SPACE LIFE
Dear Class, This is not a regular lesson but the subject has come up recently and many times in the past, so I would like to comment on it as it does affect peoples faith and relationship with God. The questions that are posed concern the existence of life beyond earth. I have heard theologians who hold the opinion that Life on other planets is not in God's plan and to even consider it is to throw a shadow on the integrity of the scriptures. This seems to be a very narrow view and not supported by the word of God according to my reading. Many Christians hold to a view that is common with those who are focused on only certain Bible doctrines. That is; "Well, whether there is or isn't life on other planets is not important to me. It doesn't affect my faith or religion". I have heard this quote many times when the subject of evolution comes up. This attitude is useful in the sense that it frees the person to concentrate on the duties in life that God has called them to perform and avoid vain distractions. When it is applied to the evolution/creation controversy on the other hand, I don't find it to be useful nor the statement to be true. That is another discussion though and will probably be revisited later. The subject of life on other planets can only be discussed in the spirit of ignorance or in the realm of philosophy (one of my favorite subjects). Ignorance because we "have not seen,heard,felt or otherwise sensed" the evidence to support it, and philosophy because it is in the nature of the human makeup to imagine and explore new and unusual ideas. As a scientist and a Christian with philosophical tendencies, I have pondered on the subject and have formed what I consider to be a partially educated opinion. One of my hero's and role models is Socrates who coined the term that has kept good order in many conversations and situations; "define your terms". Life, according to Webster's is; "the property or quality manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, response to stimulation and reproduction...". As a Biologist I would not argue with that definition, at the least it will suffice for our discussion. That settled, the concept of life on other planets rests on the ability of those planets to support such manifestations. Astronomy and space exploration have not observed these attributes directly but have observed the basic elements required as catalysts for them. thus in my opinion if the basics for the cause are their, the effect may be their also. As I said before, I am a biologist and an environmental researcher and one of the things that I have found, without exception here on earth is that life is omnipresent. Even in death you will find life (I'm referring to saprophytes and scavengers). Given the Biblical scientific maxim "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made...", which is interpreted by Fish to mean that what is not visible can be found by using the visible as a "compass", then I believe we can presume that different forms of life are not limited to only earth. "...God may have developed other creatures that are able to live in an environment that is hostile to man. We have a good example here on earth. God made it possible for fish to dwell in water, an unfriendly habitat for us." If you consider all the forms of life known to man you will see that every habitat hostile to human life still has it's own citizens. The possibility of intelligent life on other planets has posed some concern for Christians who have been taught that we "people" are a special creation and therefore are alone in that respect in all the cosmos. How will it affect our Christian faith and organized religion if intelligent life is discovered outside our solar system? The question may better be asked "How will the atheists deal with the concept of two different populations on two different planets who have had no contact before, worshiping the same God, having the same Savior and pondering on the concept of Heaven?" I encourage you all to question everything but through the filter that God is the Creator of all things, and he is not a God of confusion, but of order. If you are of a scientific mind then by diligent exploration into the biology of the cosmos you will most surely find that the "effect" had a divine "cause".
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