Over the past few weeks I have been reading quite a few science articles to help pass time and grow my knowledge base. Most of the articles I read deal with space and quantum physics because they both influence astronomy and everyday life. You may say that sounds boring but it's really interesting stuff when you dive into the topics that have been published. They write about parallel universes, the medium our universe sits in, and how particles behave in mysterious ways.
Earlier this year I wrote a blog called, “Can Science prove God?” and I talked about particle duality and how it could potentially prove God’s existence. Over the past few weeks most of the articles I have read have been about the discovery of new planets outside our solar system and will there be life on those planets? And if there is life what does that mean for religion here on earth?
It’s hard to put in perspective how large and vast the universe is today. Scientists estimate that the universe is roughly 13.7 billion years old (+/- 0.8%), but in all honesty I don’t think they know. In my opinion, I think the universe is much larger…we just can't see anything beyond 13.7 billion light years because it’s either too faint or too far away. What is interesting is that scientists can only see 13.7 billion light years in any given direction from earth, so to assume the universe is 13.7 billion years old would assume we are located in the center of the universe? It is the same logic people had thousands of years ago, just because that is as far as you can see doesn’t mean it ends there. People thought they would fall off the earth because they thought the saw the edge of the earth, but it’s all a matter of perspective from where you are located. Also, the limitations of the speed of light can skew observations and perspectives of the universe.
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second in space, the fastest spacecraft humans have ever built traveled at 11 to 12 miles per second. The universe is so vast that traveling at 11 miles per second it would still take over 70,000 human years to reach the closest star to earth. Although the speed of light sounds really fast, it’s still pretty slow when you think about it. It takes sun light over 8 minutes to reach the earth, which means if the sun exploded we wouldn’t know for 8 minutes after it already happened. The closest start to the earth is 4 light years away, that mean that stars light take 4 years to get to earth. So when you think about the objects astronomers have detected that are 13 billion light years away, that is what they looked like and were 13 billion years ago. So to say the universe is a specific size today is a bit of a guess.
But this blog isn’t about the age of the universe and who’s right and wrong, it’s about what astronomers are looking for in the universe, extraterrestrial life. Most scientists openly admit they don’t believe in a God or any specific religion because they believe in evolution and “spore theory”. So to prove their point, they are hoping to find life elsewhere to show that a supreme being didn’t create and place us here on this planet. This is why I say it’s not a race to find life in the universe, it’s a race to try and prove God never existed. Some say that if they find intelligent life on another planet, what does that mean for the bible or other religious writings? Were we not God’s greatest creation? Did we hurt God so badly he created something else or something better?
Even though I am a Christian, I am not saying there isn’t life out there in the universe. I don’t know and if there was my faith would be just as strong! To think any different would lead me to believe I was never a believer in the first place. God never stated exactly what animals He created in the bible, but yet we have thousands of animal species on this planet. If God allows for life to exist on other planets in the universe that’s okay with me, just because it’s not in the bible doesn’t mean it can’t happen. My job as a believer isn’t to question God’s words and actions, but to better understand how I can serve a God who gave His life for me.
God (Jesus) created this universe for Himself not us. We are just lucky enough to be able to marvel at His perfect creation. What I find interesting is that scientist admit that the universe is made up of perfect physics. If the universe was just a billionth of a percent off in any of the four fundamental forces this universe may not exists. If gravity was stronger by just a fraction, the universe would have never expanded to create everything we see today. I mentioned in another blog that I do believe in the "Big Bang", Jesus created the universe from nothing as the Father instructed Him to do so. So everything we see today is a product of His creation. So to say that the universe is here by mere chance is just insulting. Rather than admitting that something played a role in creating a perfect universe, scientists would rather accept that it was an anomaly.
Although the search for life elsewhere in the universe is in its early stages, some day there may be a discovery of an alien world that supports alien intelligent life. But scientists should know that a discovery like that WILL NOT shake the foundations of religion for true believers. It would be funny to think, if we ever made contact with aliens, that they would step out of their spacecraft and show us a holy bible that is an exact mirror of ours. And the reason they came to visit was because the bible said that we were God's special creation. That would truly shock the foundations of Christianity then, because no one would have a reason not to believe and more people would come to Christianity.
In closing, the search for life in the universe should be exactly what it says it is, a search for life. We are searching for life in the universe because we don't want to be the only living planet in the universe. It would be like living in an area with billions of empty houses around you, pretty lonely and scary. If Jesus created everything in the universe why would it be a surprise to Him or Christians if we found life elsewhere? How do we not know that God didn't create other beings to exist so that we may interact with them? God stated that we would rule over the lands, water, and sky...why couldn't that also mean the universe (sky)? Let's marvel at what the God of the universe created and let it be what it is, His creation. To read more into His creation would not only be wrong but a slap in the face to the creator.
Glory always be to the Lord!
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