Knowing the Truth About God's Awesome Creation - It Couldn't Just Happen

I got this book from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review. I picked this book because I think that it's very important for my son to learn that the world didn't just happen, that God created Heaven and Earth, and us. Lawrence O. Richards goes through all the things that kids would be interested, dinosaurs, the creation of the Earth, evolution, space, other planets, etc. and shows how God has created all things and uses Biblical support too. He discusses Evolution (we come from plankton) vs. evolution (we change over time) as well which was one of the big reasons I wanted this book. It bothers me that the Theory of Evolution is taught in public schools as fact now, not as a theory as it was when I was in school.

Mr. Richards' book is well-written and well researched. It is supported both by scientific discoveries and the Bible, and it shows that even scientific discoveries support a Biblical world view.

I would recommend this to anyone who would like their children to know a Biblical view of our world. Those who believe in Evolution as fact, not a theory and that the world was created by a coincidental merging of dust particles would probably find this book irritating.

The author has used a gentle touch to introduce theology to children - though as an adult I also found it very readable and challenging. It is the book that can be read as a daily devotional, be read as review of how God's creative work in this wonderful world, or sit on the coffee table to attract the attention of curious visitors.

Lawrence Richards has brought his lifetime of work in children's ministry to bear with the colors, the chosen text, the concepts covered, to make the book attractive to children or young teens. The questions that are raised in the classroom are addressed - probably not sufficiently to respond to a teacher's objections, but certainly to assist the inquisitive child to look further into how God creation came to be.

Grandparent, parent, or child - this book is recommended as a place to begin an exploration of God's creation.

This review is based on an electronic copy of the text provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review.

The title states the premise of the entire book, earth, and the universe did not just happen randomly by chance. Inside this book one will find not only strong scientific support of Biblical Creationism, one will also find an intelligent discussion of the theory of Evolution. While the scientific facts presented strongly support creation of the universe by an intelligent being (rather than chance evolution), the book does not only present one side of the story without providing a look at the opposing opinion in the matter.

I like the format of this book because it not only presents the case for Creation according to the Bible, but it also presents the views of the Evolutionist to compare. I think this is important in education. In order to teach our children to think, and discern they cannot be brought up in a vacuum with only one kind of thought presented to them or they will founder when they leave and are expected to respond to everything which they will find outside the nest.

This book is written at a level which would be accessible for an independent reader in about 6th grade, although it will work nicely as a read-aloud supplement to a science program for younger children. There are enough color illustrations to make the pages interesting to younger children. I am looking forward to using this book with my 3rd and 4th grade children this year in our homeschool.

I received a copy of this book for free from Booksneeze in return for an honest review of it.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <[...]> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 <[...]> : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I am homeschooled and I read chapter in this book every week. It is an amazing book, talkng about the big bang theory and evolution. I just love how it talks about the different animals and how they diprove evolution. It is an amazing book.

Recommendation: Not Recommended

I was very excited to be given the opportunity to read this book. I enjoy reading about creation and reflecting on the imaginative nature of God. Looking at and studying creation teaches us so much about God's intimate care for the earth He created. There were a few chapters that I really enjoyed, but overall I was disappointed. The author sets out to help young people see and understand that Evolution (capital E) is not a fact, but a scientific theory that has been sold as fact. The first section of the book was a little confusing and left me with a lot of questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the middle of the book (Parts 2-4). Here the author peeled back some of the intricacies of God's creation and showed how animals and humans could not possibly have evolved from a single cell. I enjoyed reading and learning so much about God's amazing design. Part 5 left me disappointed however as the author told his readers to search out the interpretations of Scripture that they would believe in. Maybe I misunderstood his words, but it seemed to me that he was allowing for different interpretations of the Bible to be true. God's Word has ONE interpretation, His original intent. We are to study to find His interpretation.

Positives: As I stated earlier, I enjoyed the sections where the author scientifically portrayed the truth of creation. He spoke of how many different things in creation depend on each other to live, he told of the specialties of different animals that would not have survived millions of years to evolve to their current day state. He took many of the arguments of Evolutionists and showed how their arguments actually prove creation.

Negatives: The last section of the book is called "The Book that Didn't Just Happen" and he speaks of how we can trust the Bible. In my opinion this section (even though it was poorly written) should be at the beginning of the book. The truth of creation begins with God's Word, not scientific evidence. Yes, science supports what we read in the Bible, but no matter what science may "appear" to prove, we trust and believe in God's Word. The author also presented several views on creation and how long it took God to create the world. However, he didn't adequately dissect these theories and compare and contrast them with Scripture. He simply led our young readers to believe that they could study and come up with their own interpretation.

Talking Points: Your child has undoubtedly come into contact in some way, shape or form with the ideas of Evolution. As parents it is our job to continually point them to the truth of the Scriptures for what we believe. New "scientific evidence" is constantly brought forth to prove Evolution. We must train our kids to think biblically first. God's Word is true because God IS truth, He cannot lie. Therefore, when He says he created the world in 6 days, that is what we believe. This book is written for older children, probably 11-15 year olds and has some interesting and helpful parts. It may be interesting for you to allow your child to read it and see what their reactions are. Then you can have a great discussion on discernment!
I have provided some links to answer questions about an old earth or a young earth, and a worldwide flood that may be helpful. The entire website is a wonderful resource, but first and foremost get out your Bible and read Genesis 1-9 and see what God has to say about HIS creation.

Age Level: 11-15 year olds

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

I still remember sitting in my fourth grade class. Public school. Crayons, scissors, Elmer's glue and a worksheet of the continents. The assignment: Color, cut and paste the continents together, fitting them together like a "puzzle." You know, the whole "continental drift" thing. I remember looking at the sheet and thinking "these do not fit!" In my opinion, it didn't work, I wasn't buying it, something was off. The years go on and each year another theory, another concept, carbon dating, soil strata, millions of years, apes, Darwin, and so on. So, the inevitable happened, I graduated high school, even a Christian college, without a firm belief in either Creationism or the Theory of Evolution. I didn't really care. They were just some facts thrown at me, didn't really matter to me and I just left it at that.

And then I was introduced to the teachings of Kent Hovind. From this moment on, everything changed. Kent Hovind is a young earth creationist who uses the Bible to prove Creationism. His seminars changed my life. Truth is truth and when I heard this, it encouraged me to delve into the Bible for myself and take these issues of Creation and Evolution seriously seeking the truth for myself.

Over the years I have become more and more of a Creation enthusiast and my husband is as well. So when it comes to raising our kids we are always avoiding the books that begin with "millions of years ago," and seeking reading materials that we actually believe and want our children reading. So when I heard about "It Couldn't Just Happen" by Lawrence Richards I was thrilled. Finally, a science textbook, that my kids can actually read. But when I received it, it wasn't anything like what I was expecting. Maybe I've been spoiled with Kent Hovind's teachings because this book certainly is not a great resource for Creationism.

On the cover it states, "Here's the Proof!" 234 pages later I ask myself, where? I get where the author was going with it, but only because I already am a Christian and I already am a creationist. But to the junior higher or high school kid who reads this book, I think they'll be left with more questions than answers. The book basically takes the approach: Here is what the evolutionist believes, and goes on for several pages. Now, here is what Christians believe, in two sentences. I was expecting this book to be more aggressive, to fight for Creationism! If this book is supposed to teach about creationism, then do it! Don't say, "here are your options, now make a choice." A true Creationist believes in absolute truth, so speak the truth and don't be ashamed! In so many areas the author says, "we have no way of knowing..." In many areas he said that for things that we actually do have a way of knowing, it just seemed like he was trying to avoid confrontation. I don't think you can argue for the case of Creationism and expect to avoid confrontation.
With that said, it is a fun science book. Even though I don't think it does anything for the cause of Creationism I did learn a lot and enjoyed some of the content of the book. The book is divided into 5 sections:

Part One: Earth in Our Universe
Part Two: How Life Began
Part Three: Evidence From Living Things
Part Four: Humanity in God's Nature
Part Five: The Book that Didn't Just Happen

This is, of course, blatant creationist or fundamentalist propaganda, written by an ignoramus (as far as science is concerned). A ridiculous book that tries to poke holes in the theory of evolution. It is an attempt to hang on to obsolete, irrational beliefs. If one wishes to be bluntly rude about this nonsense--one could use the words of author Sam Harris who calls such tracts:: "life-destroying gibberish" [The End of Faith]. Because the author [L.O. Richards] can't provide any actual evidence, he resorts to rather pathetic attempts using Bible quotations. This would not be so worrying except that it is directed at gullible primary level children. The problem is that the book offers NO EVIDENCE FOR INTELLIGENT DESIGN. It only attacks (and poorly and that) evidence for evolution, assuming that intelligent design [ID] is the default position. Of course it is not.
[ID] is a feeble last-defence by the diehards who have already found themselves painted into an untenable corner.
That's the reason why you won't find this type of book outside of the reactionary Bible belt of the USA.
Lawrence O Richards is an "evolution denier". He is a bogeyman propagandist of the fundamentalist indoctrinators, a small minority of whom are trying desperately to counter-attack against prevailing scientific acknowledgement of Evolution Theory. These people are (I think) dishonestly trying to propagandize and defend what is now, in 2014, scientifically indefensible. This is Custer's Last Stand.
In thousands of southern USA schools and colleges the teachers try to teach maths and physics by saying that it all stemmed from "God" which is nonsensical (and a lie, in fact). None of this type of weird slant would ever be permitted or acceptable in European education, although it probably was prevalent before the 1860's.
The arguments for I.D. (intelligent design) are feeble, and bring no reasoned evidence to bear, other than peculiar and unconvincing quotes from the Bible. I think few rational people today could take such a book seriously....but this does not seem to prevent the diehards like Richards.
Page 14: He says "There is evidence (of God)".. Where? Certainly not here in this book. Yes: accidental evolution can and does happen. As they say in the movies, we just need to "deal with it!".