Reclaiming the Source: Connecting what we see, what we think, and what we believe

Reclaiming the Source is essentially a commentary on the first eleven chapters of the Book of Genesis, but one which is undergirded by a fundamental question: do Christians take the Bible seriously as an accurate record of infallible divine revelation? Schleicher presents the challenging suggestion that the problem with many creationist proponents is not their biblical literalism, but that they feel the need to use science to validate the Bible. Schleicher suggests that the Bible stands alone as its own way of knowing, rather than validated by any other means. One remarkable aspect of this commentary is that, with one or two exceptions, all of the science references in this book are from non-religious, certainly non-creationist scientists-strongly credentialed, even highly acclaimed-who have made sound contributions to their field but who also have some ideas that have been rejected by the scientific community. These rejected ideas combine to form a scientific description of the physical world that runs remarkably parallel to a straightforward reading of the first chapters of Genesis. It’s an interesting point, but Reclaiming the Source is not a book about science. Schleicher’s literal reading of Genesis suffuses his book, but this is not a creation vs. evolution debate. It is a book about a book-Genesis-and how it informs what we think about everything else.