Adam and His Kin: A Book Review

 

Have the characters in Genesis ever seemed flat to you? I'm talking about Adam, Noah, and Abraham. They have to me. I can admit that because I've been attending church all my life. Growing up in Sunday School some of the most popular lessons are from the book of Genesis. That's no real surprise. Genesis is hugely important and contains very key characters in history. But sometimes while listening to the teacher go on about Adam and Eve I had difficulty picturing anything in my mind besides a man covered by a fig leaf. And in listening to the short account of the Tower of Babel I was left in a very poor state of awe at the story. These historical figures were flat as flannelgraph cut-outs until I read a small but significent book by Ruth Beechick.

 

"Adam and His Kin: The Lost History of Their Lives and Times" is a book under two-hundred pages that takes you on a journey through the world's forgotten years. In such a short page-span, Beechick manages to enlarge those flannelgraph cut-outs into the figurative giants of the ancient world. The great fathers of mankind in the formative years after the Fall. This book is a brave foray into a mysterious chapter in human history. Though not a true historical fiction, her book weaves together information from linguistics, archeology, astronomy, history, ancient traditions and religions, and ultimately the foundation of the Bible to create this unique glimpse into the world's forgotten years.

 

 

 

 

Why This Book is Important

 

Ever since my introduction to the Ancient Man Project I have asked myself why Christians seem content to leave the realm of Ancient History vacant of a real Biblical Perspective. We're content picturing Adam as that silly man wearing a fig leaf instead of acknowledging him as the first and perfect human created by God. Think about some of these questions that Ruth Beechick poses on the back cover of her book:

• Have History textbooks told us the Truth?
• How did Mankind learn Language?
• Where did Civilization begin?
• Why do Ancient Writings refer to a year of 360 days?
• What actual events lie behind the Mythologies of the World?
• Who kept alive the memory of the Distant Past?

Now imagine it's not the History Channel or Ancient Aliens that's about to answer those questions but a woman with a solid Biblical Perspective. This book is a must read for Christians who are hungry for a accurate view of ancient man. Prepare to see Adam, his sons, Noah, and the Tower of Babel like you've never seen them before!

 

Credit to AiG

 

 

How This Book Changed My Life

As I said before, the characters of Genesis were very flat to me before I got a hold of this book. Now these very real historical people have become alive through the pages. Through Beechick's eyes Adam and his sons read the messages that God had placed in the stars. They bring up generations to follow God's law and even develop a school to pass on the knowledge they had acquired. Some choose to remain faithful to God's teachings. Others choose to twist the old ways to suit themselves. After the Flood cities spring up and Cush and Nimrod take advantage of the people's fear of a second world-wide destruction to build a tower as the ultimate rebellion against God's commandments. The curse brought about in the garden festers and becomes a sickness that bursts and spreads out from Babel after the words of men were split into languages. The first great kingdom has been shattered and cannot be put back together. The grand stage of history has been set in these forgotten years of man's past.

Isn't this book fantastic?? "Adam and His Kin" is really the book that gave me that extra inspirational push to write a novel based on ancient man from a Biblical Perspective. I've underlined the living daylights out of this book and I'm still working through the amazing list of resources in the back. Not only is it a great supplement to my historical research into ancient man, it's also a muse I come back to again and again.

 

 

That's a lot of awesome packed into a book that's not even 300 pages long! Have you read it before? What did you think of it? Was there anything in particular your agreed with or disagreed with? Had any of those questions Beechick mentioned ever occured to you before? I can't wait to hear your thoughts so don't forget to share them below!

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy