Why is this gripping tale of Le Carre style espionage spiced with science fiction being reviewed in Triple Helix? The answer is that Journey to Eden is a tender story of Christian testimony and also embodies Richard Porter's fascinating hypothesis that reawakens the creation / evolution debate. As a novel it provided one of my most enjoyable (can't put it down) reads. However, the most stimulating aspect is the author's entrepreneurial concept that enlivens the discussion over whether the first few chapters of Genesis are a poetic portrayal of God's creation or are indeed a scientific record.

The fiction is surprisingly realistic with its contemporaneous setting in occupied Iraq. It surrounds a brilliant young Russian-trained Iraqi scientist who develops a satellite-linked 'time probe' which, like H G Wells' time machine, has the potential to see into the recent past and so reveal atrocities of oppressive communist regimes. The plot takes off with the involvement of a young Christian doctor, her geologist husband and both the Russian secret service and the CIA.

Porter goes on to propose that cosmic time, unlike biological time (ie the body clock), has been slowing down since the world was created. He cites over 100 references in support including, for example, the astronomical red shift phenomenon. On this basis he finds it reasonable to propose that the patriarchal fathers of the Old Testament did live for 800 years or more when the Earth was spinning round the Sun more quickly. Equally, as time slowed, it became possible for man to run a 4-minute mile. Records will continue to fall. He says that even carbon dating is susceptible to cosmic time, and asks what basis we have for accepting that time is absolute. From this, he surmises that the world could well be only a few thousand years old.

Professor Porter's considerable lateral thinking ability (known to those who have shared in his clinical research in orthopaedics) combined with his spiritual depth comes to the fore in this dynamic book. It is more than a scientific allegory; it is a rare combination of scientific thesis and good novel writing. However, like all good theses, it provides more questions than answers and so we still have to accept that 'now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror' (1 Corinthians 13:12).