker.