Book Review

The Lion of The Covenant by Maurice Grant

Published by Evangelical Press. Paperback, 200 pages, price £9.95. Available at The Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE

MAURICE GRANT'S biography of that eminent man of God, Donald Cargill, was hailed with acclaim by all those readers who revere the memory of that noble band who counted not their lives dear unto death for the cause of Christ in Scotland. Readers of this, his latest book, which is the biography of Richard Cameron and is appropriately named The Lion of the Covenant, will not be disappointed. The present reviewer was impressed by the clarity with which the writer presented the complex events of these troubled times. One very valuable feature of the book is the excellent notes which appear at the end, which not only reflect the thorough and extensive research carried out by the author, but also present in an easily absorbed form, the historical and religious significance of such important events in Scotland's history as the Queensferry Paper and the Sanquhar Declaration, to name but two.

Quotations from Cameron's preaching are well chosen and reveal a minister who preached law and gospel in all its fullness, as the following quotation shows: "Oh, if you got but a view of the saints on Mount Zion, clothed with righteousness, even that of Christ, and got a sight of the terror of God, you would know that it is a bitter thing to depart from the living God: you would abhor nothing like sin." That Cameron rejoiced in the free offer of the gospel is well illustrated by his words, "Angels are wondering at this offer; they stand beholding with admiration, that our Lord is giving you such an offer this day."

Some good men among Richard Cameron's contemporaries, while esteeming him highly as a minister of the gospel, thought that he tended to take an extremist view on political issues, but Maurice Grant deals more than adequately with this view in Chapter 30 of the book.

We thoroughly recommend this book, not only to our older readers, but perhaps especially to young men and women who have a desire to become acquainted with Scotland's religious history through reading reliable and well-written books such as this book is.

Dr D. R. MacSween

And God said . . . , by Dr Farid Abou-Rahme

Published by John Ritchie Ltd., Kilmarnock. Paperback, 160 pages, £5.95. Available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE

SINCE the publication of the book, The Genesis Flood, written by Morris and Whitcomb and published in 1969, a large number of books of varying degrees of scientific sophistication, which take an anti-evolutionary stand, have been published. Some of these are authored by scientists who profess to be Christians, and others are written by some who would describe themselves as agnostics. One of the best known of the latter type is Michael Denton's Evolution - A Theory in Crisis. Denton, on purely scientific grounds, produces compelling evidence against Darwin and Neo-Darwinism, but the book has the disadvantage that it does not make easy reading for those who have had no training in the natural sciences. The book currently under review is written by a scientist who is a professing Christian and, in the opinion of the present reviewer, provides an excellent introduction to the powerful scientific arguments against evolution which are currently enjoying more publicity. The book would provide a very helpful guide to students studying biology, in the upper forms of school, and in college and university, who are likely to be confronted with evolutionary theory as if it were established scientific fact.

The book is divided into four sections, namely, Science and the Bible, Creation and the Evolution, Evidence for the Flood and Noah's Ark, and Written that you might Believe. He deals critically with such theories of the origin of the universe as the Big Bang theory, which was "published as science" by Professor Stephen Hawkins in his book, A Brief History of Time. Among many other topics, he discusses, in a very helpful manner, the unreliability of carbon dating and those methods used for computing the age of the earth which contradict the biblical teaching supporting a young earth.

The basis of belief for the believer is primarily the Word of God, a fact that is expressed in the words, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which do appear," Hebrews 11:3. So it is gratifying to come across a book, written by a scientist, in which the Word of God is acknowledged as the final court of appeal. We cordially recommend this book to our young people, especially those parts of it that deal specifically with the arguments against evolutionary theory.

Dr D. R. MacSween

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