Review: Already Compromised

I love to read. My husband laughs that I will read anything, even the backs of cereal boxes (doesn't everyone?). Usually when I read a book, I form a definite opinion of it rather quickly. I finished reading Already Compromised more than a week ago, and I'm still struggling with deciding what I think about it.

I was thrilled when I opened my package containing Already Compromised by Ken Ham and Greg Hall. I had heard a lot of the internet buzz about the book, had already put it on my "wish list" for my nook, but hadn't purchased it yet. I was curious to find out what the latest research revealed about the state of Christian colleges in our nation.

The book grabbed me off the bat. I was amazed at the statistics and impressed with the depth of the research. I read much of the first few chapters while our family was traveling, and I kept reading sections out loud to my husband. For instance, I was surprised to read that more of the college science department leaders believe in a literal six 24-hour day creation than the leaders in the Bible departments.

After I got a few chapters into the research, I started searching for the "now what?" discussions to help me understand the research and put it all together. My husband asked me why I wasn't reading as much stuff out loud to him, and I responded that I was trying to focus and think so much that my brain hurt. I tried to tell him what I was reading, but I found it difficult to explain it to him.

As I read further, I realized that I found it difficult to explain these concepts because they had never been fully defined or explained in the text. For instance, I was reading about worldview and God's authority in chapter 6. I understood the difference between a Christian worldview and an anti-Christian view. I didn't fully grasp the idea of naturalism and the consequences of such beliefs until several chapters later. In fact, the clearest discussion of naturalism is in chapter 9. When I finally read that far, some of the pieces started to finally make sense. It was as if I had been reading about some nebulous undefined concept for pages and pages before it was finally defined in terms clear enough for me to understand.

Perhaps what bugged me most about this book was that I kept thinking to myself, "Why does this matter?" I understand that there's a big debate between young-earth creationists, old-earth creationists, and evolutionists. At the same time, though, I know that there's only one way to be saved -- through Jesus Christ. Jesus doesn't have an application process that requires you to spell out your beliefs on the creation of the earth. His only requirements for salvation are to believe and follow Him.

My question was finally answered in a footnote for the last chapter of the book. "Many born-again Christians do believe in millions of years and many also believe in evolution. AiG would not question their salvation when they testify to being born again as the Scripture defines, but challenge these people to understand that such acceptance of fallible man's ideas and reinterpreting parts of Scripture is an undermining of the authority of the Word of God. The consequences of this particularly show up in the next generation, who tend to open the door of undermining God's Word even further -- until eventually generations arise who, by and large, reject biblical authority. This is what we observe across our Western world today." And then the lightbulb was fully lit. Unfortunately, all I had left to read at that point was the four appendices.

Maybe if I had known more about Answers in Genesis before reading this book, I wouldn't have wanted to have my hand held quite so much as I read it. And, maybe I'm one of the few people that haven't kept up to date on the debates between young-earth and old-earth creationists.

Despite my struggles as I crept through the book, Already Compromised was a book I needed to read.

I now understand why my thoughts on creationism, and perhaps just as importantly the thoughts of others, may make a difference to my children. I am now more committed than ever to teaching my children Christian apologetics. It is no longer enough to teach my children what we believe; it is vitally important for my children to be able to defend their faith when it comes under attack.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Already Compromised from New Leaf Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review of the book.