Book review: Improbable Planet

Planet Earth

The amazing uniqueness of our planet is common knowledge. Even though scientists have discovered many other planets—in the thousands—that exist in other solar systems, ours is the only one that can support life. While skeptics might maintain that, of course, our planet supports life, otherwise we wouldn’t be here to notice, the astonishing odds against finding even one planet like ours are not as well known. The probability is incredibly small that all of the features of our Earth being found on the same planet, given what is known about planets and solar systems, the size of our galaxy, and the universe in general.

In his book Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity's Home (2017) astronomer Hugh Ross traces the known and intricate processes for how our planet must have developed in order for it to be the place friendly to life that it is. Using a metaphor about the construction of a high-rise hotel, Ross examines the construction materials, the “neighborhood,” the site preparation, the foundation, and the HVAC, among other developments that had to be “just right” to result in our beautiful, wonderful, life-supporting planet. It clearly exists on purpose. It is no cosmic fluke; rather it is a part of a vast, meticulous, cosmic plan.

According to Ross, we are here, occupying this cosmic marvel we call “Earth,” in order to know the Creator whose handiwork this is and to be redeemed by Him for an eternal relationship. Ross’s book is a tour de force of astronomy, cosmology, geophysical science, and other disciplines. It impressed me more than ever that the Creator is super-intelligent, super-powerful, and especially super-caring. Only the God of the Bible, personified in Jesus, fits this profile.