Saturday, the Brookhaven Bible Society will be presenting a lecture given by Philip Derstine entitled “Creation Science: Young Earth vs. Ancient Earth Theories.” The lecture will take place at the Lincoln County Public Library on Saturday, Jan. 17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Derstine received a master’s degree from the Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson and introduces Saturday’s topic as part of a free lecture series on the Bible in history and archaeology. The topic will be presented along with a documentary, Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

Derstine said his lecture, which will be free to the public, will focus on two main subjects: the first being an examination of the “compatibility of the Creation and renewal account of Genesis 1 with the findings of astrophysics and ecology”; second, the implausibility of dozens of intricate mechanisms within cellular life having evolved simultaneously apart from the instantaneous hand of a Creator God.”

The 2001 film contains interviews from top cellular biologists regarding the subject.

“Equally compelling films may be shown in subsequent lectures, depending on the interest generated by Saturday’s presentation,” Derstine said.

The Brookhaven Bible Society is an informal association of local citizens that sponsors free public lectures to encourage the study of the Bible as a collection of books whose contents are grounded in and consistent with history, archaeology and science as well as religious faith.

Derstine said his research that stretched several decades has led him to “the general conclusion that the seeming dichotomy between the Bible and true history can often be traced to application of false chronological assumptions, since indeed genuine history is the stepchild of accurate chronology.”

Previous lectures led by Derstine focused on topics such as the Exodus of Israel from Egypt and the story of Jonah as a legendary reflection of an historical memory of the near collapse of the Assyrian empire.