It is the book's approach to origins which seriously damages the usefulness of this book. The position advocated is known as Theistic Evolution. Different strands of this teaching come to the fore in the different contributions. Some of the more important consensus views are the subject of comment here. Whilst this seems appealing, justification is lacking.
Historical events are common to both science and the biblical record.
In any case, science tells us that there is no mechanism for a human to physically rise from the dead' . In any case, science tells us that evolution by natural selection is the way God filled the world with living things' . Nowhere are the principles behind the conclusions made clear - and this is not a commendable feature of a Christian book. The true disciple will learn from others - but only as they promote understanding of the revelation of God. Malcolm Jeeves expresses feelings of exasperation with the debate when he writes as follows.