Book review: Improbable Planet

ObjectiveFeatures
Written By Edward Wolfe

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.

Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com
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