Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Wonders of Creation’ by Stuart Burgess, Andy McIntosh and Brian Edwards (Day One Publications, 2017)

This is an excellent and attractive production which combines hundreds of magnificent colour photos and diagrams with a clear explanatory text full of fascinating details.

On page after page we are shown the many incredible complexities of the world around us which point to the creative power and design of Almighty God. Across a multiplicity of topics, we gain not only a wealth of information but also a sense of awe at the amazing designs that our Creator has placed into his (and our) world.

Beauty and Functionality

The opening section covers land mammals – including the horse, kangaroo and sheep as well as man’s best friend, the dog (including information about how it smells!). Other groups within the animal kingdom (sea creatures, birds, insects) are equally well-documented, including the remarkable capability of birds to fly and whales to sing.

Leaving Earth for a while, we are taken into the mysterious realms of the other planets and stars. This section is full of useful information that is perhaps not usually known and adds to the sense of reverence and inspiration that the book as a whole induces.

Back in our own world we examine the beauty of flowers and trees, and learn about why certain colours are prominent and how birds manage to sing in the wonderful ways that they do (including in harmony). The next section, on mathematics and music, continues to fascinate - not just because of the patterns they display, which speak of the Lord - but also because of the ability of our brains, which he made, to enable us to understand and appreciate such things. Even if we are not particularly mathematical we can agree that the “Beauty and elegance in mathematics reflects the very wisdom of God” (p151).

Across a multiplicity of topics, we gain a wealth of information and a sense of awe our Creator’s amazing designs.

The sections on the human body and how it functions may contain familiar material, but this is also well-explained, and some of the facts and figures are quite startling. Clearly we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

The book also talks of other aspects of the natural world, rocks and minerals, fossils, dinosaurs and radioactive dating.

Inspiration to Gratitude

We are then told there is no doubt that everything we have been considering was created in six literal days and that the account in Genesis is definitely “history and not poetry” (p202). It is perhaps rather unnecessary to the aim of the book to insist on this, which seems like an intrusion especially as there is no discussion as to what ‘literal’ means in this context. There is also the unfortunate implication that anyone who thinks the time periods involved might not be exactly 24 hours each are classified as evolutionists.

Nevertheless, these few pages should not spoil the enjoyment of a book which is a convincing tour de force. It glorifies God on every page and should make us look around with more gratitude than ever. It should inspire us to say a big ‘thank you’ to God, not just once but several times each day.

A convincing tour de force that glorifies God on every page.

It is also a book that can be shared with friends, whether believers in Creation or not. The facts it contains will help with sharing and witnessing, and as a ‘coffee table’ book it could well spark conversations you might otherwise not have. As the subtitle ‘Design in a fallen world’ suggests, the authors do not shirk from saying that this world with all its brokenness and suffering is no longer the world that God originally intended. They do not hesitate to mention the Fall and salvation in Jesus, which brings the book to a satisfying conclusion.

Highly commended.

‘Wonders of Creation’ (216pp, hardback) is available from the publisher for £25. Also available elsewhere online with discounts for bulk buys.