Please reflect upon the unique nature of the planet upon
which we live, and do so with the proper awe and reverence which we should have
for our wonderful Creator. Scientists and engineers seem to get all puffed up
when they are able to design, build and maintain a spacecraft (i.e., the
American Space Shuttle) which enables several people to stay alive in outer
space for a couple of weeks. Or, to be able to keep a few people alive for
several months at a time in the International Space Station.
Yet we live on a spaceship which was originally designed and
created 6,000 years ago - PERFECT!
Even in its degenerating condition, this spaceship is a self-sustaining
spacecraft capable of maintaining about 6,800,000,000 astronauts alive year
after year; without replenishment of supplies, without new oxygen bottles, etc.
Yet most people just take it all for granted and believe that such a spaceship just
happened to happen.
Evolutionists tout that there must be many other habitable
planets in the Universe; indeed, perhaps millions of them scattered throughout
the Universe.Because of their adamant
faith in evolution, evolutionists fund projects like S.E.T.I., the Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence. They believe that if they can find life on other
heavenly bodies inside or outside of our solar system that this will prove
evolution true and creation false.
In March of 2009, the number of known extrasolar candidate
planets was 342, found in nearby solar systems within the Milky Way Galaxy. The number continues to increase almost
monthly. The smallest (and not visible) extrasolar planet found so far is
COROT-Exo-7b, found by its shadow as it transits in front of its star. It is
located 450 light-years from Earth; it is twice the size of Earth; it has a surface
temperature of 1,000 to 1,500 degrees Celsius; and, it has an orbit around its
star that takes only 20 hours.
Almost all of these extrasolar planets are inferred
discoveries; meaning that while they may indeed exist, they were found using
indirect rather than direct observational techniques. Of the 342 candidates, the
number of extrasolar planets that had actually been optically seen was only
nine (less than 3%). The rest were detected indirectly using one of six
methods.
The first method is Radial Velocity - This method uses the variations
in the speed with which a star moves towards or away from Earth as an unseen
planet orbits the star. This displacement may be measured utilizing the Doppler
Effect applied to light. This has been by far the most productive technique
used.
The second is Astrometry - If a star has a planet orbiting
it, the gravitational tug of the planet may be detected optically by the star
and planet solar system moving in a circular motion around a common center.
The third is Periodic Light Variance - These planets are
inferred by measuring the percentage of light emitted by a star fluctuating as
a planet transits in front of their star during its orbit and he transit causes
consistent periodic shadows.
The fourth is Gravitational Microlensing - This method is
based upon the gravity of a star bending light and acting as a lens. Unseen planets
orbiting a foreground star can cause detectable anomalies in the lensing event
light curve.
The fifth is Consistent Periodic Timing Events - These
inferred planets are found utilizing a method usually associated with Pulsars.
The sixth is Dust Disk Voids - Clouds and disks of dust are
found around some stars. If an unseen planet is orbiting such a star, it may
leave a visible circular shaped void as the planet plows through the dust
cloud.
Even by their own admission, if these results are in fact
proof of planets orbiting other stars, then these planets certainly do not have
the environmental conditions to support life. All the extrasolar planets found
so far are uninhabitable: they are either gas giants (like Jupiter and Saturn);
they are orbiting too close to their star (too hot); or, they are orbiting
too far away from their stars (too cold).
Evolutionists are experts at the false method of proof
called The Proof by Word Meaning Switch.
For example, evolutionists say that if there is or was water on a planet or a
moon, then there is or was life on that planet or moon. This belief is irrational
nonsense. The existence of water now or in the past simply means that water is or
was present, nothing more; water is not the same thing as life. Water may be
needed for life, but water is not equal
to life.
If God wants to create other planets around stars outside
our solar system, that is His business.God is sovereign; He may decorate the Universe to suit His own good
pleasure; and, He does not have to give us a reason for having done it. God
created planets that orbit other stars; God may have created plant and animal
life on those other planets, we do not know, He has not revealed that knowledge
to us; but, God definitely tells us that this is the only planet in the
Universe where people, made in His image, possessing free will, live. (Psalm
115:16) The New Testament also tells us that Jesus Christ came here and died once for all. If there were free
will creatures, made to reflect the triune nature of God, located anywhere else
in the Universe, then Jesus would have had to go where they exist and die for
them, too, but Jesus cannot be put to death twice.
What then are some of the factors that make our planet such
a unique, special and wonderful place? While this only a partial list, the following conditions are not known to
exist anyplace else in the Universe.
To start with, the Earth is just the right size. The Earth
is about 25,000 miles around and about 8,000 miles across. If the Earth were
even 10% smaller (7,200 miles across) the lower gravitational pull would allow
most of the atmosphere to escape into outer space, leaving the heavier gases
behind - like carbon dioxide and argon, neither of which would benefit our
health. The much thinner atmosphere would cause the Earth to cool rapidly and
become an ice planet; not a nice planet. If the Earth were only 10% larger
(8,800 miles across) the higher gravitational pull would pretty much nail
everything to the floor - an equally unpleasant prospect.
Second, there is the Earths rotation rate of about 24
hours. What would happen if we were spinning significantly faster or slower?
What if the rotation rate were slower, say 240 hours per day? (Venus spins at a
rate of once every 243 days.) During our 120 hour day the surface temperature
would reach +200 F, while during the 120 hour night the temperature would
fall to -200 F. We know of no organism which can survive a temperature fluctuation
of 400 degrees. If the spin were faster, then the wind velocities on the
surface would blow us all away. (Saturn rotates once every 10 ½ hours, and its winds
are phenomenal, routinely exceeding
300 mph.)
Third, we all know from our high school science classes that
the rotation rate of the Earth is slowing down over time. This is caused primarily
by gravitational friction with the Moon. The rate of slowing amounts to between
1.4 to 1.8 seconds per 1,000 years. This is definitely a small number, but one
with great significance. If we go back in time a supposed 4.6 billion years
ago, the Earth would be rotating at about 460 days per year. This is a rotation
rate approximately 26% faster than today.
If the Earth were spinning much faster in the past, then the
centrifugal force would force all the dry land masses (continents) to form a
thick belt along the equator. Today, because of the Earths spin, the Earths equator
bulges out 13 miles in radius compared to the polar radius. If the Earth were
spinning significantly faster as we go back in time, the equator would bulge
out farther and farther while there would be a corresponding reduction in the
polar radius. The current geophysical evidence
on the surface of the Earth, however, clearly and conclusively demonstrates
that the dry land masses (continents) have moved north and south away from the equator in the recent
past.
Fourth, we all take breathing for granted while failing to
realize that our atmosphere is a wonderful creation. In our solar system the
other eight planets either have atmospheres with only traces of oxygen or they
have atmospheres which are made up of highly poisonous gases. Our basically
78%-21% mix of nitrogen and oxygen is an ideal proportion for life on Earth. If
we had an atmosphere containing 50% oxygen, then one lightening strike would
cause an entire forest to explode in flames, and we could not breathe without
causing ourselves irreparable damage. If our atmosphere contained only 10%
oxygen then there would be no fires. What would that do to our ability to warm
ourselves in the winter, to conduct industry or to transport ourselves quickly
(no cars)?
Our 21% oxygen atmosphere has another benefit. You have to
have oxygen to make ozone. The ozone layer protects us against the deadly ultraviolet
light that is streaming into our atmosphere from outer space. Ultraviolet light
kills organic organisms. Barbers used to use ultraviolet lamps to sterilize
their combs and scissors to prevent the spread of disease from one customer to
another. Now, they must use chemicals to sterilize implements, or use
disposables, because ultraviolet light also causes cataracts. If there is no
ozone layer around the Earth, then there is no life on Earth.
This is one reason that we know evolutionists are lying
about inorganic chemicals forming living organisms by random chance sometime in
the past, when they claim that there was no oxygen present on the Earth. If
there was a time when there was no oxygen present, then any organic compounds
that might have been formed by random chance would also have been destroyed
quickly by the ultraviolet light coming from the Sun. This is a Catch-22 situation for the
evolutionist: no oxygen means no ozone, and organic chemicals might possibly
form that would otherwise be destroyed by the presence of oxygen; but, no
oxygen means that there will be
ultraviolet light and any organic compounds that might form would be immediately
destroyed. You cannot have it both ways!
Finally, consider the implications of the decay of the Earths
magnetic field. The axis of the Earths magnetic field almost lines up with the
axis of the Earths rotation. This is not true of the other planets in our
solar system. The Earths magnetic field protects us from the harmful radiation
of the solar winds, coming mostly from the Sun. This deadly radiation is held
in place, away from the surface of the Earth by the Earths magnetic field,
contained in the Van Allen Radiation Belts. The Earths magnetic field holds
this dangerous radiation away from Earths populated areas and dumps it, more
or less harmlessly, at the frozen poles. In the past, the magnetic field would
have been significantly stronger, holding this deadly radiation much further
away from the Earth. This is a very beneficial design.
Let us rejoice as King David did: "Many, O Lord my God,
are the wonders which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts toward us; there is none
to compare with Thee; if I would declare and speak them, they would be too numerous
to count." (Psalm 40:5)