Sponsored post on a book about Genesis and the flood

Sooner or later a child asks, and the question might be whether the world really got made in six days, or where dinosaurs go in the Bible, or whether a flood covered the whole earth and where the water went. Some parents have an answer ready. Plenty of others feel their stomach drop, because they've wondered the same thing and never said so out loud.

Finding God in the Unexpected, by S. M. Carlson (2023), is written for people in that spot, whether the questions come from their children or from themselves. The author says up front that no religious organization endorses the book and that the opinions in it are his own (page 6). He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he writes as one. Readers of this site should take it the way he offers it: one man's reasoning, set out in the open, for you to weigh.

The question it takes on

The author grew up with no religion, in a middle-class family in Pinellas County, Florida. He later became a Navy corpsman and then a paramedic, and he owns a tech company in Virginia. For most of his adult life he read miracles as statistical luck and God as a superstition. Four things kept him there: the days of creation in Genesis, Adam and Eve set against evolution, Noah's flood and the age of the earth.

Part 1 of the book goes through those four in order. For each one it lays the verses beside what science says, and then asks what the story is for. His answer, which he repeats until you can't miss it, is that science works on the "how" and scripture on the "why." He puts it that way again in the summary on page 101, and it's the idea the whole of Part 1 is built to carry.

You may or may not agree with that. Some faithful readers will bristle when he treats Adam and Eve or the flood as possibly symbolic, and he knows it (pages 70 and 83). Young-earth readers will disagree with him flatly, and the book says its own view of their position is that it can't be squared with the evidence (page 95). The book doesn't hide that tension, and it's one reason it could start a good conversation at your table.

What's inside

Part 1 has four long chapters and a short summary, and the Genesis chapter goes day by day. The chapter on Adam and Eve brings in the nerve that runs from the brain down around the aorta and back up to the voice box, which he uses as an example of a body built on an inherited plan. The flood chapter does arithmetic: how much extra water it would take to cover Everest, what rock layers and ice cores show, and how many animals the ark would have to hold. It also covers real regional floods and the flood stories found around the world. The chapter on the age of the earth covers dating methods and the old argument among believers over dinosaurs.

Part 2 widens out to miracles, why God allows suffering, prayer, fasting, scripture, the Atonement, temples and life after death. It's the longer half and reads more like a survey, so parents who only have questions about Genesis can stay in Part 1.

Chapter 12 turns to politics and culture, which is a different subject from the one this post is about, so nothing here draws on it.

A passage from the first pages

The strongest writing in the book is the Prologue (pages 12 to 19), which is the text of a short testimony the author gave on his first visit to a Latter-day Saint Sunday service. It is plain, specific and a little funny. Here is how he describes where he started, from page 13:

Growing up without religious guidance, I adopted an atheistic view. To me, the entire notion of God was a fanciful myth, a superstition unworthy of serious consideration. My life was already pretty good, and I never felt the need for faith.

He closes the same talk on page 19 by saying he isn't sure what he believes, only that he's humbled and grateful to be welcomed. If your teenager has decided religion is nonsense, or you're the one who's quietly stuck, those pages show a person who got there slowly and didn't pretend to arrive with every answer.

Who it's for and what to expect

It's for parents and families who get hard questions about Genesis, evolution, the flood or suffering and who want to see someone work through them in print instead of waving them off. It's also for readers who have been told they must pick between their brain and their faith. Expect a long book, 325 pages, with some chapters in a smooth textbook style and the personal passages much livelier. Expect the Latter-day Saint reading of creation as organizing existing matter, which will be new to some readers. Don't expect it to settle every question, and the author doesn't say it does (page 20).

For a small example of a child's remark sending a parent back to scripture, there's a post here on what Caleb said at the deli counter and what Jeremiah answered.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the book cover?

Part 1 takes the Genesis creation days, Adam and Eve and evolution, Noah's flood and the age of the earth. Part 2 covers miracles, suffering, prayer, scripture, the Atonement, temples and the afterlife.

Who is it written for?

Skeptics, agnostics and believers who have wondered whether science and faith have to collide. For families, the most useful part is probably Part 1, plus the Prologue.

How long is it, and how hard is it to read?

It runs about 325 pages. The Prologue and the personal stories are easy going, and the survey chapters in Part 2 are denser. You can read Part 1 alone without the rest.

Is it an official Church book?

No. The author states on page 6 that no religious organization endorses it and that the views are his own.

The book's page, with details on where to get a copy, is at carlsonbooks.com.

Disclosure: the publisher of this site is connected to the book mentioned above.