Title: The Genius of Ancient Man
Author: Don Landis
Major Themes: Creation, Evolution, Religion, Apologetics, Ancient Times
Synopsis: The Ancient Man Research Team from Jackson Hole Bible College describe evolution’s nightmare in this introduction to the war that has been raging between the two kingdoms that exist in the universe, since the beginning of time.
I am fascinated with ancient times. There is very little we know for sure about the people who lived near the beginning of time, but the evidence that has survived tells us those people were extremely intelligent. I really enjoy reading books like The Genius of Ancient Man. This book is quite different from Brilliant, the last one in this genre that we read together. It is somewhat more scholarly than that one, but still readable.
Don Landis and others from Jackson Hole Bible College are making an in-depth study of ancient man and how ancient events and attitudes still affect us today. They begin this book with a discussion of how our perspective affects the way we look at evidence, and the presuppositions which they use as starting points in their study. This is followed by a discussion of the two kingdoms that exist in the world and how the one kingdom counterfeits everything that is important to the other kingdom.
The main part of the book discusses pre-flood man, advanced technology in the ancient world, and worldwide travel, monuments, mounds, and pyramids from ancient times. Then, there is a discussion about religions and legends, music, and art. Finally, the authors talk about how Babel is not gone—how it influences us today. At the end of the book is a list of 21 axioms that define and set apart the program at Jackson Hole Bible College. Along with each axiom is a Scripture reference, and an explanation. Some of these really struck us and provoked some discussion as we read them together.
The Genius of Ancient Man is a great apologetic read for high school students and adults. It will help you to be more grounded in your faith, and understand better why the world is the way it is, and where many fallacies and attitudes in the world around us came from. A number of full-color photos help to illustrate the book, and some charts, tables, and maps make things more clear, as well.
No warnings!
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Ages 15 and Above, Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Kindle | Hardcover
AbeBooks: View Choices on AbeBooks.com
Thank you for your really helpful reviews. You have led us to a good many good books and have helped us avoid ones for which we’d have been disappointed or disapproving. I’d be really interested to know, do you feel that The Genius of Ancient Man romanticises or glamorises the beliefs and achievements of such ancient men in any way? It can be a trap for books like this which otherwise look very interesting and faith-building. Thanks for your reply!
Thank you for your thoughtful question! I read it to the family, since most of the older people in our family have heard this book (and many have heard book two in the series, as well). The general consensus was that no, this book does not romanticize or glamorize ancient man. The main point of this book is to show the ongoing conflict since the beginning of the world of God vs. the devil, and how a lot of what mankind has done through the ages is either to follow God’s plan, or rebel and create counterfeit imitations of His good work. One example given in this book is that mountains are important to God, as we can understand from the many mentions of them in the Bible. But if we look around the world, we can see many man-made “mountains”—pyramids—and they were almost always built to glorify man, rather than God. There are lots of other examples given in the book, but the main point is more to show the two-kingdom conflict that has been going on since the beginning, rather than wholly focusing on ancient man’s achievements.
We also discussed the book Brilliant by Bruce Malone after reading your comment (our review for that book is linked above). That one doesn’t have the same scope and depth that this book was able to achieve; rather, it is more of a quick introduction to many of ancient man’s accomplishments. To borrow from your words, it could tend more on the romanticizing side of things. However, Mom pointed out that if you take that book and this series together, you’ll get a good overview both of what ancient men did, and why they did it. Brilliant is a good introduction to the study, and, I believe, the easier one of the two for younger children to get something out of; The Genius of Ancient Man takes a much broader look at the evidence, and highlights the reasons for some of their achievements and points to why we need Christ to direct our lives. Both are good. Neither puts forward ancient man’s beliefs as good. But if you’re looking for a more faith-building message, Genius is probably a good choice for your family.
I hope that helps!
Thank you so much for taking the time and giving a comprehensive, insightful answer. It allows me to go ahead and buy the book, reassured that it will be very useful for our family. Thanks again! Kind regards.
Glad to be of service!