ARA Review by drjpublishing of The Biblical Clock

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drjpublishing
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ARA Review by drjpublishing of The Biblical Clock

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[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Biblical Clock.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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This review is for The Biblical Clock: The Untold Secrets Linking the Universe and Humanity with God’s Plan written by Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon. This book has a well-thought out and researched theory on reconciling a creationists viewpoint with science. The thoughts put forth are based on biblical history and scientific fact to create a timeline that fits both sides of the scientific and religious coin.

One thing that I want to point out right away that I really appreciate about this book, is the time and care given to the backmatter. There is an extensive glossary with convenient links to aid the reader throughout the book. There are several appendixes for dates, timelines, and prophecies, just to name a couple, and there is also a section for photo credits. I think everything being neatly tucked away in the back helped for a smoother read of the text.

However, I think the most important addition to the backmatter would be the sources and how they were laid out chapter by chapter, even if most were sourced from Wikipedia. Although I did not have the time to vet all the sources, including them in the book is very helpful for the reader to determine where the authors are coming from. Again, very much appreciated. The only disappointment here was the balance of Wikipedia articles against peer-reviewed scientific articles. I think more of the latter would have really helped support the connections the authors were trying to make.

As for the tone of the writing, I found it to be well-written, easy to read (for the most part), and delivered in an informative manner. There are some sections where I had to read a couple times to understand the points the authors were trying to draw together. This, however, could be due to my inability to make the leaps from science to creationism. Although some points that were brought up seemed to fill the gap between science and creationism like puzzle pieces, others relied too much on stretching a particular set of beliefs. Without giving anything away in spoilers, some of these areas were toward the end of the book where theory was heavily relied on.

I think my favorite part of the book was the historical aspect of it, and the way the historical figures' lives were depicted. I will admit, there were several historical names that I was not familiar with as I was not raised in a household that shared the same religious views of the authors. The historical people highlighted in the text lived important, meaningful lives, and I found myself wanting to learn more about them. Even after making thorough use of the glossary, this book inspired me to do my own research on these figures, although sometimes I only found the same articles that were already sourced from the book. After reading a few of these articles myself, I'm assured that the author researched in great detail the events/people depicted within this work.

Although I do not share the same religious viewpoints as the author, I do believe he has put many hours and much heart into the creation of this project. I also believe that there are many, many people out there that would benefit from reading this book. Science is not the enemy, nor should religious views be. Everything is plausible and can exist in harmony with each other.

Although I teetered on the brink of giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars due to the lack of scientifically peer-reviewed sources, I have decided to give it a full 5 out of 5 stars. This reason is due to all the hard work the authors put into the work, and I believe this work should be read and considered by many.

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