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Is the Book of Genesis Really That Important?

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Editors Note: Is Genesis History? debuted in movie theaters on February 23 to incredible audience support and sold-out auditoriums around the country, ranking No. 1 at the box office for the day above all other major film releases. Due to this popular demand, encore screenings will be presented in U.S. movie theaters for two nights only on March 2 & 7.

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Have you ever sat in the corner of an otherwise pleasant coffee shop with a good friend and found yourself defending the basic tenets of creation as set forth in the Bible?  The banter is anything but boring as you engage in the ultimate Us vs. Them conversation.  Nothing gets solved as you each stand on your end of the Biblical battlefield.

But then you walk away wondering if you are the crazy one.  Perhaps the universe wasn’t created in six days after all.  Or maybe there really wasn’t a global flood, an ark, and animals gathered two by two. And what about the dinosaurs?!!!

In a thought-provoking new documentary, Is Genesis History?, Dr. Del Tackett takes viewers on a global journey of discovery, sifting through compelling evidence about the claims of Genesis provided by scientists and Biblical scholars. Shot in dazzling 4K video, the documentary will be shown as a one-night only (February 23rd) Fathom movie event in theaters nationwide.

I recently chatted with Dr. Tackett to determine whether the Old Testament book of Genesis is really true or a timeworn work of fiction, if scientists can accept the creation account set forth in the Bible, and where a person can look to find reliable evidence to support the book of Genesis.

Documenting the authenticity of Genesis has been studied a great deal over the centuries with most experts landing in two camps – “new earth” and “old earth” people.  What does Is Genesis History? bring to the table that other films and studies have not?

I think what we’ve done is to first of all head to the scientific field. We’ve met with the scientists out in the field, attempted to look at the data itself, and then to discuss it in a non-confrontational way. This is not a film where we are throwing bombs. We’re very clear that there is a conventional scientific paradigm that in our day and in our time holds sway, just as in the history of science; there have been scientific paradigms that had held sway. In Ptolemy’s day, for example, people thought his theories were inviolable. And so we’re in one of those today in which the notion of deep time, for example, is inviolable. You cannot speak against it, evidence to the contrary is not allowed.  That’s typical. That’s what happens when any scientific paradigm has risen to power. But we weren’t interested in casting bombs at it. We obviously want to show the contrast, but to help people see that, look, there is credible scientific evidence, and there are very, very smart scientists who are studying this and they look at the data and say, no, this data supports the historical reading of Genesis.

You obviously consulted with a wealth of scientists, archeologists, theologians and other experts in making this documentary.  Were they convinced that Genesis is accurate and authentic?

Yes. All of the scientists we talked to were convinced of that, each in their own area, whether they were geologists, paleontologists, microbiologists, the Hebraist, they all were convinced by the evidence that they looked at that the eye witness account was, in fact, historically correct.

With scientific evidence sometimes screaming otherwise, was it your conclusion that there really was a six-day creation?

Yes. I am convinced that what God has spoken to us in the Genesis account and what was reiterated in Exodus when God was giving the Sabbath command, when He said “For in six days the Lord made the Heavens and the earth,” that is exactly what it says. So the creative work of God, miraculous, was accomplished in that short period of time. And I think the scientific evidence actually supports it.

In conversations with these experts and your personal observances of the environment you surveyed, what did you find most fascinating in your geological and archeological observances?

That’s a tough one for me, because every place I went I was fascinated. The first thing that comes to my mind is the soft dinosaur tissue. That was fascinating to me. I looked at it under the microscope; it was spongy. We talked to microbiologists who said, ‘You know, this shouldn’t be here, this protein breaks down rapidly, this should not be here if the deep time paradigm is correct.’ So that stands out to me. The other one is who could not say that scuba diving in St. Thomas was not fascinating. But when we hiked down into the Little Grand Canyon and stood on the floor of that canyon with the layered walls around us, everything looks like all of the other canyons in the world, it looks just as old as all of them, and recognizing that the floor of the canyon that we stood on was 900 feet above the forest in 1980, and all of that complex geology that we see around us there was formed practically in an instant in my lifetime, that was a fascinating thing to recognize.

As you have mentioned, you had the opportunity to travel to some of the most magnificent natural wonders to help you explore the validity of creation.  But where does a person look to find reliable evidence to support the historic authenticity of Genesis?

Well, it’s not easy because of what we’ve already mentioned. We live in a day where the current deep-time paradigm has captured everything, so you can’t go to the classroom to find it, you can’t go to the standard textbooks, you certainly can’t go to the museums or the signage in the parks or listen to the ranger, because they all speak from that paradigm. A near-time paradigm is not allowed in that form, so I tell people you have to go rogue. You have to go rogue, but it’s there. After people see the film, we’re going to provide some study materials for people. We’ll be able to point them to the articles that these scientists have written, and we covered so many different areas of science that we will then allow people, if they’re interested in microbiology, to go and read those things. You have to objectively seek for it just because of the nature of the paradigm that exists.

You have chosen to present Is Genesis History? as a one night only Fathom movie event in theaters nationwide on February 23rd.  Why did you choose this means of distribution?

It lends itself to that. It certainly is not a Star Wars movie. It’s nothing that would run in theaters for a long period of time. It fits this venue. If there are sufficient people who want to see it, then it will be extended into another week and another time, so that is possible. But we felt that it was important for people to see this, visually it really lends itself to a theater. We filmed it in 4K because we wanted people to see the reality, and the splendor, and the beauty of the places we were finding this evidence. So it lends itself to that, and then the study materials will be there for people who want to go deeper. As part of the film presentation, I will also be moderating a panel discussion with three scientists.

What is your greatest hope for Is Genesis History? What would you like people who see this documentary get out of the experience?

The mass of evangelical Christianity wants to read Genesis as the historical narrative that it is, but they are pounded in our current scientific paradigm with evidence that says it can’t be. They’re accused of being unscientific and ignorant. I want them to go to this film and come out thinking, you know what, you can trust the Word of God. You don’t have to cede to the notion that you’re unscientific, or stupid, or an idiot if you believe in near-time, because, I’ll tell you, these are scary-smart scientists. These are not slouchers. Some of these men and women, they were child prodigies. They’re so intelligent, and they dedicate themselves to their work and to their research. So, I want the mass of Christianity, who wants to be able to read God’s Word and believe that it is historically correct to realize that they don’t have to take some twisting of the Word here, that they can believe that what God said is true. If there are people on the fence, I would hope that they would see that there is credible evidence that they may want to continue.

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Watch the trailer for Is Genesis History?:

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About The Author

Chris
Carpenter

Chris Carpenter is the program director for CBN.com, the official website of the Christian Broadcasting Network. He also serves as executive producer for myCBN Weekend, an Internet exclusive webcast show seen on CBN.com. In addition to his regular duties, Chris writes extensively for the website. Over the years, he has interviewed many notable entertainers, athletes, and politicians including Oscar winners Matthew McConaughy and Reese Witherspoon, evangelist Franklin Graham, author Max Lucado, Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy and former presidential hopefuls Sen. Rick Santorum and Gov. Mike