It Couldn't Just Happen - by Lawrence O. Richards

Photo Credits: Harper Collins

Title: It Couldn’t Just Happen

Author: Lawrence O. Richards

Grade Level: 5&6th

In the book "It Couldn't Just Happen," Lawrence O. Richards endeavors to explain the intricacies of God's creation. He also explains various beliefs of evolutionists. He compares and contrasts those things in such a way as to prove that God exists, the Bible is true, and the world did not just randomly form.

This is going to be a very mixed review of this book. It is needed in today's world - extraordinarily needed. We need Christians who can understand and explain the Bible and science. We need Christians who have strong faith and can answer the questions the world throws at them. The goal of this book is to help Christians do just that. Therefore, it is a wonderful idea. It is packed full of amazing information which sometimes sent me researching to find out if something that amazing could really exist. It is a reference book with a good table of contents and a thorough index. It has been around for a long time and updated numerous times as science advances its discoveries. There are parts that are simple enough for a first grader to access and parts that are complex enough I found them challenging.

Yet, at the same time, this book needs a better editor. There are numerous typos and even a time when the wrong planet is named with a fact that belonged to a different planet. It makes the reader wonder how many other things could also be in error. The book is full of powerful arguments, yet they are written in weak ways. The book has been around for a long time and updated, yet the language has become occasionally stilted and a complete rewrite would be in order. It has parts that are accessible to youngsters, yet it does read like a science textbook, therefore can get quite overwhelming to just plow through.

In summary, my feelings about this book are mixed. It attempts to fill a niche that needs to be filled yet does it in a somewhat sub-par way. It is a good book to make available to children of all ages, yet perhaps there is a better one out there somewhere that should be discovered.