Is Genesis History? (2017)

Title: Is Genesis History? (2017; unrated*)
Director: Thomas Purifoy Jr.
Major Themes: Bible, Biblical Authority, Creation, Genesis, Geology, History, Science
Synopsis: A search for whether we can rely on the authority of the Bible, and more particularly, the first part of Genesis, while looking at different aspects of the world and archaeology.

I’m not actually sure where Mom picked up Is Genesis History?, although I’d suspect it was connected to one of our visits to the Ark Encounter or the Creation Museum when our family took a trip to the US in June and July 2017. Wherever it was that she did find it, she was excited to share it with us when we could make time, so the last few Sundays we’ve been taking time to get through it. It turned out to be a very worthwhile film!

Dr. Del Tackett is on a mission to discover the truth about the Genesis account: Is it a real historical record, or is it simply a myth made up by someone to explain something they didn’t really understand? First, he takes us to Mount St. Helens to discover how quickly landscapes can change, given the right circumstances. Then, we visit with Steve Austin, PhD, a geologist, and explore the rich diversity of layers in the Grand Canyon. Then he goes to visit Paul Nelson, PhD, a philosopher of science and they discuss the two paradigms used to interpret the world around us—two different ways of interpreting the same data, but with widely differing results. As we move through the rest of the movie, we meet with a Hebraist, another geologist, a paleontologist, another paleontologist, a taphonomist (something to do with archeology, I think), a microbiologist (that part was fascinating!), a marine biologist, a biologist, an astronomer, an archaeologist, and a pastor. Each give their own take on the topic, adding interesting and informative tidbits all along.

In all, Is Genesis History? is an intriguing look at some of life’s simplest matter, and some of the most complicated happenings as a result of world-wide catastrophe. It compares two very opposing views, and shares compelling evidence that might suggest that the generally-accepted theory might not hold as much water as some would hope (no pun intended!). Best of all, in my opinion, it reaffirms the infallibility and authority of the Bible, and encourages watchers to trust that when God says something, He means it. It’s easy to get distracted these days and start to question the Bible, so it was good to hear again that it is trustworthy…because it is God’s Word. This movie is something that older teens and higher would get the most out of, but even for the youngsters there are some beautiful scenery and other nature shots scattered throughout the film.

*Although this film is officially unrated, I would consider this suitable for any audience.

No warnings!

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Pamela’s Prayer (1998) Red River of Life (2004) Patterns of Evidence: Exodus (2015) Alien Intrusion (2018)