When we think about the possibility alien life, we usually think about life that comes from a planet in some distant system or other galaxy. But imagine that the one of the planets closest to us had a whole population of other life forms on it. Imagine a completely different race of “people” living there… so close to home…
Well one of the more popular discussions in science these days is around the possibility of “life” on Mars. The Phoenix Mars Lander (pictured here) is sending information back to earth that is leading some to believe that at least the idea of life on Mars is possible. And that idea is scaring the heck out of Creationists that believe that life on Earth is uniquely created by God. That discussion is the topic of a recent article that I came across, and wanted to share…
The Implications of the Hypothetical Discovery of Martian Life for Intelligent Design
by Casey Luskin
The article does a great job in dealing with what life on Mars really means to those who subscribe to Intelligent Design. The bottom line is that the potential discovery life on Mars does not threaten Intelligent Design as much as people might think. Here is a brief overview of the points that Luskin makes…
- If there is life on Mars, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it arose there naturally. The assumption of evolutionists would claim that if life exists, then it must have gotten there by blind natural processes. Scientists agree that the odds of this are quite slim, so the question to ask here is, “how do they know that it evolved naturally?”
. - Building on the first point, life on Mars could have come from Earth. The existence of “Mars rocks” here on Earth as the possible result of meteorite activity means that there is also the possibility of “Earth rocks” on Mars for the very same reason. The possibility exists that impacts on our planet may have sent rocks with Earth life on them deep into space, and then landing on Mars. Life there could literally be interplanetary trash from our own planet.
. - Even if the ingredients (water, amino acids, and other necessary building blocks) were all there, it doesn’t mean that they come together in the right way for life to evolve. Luskin uses the analogy of putting all of the ingredients of a cake into a bowl not resulting in a cake. The existence of the proper ingredients does not mean that all of the other right conditions exist to make the evolution of life occur from that.
What amazes me the most about this whole thing is the idea of how the evolutionists seem to be guilty of the very thing that they accuse those that believe in Intelligent Design of, and that is being irrational. It is simply not rational to say that life on Mars supports evolution because it could only exist otherwise. The fact is that “life” on Mars can be easily explained in an Intelligent Design model, and is actually less likely in an evolutionary model.
This makes me wonder why evolutionists push so hard to prove something that is less logical. Why do they wholesale reject even the very idea that Intelligent Design could be the answer? But part of the answer to this is based in the idea that they are starting with a completely different worldview than what I have. While there are some variances to some of these, I see worldviews falling into three categories…
- Naturalist – the belief that only the physical exists
- Spiritualist – the belief that only the spiritual exists (the physical is merely a manifestation of what is perceived in the spiritual)
- Biblical Christianity – the belief that both the physical and the spiritual exist
You see, my perspective on the existence of life is founded in the idea that the physical life that we experience was created by a spiritual being. If someone does not believe in the spiritual, then the idea of an Intelligent Designer (God) as a non-physical entity simply is not possible. Therefore, only purely physical explanations can be used to describe the origins of life.
Therefore, when “debating” the origin of life with evolutionists, the issue of the existence of a spiritual world must be dealt with first. This makes me want to write a series of posts on dealing with these worldviews, and how those with the Biblical Christianity perspective can and should interact with those who are starting from opposing perspectives. This is the core issue when talking about the origin of life…
Thoughts? Comment freely…
“The fact is that ‘life’ on Mars can be easily explained in an Intelligent Design model, and is actually less likely in an evolutionary model.”
Translation: The fact is that life on Mars can be easily explained in a MAGIC model, and is actually less likely in a SCIENTIFIC model.
Casey Luskin is a moron and a liar. He knows nothing about science. He uses words like design when he really means MAGIC. Magic is an idiotic idea that belongs in the Dark Ages.
“The fact is that ‘life’ on Mars can be easily explained in an Intelligent Design model, and is actually less likely in an evolutionary model.”
Translation: The fact is that life on Mars can be easily explained in a MAGIC model, and is actually less likely in a SCIENTIFIC model.
Casey Luskin is a moron and a liar. He knows nothing about science. He uses words like design when he really means MAGIC. Magic is an idiotic idea that belongs in the Dark Ages.
“The fact is that ‘life’ on Mars can be easily explained in an Intelligent Design model, and is actually less likely in an evolutionary model.”
Translation: The fact is that life on Mars can be easily explained in a MAGIC model, and is actually less likely in a SCIENTIFIC model.
Casey Luskin is a moron and a liar. He knows nothing about science. He uses words like design when he really means MAGIC. Magic is an idiotic idea that belongs in the Dark Ages.
I BELIEVE THAT LIFE ON MARS REALLY EXIST AND THAT, SOON OR LATER, WE WILL
DISCOVER THIS FACT.
I DON`T BELIEVE THAT GOD (OR ANY “CREATOR”) HAS REALLY CREATED THE LIFE ON MARS OR ON THE EARTH…
I SIMPLY BELIEVE THAT WITH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS (WATER, TERMAL SOURCES, ETC…)
LIFE HAS SPONTANOUSLY EMERGED ON MARS AND IN OTHERS PLANETS.
BEST WISHES,
DR. KATHRINE MARTINEZ-MARTIGNONI (SWITZERLAND-EUROPE)
I BELIEVE THAT LIFE ON MARS REALLY EXIST AND THAT, SOON OR LATER, WE WILL
DISCOVER THIS FACT.
I DON`T BELIEVE THAT GOD (OR ANY “CREATOR”) HAS REALLY CREATED THE LIFE ON MARS OR ON THE EARTH…
I SIMPLY BELIEVE THAT WITH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS (WATER, TERMAL SOURCES, ETC…)
LIFE HAS SPONTANOUSLY EMERGED ON MARS AND IN OTHERS PLANETS.
BEST WISHES,
DR. KATHRINE MARTINEZ-MARTIGNONI (SWITZERLAND-EUROPE)
I BELIEVE THAT LIFE ON MARS REALLY EXIST AND THAT, SOON OR LATER, WE WILL
DISCOVER THIS FACT.
I DON`T BELIEVE THAT GOD (OR ANY “CREATOR”) HAS REALLY CREATED THE LIFE ON MARS OR ON THE EARTH…
I SIMPLY BELIEVE THAT WITH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS (WATER, TERMAL SOURCES, ETC…)
LIFE HAS SPONTANOUSLY EMERGED ON MARS AND IN OTHERS PLANETS.
BEST WISHES,
DR. KATHRINE MARTINEZ-MARTIGNONI (SWITZERLAND-EUROPE)
I don’t understand why the possibility of there formerly being life on Mars would be a threat unto Creationists? Yes, I understand that most of their beliefs are based upon what is contained in the Bible, and that there is no mention of physical life being anywhere but here in this world. Nonetheless, there is also no mention of the Western Hemisphere of Earth in the Bible, and it most certainly exists!
No, I cannot provide anything scientific unto the discussion, but I can leave some food for thought. For when I asked our Heavenly Father about whether He had created “others” somewhere else or not, He explained that whatever He may have done or not done anywhere else has nothing to do with us in this world.
I don’t understand why the possibility of there formerly being life on Mars would be a threat unto Creationists? Yes, I understand that most of their beliefs are based upon what is contained in the Bible, and that there is no mention of physical life being anywhere but here in this world. Nonetheless, there is also no mention of the Western Hemisphere of Earth in the Bible, and it most certainly exists!
No, I cannot provide anything scientific unto the discussion, but I can leave some food for thought. For when I asked our Heavenly Father about whether He had created “others” somewhere else or not, He explained that whatever He may have done or not done anywhere else has nothing to do with us in this world.
I don’t understand why the possibility of there formerly being life on Mars would be a threat unto Creationists? Yes, I understand that most of their beliefs are based upon what is contained in the Bible, and that there is no mention of physical life being anywhere but here in this world. Nonetheless, there is also no mention of the Western Hemisphere of Earth in the Bible, and it most certainly exists!
No, I cannot provide anything scientific unto the discussion, but I can leave some food for thought. For when I asked our Heavenly Father about whether He had created “others” somewhere else or not, He explained that whatever He may have done or not done anywhere else has nothing to do with us in this world.
bobxxxx,
The quote you reference when you call Luskin a moron and a liar is actually mine. And I think that your statement literally proves my point about the fundamental difference in worldviews. To you ID is not possible because you seem to deny the possibility of anything non-physical in nature. That discussion is for another post…
Dr. Martinez-Martignoni,
I also believe that life on Mars exists (or at least the possibility of it). However, your “right conditions” statement is one that still confuses me. Using that cake analogy, do you also believe that you can put the ingredients of a cake into a bowl, and they would automatically turn into a cake? And what are the right conditions? Has science been able to recreate this event in a lab? Also, if there is a list of “right conditions,” then what is the mathematical probability that those conditions all exist to make that happen?
I think that Darwin himself pointed out that one of the potential downfalls to his own theory of evolution would be the improbability that it could actually occur given the “age” of the universe. With the current esitimates on the age of the universe, and the complexity of the human genome, what exactly are the odds? And is that within the normal scientific parameters that would be required to make it an actual scientific possibility?
Thanks for joining the conversation! Please understand that I am not being disrespectful of the opposing points of view, I am actually curious as to the response to these questions. If you have answers, then I would love to hear…
Dan
bobxxxx,
The quote you reference when you call Luskin a moron and a liar is actually mine. And I think that your statement literally proves my point about the fundamental difference in worldviews. To you ID is not possible because you seem to deny the possibility of anything non-physical in nature. That discussion is for another post…
Dr. Martinez-Martignoni,
I also believe that life on Mars exists (or at least the possibility of it). However, your “right conditions” statement is one that still confuses me. Using that cake analogy, do you also believe that you can put the ingredients of a cake into a bowl, and they would automatically turn into a cake? And what are the right conditions? Has science been able to recreate this event in a lab? Also, if there is a list of “right conditions,” then what is the mathematical probability that those conditions all exist to make that happen?
I think that Darwin himself pointed out that one of the potential downfalls to his own theory of evolution would be the improbability that it could actually occur given the “age” of the universe. With the current esitimates on the age of the universe, and the complexity of the human genome, what exactly are the odds? And is that within the normal scientific parameters that would be required to make it an actual scientific possibility?
Thanks for joining the conversation! Please understand that I am not being disrespectful of the opposing points of view, I am actually curious as to the response to these questions. If you have answers, then I would love to hear…
Dan
bobxxxx,
The quote you reference when you call Luskin a moron and a liar is actually mine. And I think that your statement literally proves my point about the fundamental difference in worldviews. To you ID is not possible because you seem to deny the possibility of anything non-physical in nature. That discussion is for another post…
Dr. Martinez-Martignoni,
I also believe that life on Mars exists (or at least the possibility of it). However, your “right conditions” statement is one that still confuses me. Using that cake analogy, do you also believe that you can put the ingredients of a cake into a bowl, and they would automatically turn into a cake? And what are the right conditions? Has science been able to recreate this event in a lab? Also, if there is a list of “right conditions,” then what is the mathematical probability that those conditions all exist to make that happen?
I think that Darwin himself pointed out that one of the potential downfalls to his own theory of evolution would be the improbability that it could actually occur given the “age” of the universe. With the current esitimates on the age of the universe, and the complexity of the human genome, what exactly are the odds? And is that within the normal scientific parameters that would be required to make it an actual scientific possibility?
Thanks for joining the conversation! Please understand that I am not being disrespectful of the opposing points of view, I am actually curious as to the response to these questions. If you have answers, then I would love to hear…
Dan