Saturday, May 31, 2008

Does Finding Life on Mars Disprove God?


I have been fascinated by all the pictures coming back from the Mars Lander. They just released a really cool one today (which I cannot find again online) showing what appears to be ice underneath the lander itself. Scientists are totally geeking out about it because with ice comes the possibility that some type of life form, wither at the cell level or any other level for that matter, could have either existed in the past or even exists now on the Red Planet. Who would have ever thought we could seriously ask this question but "if" the lander does find bacterial life or some other form of life, does that disprove God? Or, should this question be preempted with another one?

The question we should be asking is not what does it mean if we find life on Mars. The real question is why is life, in the highest forms we now know, on THIS planet? When that gets answered, I'll entertain the question of life on other planets.

1 comments:

... said...

Life on Mars is almost definitely certified with the methane discovery from spectroscopic analysis. Of course, this methane could also come from volcanic activity, but due to Mars' core being described as "dead", this idea should be scrapped. It's almost definitely of biological origin and will be certified in 2011.

As for why intelligent life is on this planet? Well, obviously through Evolution through Natural Selection. Like the bacteria that now seem to exist on Mars, they have evolved from simple celled organisms, but might not go through much of an evolutionary cycle due to the lack of oxygen and a toxic atmosphere.

Does this disprove God? Well, considering that "Life" is divinely created and only on this planet should it exist, I think it's a battle-axe blow to the evangelical. This cannot definitely certify a God doesn't exist, but is certainly one step closer.

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14