Rating: 
Summary: A Noble Idea, but poorly executed
Review: Schroeder takes the reader on a bit of a convoluted ride between the two greatest western myths of the last two millennia: science and the Bible. Due to the sociopolitical environment of the day, these two tremendous cosmologies spent a great deal of time embattled with one another. Schroeder's attempt to show the occasional bridge between the two is interesting, but he could have devoted a couple more volumes to the subject and do both myths justice. Unfortunately, looking to work under a certain page number, the author tends to gloss over major arguments brought forth in the scientific communities. His catch phrase throughout the book is not "...because" but rather: "...what if?" Put simply, Schroeder failed to be definitive with his ideas. The end result is a loosely bound collection of theories which are not supported in the text to the degree that the author assumes the mantle of authority. If someone felt that they couldn't see a future for their faith in our science-dominated world, this is the book for you. But take it with a bag of salt. If you are a pragmatist looking for the ineffable, I might recommend you to other texts.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting take on theology
Review: While this book is categorized as a science book, it is, in essence, a theology book that uses the scientific literature to back his arguments (which he includes as references, which I think helps a lot). The main theme of the book is that the conflict between science and religion is essentially nonexistent, since science, contrary to popular opinion, is not on a mission to disprove the existence of a Creator. Instead, when comparing certain scientific articles with not only the Bible, but also theological opinions that pre-date Darwinism, the two sides actually complement, not contradict, one another. Some of the more interesting examples include showing that the Genesis "seven-day" creation actually correlates with the timeframe of the Big-bang, as well as a very interesting theory about how Adam and Eve got along with other species of man. While the physics presented in some of the chapters will go over the heads of those without a science background, he does occasionally warn the reader when this may occur and suggests where they may what to skip ahead to. I think it's a particular must read for those that like to argue religion with friends or coworkers ("Well, I was reading this book by this guy Schroeder, and HE thinks. . .") as well as those who just on occassion find themselves wondering about our place in this great big universe.
Rating: 
Summary: Neither Biblical nor scientific
Review: In an effort to make the Bible and science agree, Schroeder develops a hypothesis that supposedly shows the convergence of a relativistic timeline and the creation story in Genesis. It's the centerpiece of this book. Three huge problems: 1. There are two different creation stories in Genesis, so Schroeder is at odds with one of them right off the bat. 2. He doesn't agree with the other Biblical sequence of events either. No matter how hard he tries - and he tries very hard - fungi aren't fruit trees. He should be congratulated for finding one other person from the past 4000 years who confused fungi and fruit trees, but that doesn't fly as proof. 3. His "science" isn't testable, which is a basic part of being scientific. His attempt to merge the Bible and science in this way is an abject failure. What you're left with is Schoeder's theology - a non-Biblical, non-scientific theology that is completely irrelevant to those who understand science or study the Bible. It's just his theology, nothing more. Basic logic also presents problems for Schroeder. He insists on calculating probabilities for past events (quick - what is the probability that the Buccaneers won the January 2003 Super Bowl? Logical people would say 100%. Schoeder would calculate a non-100% value). If you pile enough illogical statistics together, you can show how unlikely anything is. I suppose this book is relevant to Schroeder, his publisher, and people who can ignore its failures in logic, Biblical interpretation, and science. Look elsewhere for wisdom.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning and Imaginative Exploration of Science & the Bible
Review: This book overwhelmed me in its ability to incorporate all that is scientific and all that is theological. Few authors, especially scientists venture into the realm of religion without bashing it to bits but this one has. He has taken his Jewish roots and researched them to every realm. Though I don't agree with him on the Big Bang theory, I do agree with him on some of the finer points of Biblical interpretation. What a man! What a book!
Rating:
Summary: A relief from uneeded strife
Review: The main reason I chose to write this review was to clear up some of the misunderstandings in other reviews about Schroeder's time calculations. The choice of the factor million million is NOT arbitrary. It is based off of the redshift of cosmic background radiation between quark confinement and approximately the present. It is also related to the change in temperature from quark confinement to the present. I double-checked this temperature change in "Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics: Volume II (3rd Edition)". Actual review: this book is great. As a christian, I had fears when I began reading it. I see this fear when evolution is mentioned in my church. It is the fear that your entire life is based on something that doesn't agree with the facts, that you have been missing the truth. But in reading it, my faith in the Bible is stronger than it has ever been. It is true what he says: an understanding of the works of God comes not only from the Bible, but from a firm understanding of science. Don't blink at the facts. Read this book and understand why there is no reason for conflict between two of God's greatest creations.
Rating: 
Summary: Basque Beef
Review: No this is not a recipe but a serious complaint of some of Schroeder's reasoning in this book. He mentions quite a bit about a fossil European caveman, the Cro-Magnons, being not descendants of Adam and Eve but rather soulless human-like creatures. Since 1997 (or 96) when Schroeder wrote this book scientist Bryan Sykes in his very good and true Seven Daughters of Eve book has shown conclusively, through genetic studies, that the Cro-Magnons are in fact to a very large degree the ancestors of nearly all white European peoples living today. Is one to now also conclude (from reading Sykes and Schroeder's work combined) that our Cro-Magnon ancestors, who make up most our families living a measley twelve thousand years ago, were people in every way but that they had no souls? I strongly think not! But the worst is still yet to come! Sykes showed that most Europeans are indeed often descended from the Cro-Magnons but also--to a smaller degree--from ancient Syrians , the latter group who migrated into Europe 10,000 years ago and taught the Cro-Magnons agriculture as well as crossbred with them. Furthermore, Sykes also proved that most Basques (who live in northern Spain and southern France) are in fact descended of absolutely nothing but Cro-Magnons. Schroeder's thinking on Cro-Magnons (made public in this book) has become a complete and direct insult to most Basques alive today! I realize, again, Schroeder wrote this book just before the truth about Cro-Magnons/Basques became known and final but Gerald's just got to go back and print a new version of this work minus his Cro-Magnon comments. The rest of his book often stands pretty well. Love the explanation of how the same anceint word for lizard and bird justifies archaeopteryx!
Rating:
Summary: response to other reviews
Review: The Bible and Science are not at extreme odds as some may claim. The Bible teaches the re-formation of the earth took 6 days. Very little was actually "Created" in the 6 days... (days 5 and 6 were full of actual creations) The Heaven and Earth were "Created" in Genesis 1:1, prior to the famous "6-days". There are distinct Hebrew differences with creating something from nothing, forming something from a pre-existing something, and re-fashioning something. Read Genesis 1 without all the dogma and assumptions you have been spoon fed... Read it with a strongs concordance or a study guide. You may be suprised just how long the earth has been around. There is no room to argue with the age of man... we are clearly told that the first HUMAN man is Adam and he existed roughly 6,000 years ago. What we were not told was that the Earth was CREATED for the first time in 6 days, only 6k years ago. The earth was re-formed in 6 days because it was without form and void from Lucifer, his followers, and his time on the earth after his fall from Heaven. After all, the serpent was in Eden when Adam was in the Garden. You didn't think the fall of Lucifer occured why Adam was in the garden did you? luke
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Schroeder's knowledge of evolutionary biology is shockingly incomplete. He repeatedly argues against Darwinian gradualism, completely ignoring punctuated equilibrium and other lessons from the last hundred years. He really should get a copy of Gould's _Wonderful_Life_, since it would help clarify his many misconceptions about the Burgess Shale. Maybe a copy of _Structure of Evolutionary Theory_ would help too. Schoeder's forays into relativity are just as misguided, relying on consistent changes in gravity and velocity that have no scientific merit and completely ignoring that the velocity of universal expansion is increasing. He also ignores the future implications of continuing his trends. And while he's at it, he ignores the ways in which other parts of the Bible contradict his timeline. He cites peer-reviewed journals and respected scientists, but do not be fooled - this book is not a peer-reviewed journal. Compounding his many other errors, Schoeder continually estimates the statistical likelihood of events AFTER they have happened - a meaningless exercise. This book is an exercise in faith, not logic.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Outside of the Norm
Review: This book is surprisingly different than most other creation/evolution books I have read, as, instead of arguing for one or the other, Schroeder actually gives a case for both theories. His topics range from using quantum mechanics to mold the scientific dates and the Genesis dates of the Bible to the same frame of reference. By far the best part of this work is when Schroeder presents his theory that Adam and Eve weren't necessarily the first of their kind, only the first to actually become human beings, in the sense that we are today. The reason I give four stars (would be four and a half)is because the book begins to lag down prematurely, as the final chapters begin to cut away from the main theme of the novel. However, the appendices are quite interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A brave attempt at a formidable task
Review: Science or the Literal Bible? Most people see these two alternative as mutually exclusive. And indeed, it seems "obvious" that both cannot be correct: The Universe cannot be both 6000 years old and 15 billion years old. The Universe cannot be bounded by the laws of physics while humans retain their free will. And there are dozens of more examples of this kind. In his book, Gerald Schroeder challanges these "obvious facts": Using relativistic time dilation he attempts to prove that billions of years can be squeezed into six days. The paradox of free will is also neatly explained away by the 'fuzzy' laws of Quantum Mechanics. The attempt is commendable and Schroeder does make quite a few good points. But when you go down to the details, the book is plagued with scientific errors. To begin with, his time dilation calculations are totally at fault. The factor of one million million he uses is totally arbitery (nothing really special happened at z=1 million million). His redshift/blueshift calculations are also wrong: The background temperature (and the redshift) changed by less than 10% in the last billion years. Nowhere near the rate needed to slow down from a 500 million year per day (Day 5, according to Schreoder) to 24 hours per day. Another serious mistake appears in his coverage of evolution: He says the the evolution from chimpanzees to humans requires a million point mutations because the difference in the active DNA between human and chimps is 1,000,000 bases. This is simply false. Schroeder himself says that the number of changes needed is no more than 70,000. In most cases a single point mutation is enough to complete a change. It would have been better if Schreoder, as a nuclear physicist, asked an expert biologist before writing his chapters about evolution... The bottom line: Despite the errors and inaccuracies, is still recommend this book. I recommend the book because it would open your mind to a totally new way of seeing both science and the Bible. Reading it would enlighten you, as long as you take the scientific details with a large grain of salt.
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