3 out of 4 stars
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Science and religion often seem at odds, and it always seems like the differences between the two lead to huge debates and people losing faith. Although there are certainly scientists with religious faith, it's easy to find people on social media screaming that religion must be false for numerous reasons due to whatever latest scientific findings come up. This is part of the reason Floyd Arnold chose to write The Ultimate Earthquake and Volcano: to give people of faith - particularly Christians - a way to back up their faith with science. Within these 33 pages Floyd covers two subjects - the creation of Earth and the end times.
Floyd has some pretty solid insight into both the beginning and end of the Earth, and he gets it from looking back at an older translation of the Bible. The older translation uses slightly different wording that he states is closer to the original writings, with even the most subtle, seemingly-insignificant changes making a big difference. For example, I was very familiar with the line "God created the heavens and the Earth." However, in an older translation this is instead HEAVEN and Earth, with heaven being singular. This extremely minor change, only one letter, allows for interpretation that suggests God didn't create everything in only 7 days, he only created heaven and Earth in those days. Floyd also points out later that Jesus eludes to God having already created other things before this seven day period, and that God may have simply built upon the planet that he would use for Earth. Therefore, when people argue that scientists say the Earth is over 4.5 billion years old, it doesn't actually contradict the Bible like most people believe.
While the first chapter is dedicated to the beginning of the Earth, the other four chapters discuss the end of days. Here Floyd points out scientifically how he believes it will happen and global warming's role in the process. Both subjects were very interesting and really made me think more about how the Bible and science relate to one another. I also appreciated his use of verses directly from the Bible; the preface summed up the book quickly but without the Biblical proof it gave me a bitter taste, longing for some evidence of what he was saying instead of just assuming he was right. Once I got into the actual book he quickly rectified this issue and I enjoyed reading the book! The writing is also very easy to read, it isn't full of heavy concepts and unnecessary information.
On the other hand, this is a very short book. It's something one can very easily read in an hour or two and doesn't really require any further digestion to get the points Floyd makes. While this isn't entirely a bad thing it really made me want more! I wanted there to be additional chapters based on other topics where science seems to "disprove" the Bible, but I suppose that wanting more of a book is a good sign in a way. The only flaw, aside from the length of the book, was that Floyd loves commas. There were several cases where they seemed unnecessary and at least one where it really threw me off and forced me to reread a sentence.
Those looking for a short read that gives some unique insight into the beginning and end of the Earth should definitely check out The Ultimate Earthquake and Volcano. I enjoyed my very brief time with it, and learned quite a bit! If it was a bit longer and covered more topics, I'd happily give it a perfect four star rating, but as it is I'm officially rating it 3 out of 4 stars. I wouldn't recommend it for those of other faiths unless they enjoy studying different religions, nor would I recommend it to those who don't enjoy short books.
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The Ultimate Earthquake and Volcano
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