Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Our Created Moon by Don DeYoung & John Whitcomb


book cover


Our Created Moon:
Earth's Fascinating Neighbor
(updated & expanded version)
by Don DeYoung & John Whitcomb


Hardback: 96 pages
Publisher: Master Books
First Released: 2010


Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.

Back Cover Description:
For eons the moon has intrigued humanity. From its creation through the current issues of space exploration, the moon has been both a light in the night and a protective shield of earth placed perfectly by God, regulating our seasons and keeping our atmosphere purified. Billions of dollars have been spent to reach its surface and discover its secrets; open these pages and discover those secrets for yourself.

Now completely updated and expanded, Our Created Moon is filled with the most current full-color images, facts and figures, and innovative teaching resources:

• Developed as an educational resource for use in classroom study, independent learning, and homeschool settings.

• Filled with clearly-stated objectives built upon basic learning as a foundation for more developed learning skills.

• Loaded with provocative questions about the moon’s history, purpose, record in Scripture, as well as a clear response to critics.

• Discover unique and fascinating facts and insights on the moon found throughout the text.

• Make your own interesting findings and observations from practical, inexpensive activities at the end of each chapter.


Review:
Our Created Moon is an interesting science book on the moon for high school age on up. The book was written from a Christian perspective and included references to Bible verses and to God as the Creator of the universe.

There were five chapters. The information was covered in a question-answer format. The full-color illustrations, diagrams, and pictures were lovely and easy-to-understand. There was also moon trivia throughout the book. Each chapter included suggestions for moon-related activities that the reader can do. There was also a glossary in the back of the book.

Chapter One had 16 questions covering basic information, including what is a moon, how far away is the moon, what keeps the moon in the sky, how large is the moon, why do we see only one side of the moon, what caused the lunar craters, and what are moon rocks like.

Chapter Two had 14 questions referring to the history of the moon, including what lunar origin theory dominates today, what is the Roche limit, what is the creation view of the moon, why was the moon created on the forth day, how old is the moon, and what is lunar regression.

Chapter Three had 11 questions about the purpose of the moon, including is the moon a useful night light, what is the lunar calendar, does the moon affect our seasons and weather, and what natural resources are on the moon.

Chapter Four had 10 questions about the moon in Scripture, including what does the moon symbolize biblically, what is the 'language of appearance' in Scripture, what does the Old Testament say about moon worship, and how prevalent was moon worship in the Ancient Near East.

Chapter Five had 11 questions on answering the critics, including does the scientific method rule out any appeal to the supernatural, is the creation view opposed to science research and inquiry, do great distances in space require a vast time scale, and if the moon is young, why does it look old.

Overall, I found the book well-written, clear, and very interesting. I'd highly recommend it to those fascinated by our moon or space.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt from page 54
7. How important are the ocean tides?

Tides and wind together generate the ocean currents worldwide, and studies have shown that tides may dominate the process (Wunsch, 200). About 3 trillion watts of tidal power are continually dissipated in the oceans. This nonstop power production is roughly equal to that supplied by all the power plants on Earth, including nuclear, fossil fuel, and hydroelectric plants.

Tides are essential to the health of the oceans. The shorelines are continually scrubbed as the water rises and falls in its daily rhythm. In the process, the seawater is oxygenated. Poison runoff from the land to the sea by rivers is diluted, dispersed, and broken down. Without this major stirring of the seas, the water would become stagnant and unhealthy. Sea life would die, especially along the shorelines of the world. This includes the abundant plant life of the oceans. There are vast amounts of "grasses of the sea," or floating plankton, plus larger sea plants such as the "kelp forests" in shallow areas. In fact, there is more total plant life by weight (biomass) in sea water than on all the land. This follows because the world is about 70 percent covered with water.

Plants "breathe" the opposite of us, taking in carbon dioxide and giving off oxygen. Therefore, if sea plants perished, the earth's atmosphere would rapidly deteriorate. We then would have insufficient oxygen for life. In this why our very breath is dependent on the lunar tides. Even in a cursed, imperfect world, the ecological design of the world is amazing, including the essential functions of the moon.


"Look inside" the book.

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