PREFACE TO

That Which Was Lost

Jesus said, "For the son of man is come to save that which was lost" (Matt. 18:11). His statement is usually considered to be a reference to saving lost souls. But Jesus also said, "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8). It can be argued that when Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden, they lost faith in God's word, and believed Satan's word instead. "That which was lost" is faith in God's word. This volume deals with an era of human history that is not recorded, therefore is considered pre-history, or prehistoric. We have been given a secular description of that era which contradicts the biblical account. It is the intent of this book to restore faith in that account.

The available information on this era is very limited. This book discusses the era narrated in Genesis from chapter 1 to chapter 9:17 - from Creation to Noah's altar after the Flood. Only 9 chapters, but 1500 years of human existence! The only other written information concerning this era is in the post-flood myths, of which I don't draw upon, since I will discuss them in the next volume.

So, what I discuss is chiefly the Bible. Along with the Bible, I look at what secular information has to provide - specifically the scientific community. We are very fortunate that there are many believers that have the scientific credentials to propose alternative theories of creation that are Biblically based. These men and women are in the growing numbers of Creation Scientists. I am not a scientist, nor pretend to be one. My intent is to share both secular and creation science points of view, but with the preference for the Biblically based theories.

But I would like to clarify that this book is not a creation science project, although I draw heavily on other men's work. What we think about our origins frames, and underlines all our thinking about life today. It is evident that God thinks this knowledge is important, otherwise He wouldn't have given Moses the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis is one of the most widely criticized books of the Bible by the secular community. And for good reason: if you believe what is said about creation in Genesis, then it is too hard to accept the alternative of evolution. Therefore, this volume starts the series, not as an historical document (although the Bible text is an historical text), but as an examination of world view assumptions. That is, I challenge many thoughts about our origin as to whether they are Biblically based or not.

God is the central issue to our Biblically based world view. The secular community's primary assumption is that there is no God - or that He is not at all involved with this life. But the Bible demonstrates that God is, and is involved with our life and His creation. Therefore, this volume is more than anything else, a theological work since theology is the study of God.

The Lost World is divided into three parts. Part 1: From God's Point of View, examines the veracity and reliability of the Bible in contrast to what the world says. It concludes with who God is and His intentions. Part 2: The Creation and Fall of Man, examines the cosmology of creation and the nature of man - both originally before the Fall, and in his perverse state today. Part 3: That Which Was Lost, is speculative theology on what the Genesis narrative says about the people of that world. I freely admit that these are mere opinions of what might have happened based upon the Scriptures. It ends with what creation science has to say about the Flood and Noah's ark.

My hope is that basic assumptions about our origin will be answered, and a foundation will be laid for examining the historical dispersion and growth of mankind into various civilizations. With this foundation, I hope to later trace the hand of God throughout history to watch his purposes unfold.