On Why I Wrote Human Origins and the
Bible
When I heard my
first sermon in 2nd grade; it seemed right, I could not imagine
anyone not believing what seemed obvious, and I have walked with God ever since. My grandparents gave me a King James Bible
when I was in 3rd grade, and I started from Genesis 1:1. While the creation days made perfect sense to
a young future engineer, I had lots of questions about Adam and Eve.
High School, then Purdue
University, and 50 years of sermons and Sunday school classes were very helpful
in further understanding more about God, Scripture, and science. Typically, my
earlier pastors questioned if engineering personalities made good Bible
teachers or pastors.
Later a new pastor
asked me to start teaching classes in my local church and God blessed this with
good attendance. This included various trips
to Palomar, to Griffith Observatory; Jet Propulsion Laboratory etc. to help
them better integrate religion and science.
Later I felt a calling
from God to attend Talbot Theological Seminary, where so many of my fellow
Boeing engineers also had felt a calling later in life. Talbot Seminary led to a more literal
understanding and increased scholarship of Scripture. Also one realizes different people understand
scripture thru their worldviews shaped by their various talents and life
experiences. Doctors better understand the
healing side of Jesus, teachers better see Jesus as the greatest teacher, more doctrinal
people better understand the theological side, and caregivers better see His
compassion for others. But many of the
finest pastors and Bible commentators lacked a scientific bent in an increasing
technological culture. Most of the
greatest commentators/authors “could not see” chiastic structures or truly
understand the scientific orientations God wrote into Scripture.
After retirement
from Boeing after 50 years, I took a class in Human Origins from Biola as part
of a MA level Christian Apologetics program.
None of the Human Origins textbooks written by religious leaders used
scripture, except for the Theistic Evolution leaders who had a low opinion of
Scripture. I was very dissatisfied that
no one had deeply understood Adam and Eve from both a Biblical and a scientific
perspective. After the class, I spent a year poring over the scriptures, trying
to first be true to both scripture and then science, and came to the following
conclusion:
1.
The story of Adam and Eve was literally true and
occurred perhaps 8000 years ago as the Bible describes,
2.
Modern humans migrated out of Africa about
50,000 years ago, just as archeologists say they did, and
3.
God
formed Eve, the first woman, about 135,000 years ago, just as DNA findings
conclude.
The “Human Origins
and the Bible” book provides a rational explanation for this, based on being
totally true to scripture, and thus provides a theology of sorts for the modern
age. This book speaks to our youth and younger
generation, who want to see both God’s Word and His creation as consistent, for
He wrote the Bible and He spoke creation into being. Rejection of God’s Word as literally true and
rejection of God’s creation go hand in hand, for both are rejections of God.
The first half is
Bible Study on relevant scriptures, while the second half describes the latest
advances in both archeology and DNA research to help us better interpret
scripture. This approach is totally
unique in this field. It has shorter
chapters ideal for small groups or individual study with questions at the end
of each chapter.
Myron Heavin
Ps.
More detailed Power Point slides are available for teachers / students
by requesting them from mgheavin@mac.com.
About The Book
For More Information:
Human Origins And The Bible is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Redemption Press
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club on Goodreads
About the Author
Myron G. Heavin graduated from Purdue University with a BS in aeronautical engineering, and has a BA in biblical and theological studies from Talbot Theological Seminary, and is currently enrolled in Christian Apologetics MA studies at Biola University. After fifty years as an engineer for the Boeing Company, Heavin retired and continues teaching and leading seven different Bible studies. Heavin and his wife Sharyl, who have been married over fifty years, have three grown children, and make their home in Lompoc, CA.
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