Review of The Biblical Clock

[Philip Mahlangu]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Biblical Clock" by Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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There are two prominent ideas that exist about the creation of Earth in the western world. One idea purpots that God created everything that exists around a couple of millennia ago. This idea is mostly religious in nature and draws from the book of Genesis in the Bible. The other idea relies on scientific theories, which suggests that the Earth and the universe formed billions of years in the past. Both ideas seem to be extreme ends of polar opposites, but Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon have come up with an idea that seeks to bridge the gap that exists between these vastly different ideas. The Biblical Clock is the result of these ideas.

Trying to prove the age of the universe is a tall task. From whatever vantage point, there seems to be a lot of extrapolation that happens, which may be or may not be accurate. The layout of the book is quite simple. The authors use the thoughts of biblical scholars who came before them to form a narrative. Every chapter has its own point to prove, which is then added to the narrative and a conclusion is made from the sum of these ideas. I don't know if this formula works, because it seems to be very narrow. The authors only use the thoughts of scholars who align with their vision, which seems very contrived to me. I think I would have respected the book more if it also challenged itself by bringing contradicting views into the argument.

The use of fiction in these chapters, especially the story of the predicted rapture, was also a little distracting because it took away from the more "factual" sections. Although these stories added entertaining value and made the book less monotonous, they added nothing to the bigger picture.

The thing the book does very well is that it dismantles Bible verses and long-held beliefs, whilst also making complete, logical sense. I couldn't fault any of the rationale. In fact, I think this is the most convincing non-scientific book on the age of the universe that I have read. The authors worked hard to come up with a very plausible story. But everything must be read with a grain of salt because at the end of the day, it's still speculation based on other people's thoughts.

The book was also edited to perfection, which is great, especially for us reading from a critical point of view. The book deserves a three and a half star rating from me, but because that's not an actual thing here, I'll be generous enough to convert it to 4 out of 4 stars. I don't like theories and speculations, but from an execution perspective, this is a great book. The use of bibliography, at the very least, makes this a more reliable product because the authors tried to support their stance.

If you have ever found yourself consumed by the real age of the universe, or found yourself arguing with people about this topic at hand, or if you want to find out what other people think about the real age of the universe, then this book was written specifically for your knowledge's sake. I wouldn't recommend it to teenagers because I feel like at that age, people are highly impressionable and will believe anything that seems convincing. I prefer for books such as this to be read by people mature enough to dissect the information before they actually try to make sense of it.

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The Biblical Clock
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