Summary Of The Advancement Keeping Faith In The Imaginary World

For many individuals, philosophy and the discussions regarding the origin of man are puzzling topics. Two of the prominent philosophies regarding this issue are that humans originate from God (Biblical worldview) or humans have no supernatural origins (Naturalistic viewpoint). Logically, these viewpoints contradict each other. L. Russ Bush wrote his book, “The Advancement, Keeping Faith in an Evolutionary World” to help explain why the Biblical viewpoint is correct and the Naturalistic viewpoint has flaws and inconsistencies. Although these are weighty topics to discuss, Bush was successful in explaining how theology and the study of Christian concepts can connect with current culture. In addition, Dr. Bush included several facts and concepts that Christians can use as part of their rebuttal against non-Christian beliefs.
Summary
Bush uses the title “The Advancement” to discuss the progress of science and technology and the decline in religious and moral developments. Bush coins "Advancement" as the appropriate term to describe the modern worldview based on naturalistic
He discusses the origins of this new modern viewpoint and explains that the concept of individual freedom became popular after The Enlightenment. As part of the discussion, Bush brings forth ideas from individual philosophers along with the concepts of evolution, materialism and uniformitarian. He further discusses the advancement of cause-and-effect philosophy and how this thinking has expanded from science into all fields of thought. Regarding cause-and-effect, Bush states, “God operates outside of the cause-and-effect pattern discernable in the Universe”. (20) In addition, Bush argues that today, “The cause-and-effect theory has been applied to sociology, psychology, economics, history, and even religious studies.”