I have come across many books both pro and con on the issue of Creation, as well as several "semi-pro" efforts (Gap Theory, Framework Hypothesis). The ones that are at either end often tend to cartoon the opposition as something not to be taken seriously.
Old Earth teachers (OE) insinuate, for instance, that Young Earth creationists have never heard of the idea of "Yom" (Hebrew for "day") being used in a variety of ways. Some also assume (wrongly) that the fossil record is an embarrassing evidence that Creationists think needs to be explained away.
But Young Earth Creationists (YEC) - which is what I am - often do similar things. They belittle the opposition or demonize the issue, assuring that more heat is generated than light; "Maybe your ancestors were monkeys....". And they often fight the Goliath of evolution and general Biblical disbelief in the armor of Saul (1st Samuel 17:38- 39) instead of the spiritual armor God has given us. Examples: When confronted with cynicism concerning Joshua's commanding of the day to be extended they counter with Harry Rimmer's chestnut of scientists having discovered an extra day. Or, in order to discredit evolutionism, they pass on the now-discredited accounts of Darwin's final conversion and total repudiation of his life's work. For more on this subtopic, see my article: "Bad Science for a Good God".
That is why Dr. Sarfati's book is so welcome. He rolls up his sleeves (this is a difficult subject) and courteously and meticulously sets the groundwork for a Biblical account of six days of creation and day of rest. He does not belittle the opponents, whether they are strict evolutionists (Hawkins), day-age creationists (Hugh Ross, Gleason Archer), or Gap Theorists (R. Grigg) and Framework Hypothesists (Meredith Kline, J.A. Pipa). But he takes each position and deals with them scripturally, contextually and linguistically.
"Refuting Compromise" is not an easy read. The subject matter is very interesting, but it requires careful thought - not the kind of book you can read while listening to the radio!
I like that the author is considerate of his readers: He tells them, at the beginning of each chapter what he is going to say. He says it - the main part of the chapter. And then he summarizes what he just said. Introduction, elaboration, summarization. Excellent. I wish all authors would do this!
Here are the titles of the first five chapters:
1. The Authority of Scripture
2. The Days of Creation
3. The History of Interpretation of Genesis 1- 11
4. The Order of Creation
5. The Big Bang and Astronomy
Truth be known, Sarfati did not do a summary at the end of that last chapter, and that is where one might have been helpful. This is where, probably due to this being one of the author's strong points, things get quite involved. I almost said "bogged down" but it doesn't. The reader just needs to go through the material carefully and thoughtfully. I made several notes while reading this.
The Foreword and first chapter lay out the Biblical groundwork, which is always good to see. He honors the Bible foremost, both as instructing us in how to examine this topic, but also in how to treat others who disagree. Unlike several books in this genre (both pro and con) Sarfati treats the opposition with due personal respect.
In the first chapter we see that Hugh Ross and others, while arguing for putting the "facts of science" on a par with Scripture, they actually make Scripture subservient to Science. Ross actually has referred to science as the "67th book of the Bible". But, as bad as that is, in practice, he interprets those other 66 books according to that 67th book. Sarfati rightly points out that
"Scripture is able to make a man 'wise unto salvation' and 'thoroughly furnished unto all good works'. This implies that Scripture contains all the doctrine and moral law we need."
In this first chapter the author cautions against over-confidence in evidentialist apologetics, and of trying to "prove the Bible with science" (p.45). This leads into the proper use of science in its own sphere, borrowing Martin Luther's terminology of "magisterial" and "ministerial". Luther used those terms for the right and wrong use of reason. Sarfati borrows these to apply to science (an application of reason). We are to have a magisterial respect for the Bible and a ministerial understanding of science, In other words, the Bible overrules in any seeming clash between Bible and science. Example: On the one hand, a scientist (or an Old Earth Christian) postulates that first we had dinosaurs, then subhumans, then Adam. On the other hand we have Christ's clear teaching (Mark 10:6) that Adam and Eve were created at the "beginning of Creation" - that first week. Our magisterial respect for Scripture compels us to hold on to Christ's word - and round-file (that is, trash) the evolutionist's pronouncement.
This would be a good note to end with: When I put the book down I had a renewed appreciation and respect for the Book that God wrote, that starts with "In the beginning..." and has the last word.