E.T. Phone Rome
An article recently published on FoxNews.com suggests that the Catholic Church is somehow trying to make amends for a perceived feud with “science” dating back four hundred years to its opposition of Galileo by commissioning a study of the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
“The questions of life’s origins and of whether life exists elsewhere in the universe are very suitable and deserve serious consideration.” – Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory
It is interesting that a religious body that a significant majority of the world considers synonymous with Christianity would call the origins of life into question. The Bible opens with this very topic; Genesis literally means origins. Yet here we have the Vatican delving into the discipline called astrobiology, a field Dr. David Menton of Answers In Genesis comically derided as “the only one without a subject!” The conciliatory tone of the article suggests that the Vatican is trying to overcome 400 years of perceived opposition of Christianity toward science. Unfortunately, some mistakenly conclude that the Catholic Church’s refusal to accept Galileo’s astronomical observations were rooted in Biblical teaching. Thus, a straw man is constructed wherein Biblical Christians are made out to believe in a geocentric solar system, a flat earth, a stationary earth, and all other manner “unscientific” fantasies. The truth is that the Bible does not insist upon a geocentric solar system, for example. This idea comes from ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Ptolemy whose ideas had become more compelling to the Catholic Church of Galileo’s day than the Scripture. The oft-cited conflict between science and Christianity simply does not exist. It cannot, in fact, if Christianity is true. The God of the Bible possesses all knowledge. Science, therefore, which is the pursuit of knowledge through observation and experimentation, is necessarily the pursuit of God. It is other matters of faith, in this case evolutionary thinking, that conflict with Christianity.
“Both science and religion posit life as a special outcome of a vast and mostly inhospitable universe. There is a rich middle ground for dialogue between the practitioners of astrobiology and those who seek to understand the meaning of our existence in a biological universe.” – Chris Impey, Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
Given the context of the article, it is fairly obvious that we are to interpret Professor Impey’s use of the word science to mean an evolutionary worldview and religionto mean primarily Christianity. In that case, Professor Impey is correct about evolution’s view of the origin of life, but completely mistaken with regard to Christianity’s explanation. Evolution assumes life is a special outcome of a random universe where the mathematical odds of life arising on its own are astronomically (no pun intended) remote. Christianity, on the other hand, does not present life as an outcome of the universe at all, but the special creation of a personal and loving God. Thus, the middle ground that Professor Impey speaks of does not exist. To accept the possibility of a middle ground where life is anything other than the purposeful creation of Almighty God is to reject the Biblical worldview and embrace some other worldview wherein the universe somehow gave rise to life. This is not to say that Professor Impey is insincere in his desire to have a civil conversation with Christians, or that he does not believe that life has meaning in the universe. Rather, I submit that he knows innately that life does have meaning exactly because the Bible is true.
“How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere? Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God’s creative freedom.” – Rev. Funes
We can rule out that life did not develop elsewhere because the Bible clearly reveals that life did not “develop” here, either. God created life according to His own purpose and power. Proper Biblical exegesis does not put limits on God’s creative freedom. Rather, it puts limits on man’s foolish imaginations. It was God who told us that after six days of creative work, God was done creating (Genesis 2:1-2; Exodus 20:11). The Creation account is very clear and specific in describing that humanity is unique among God’s creation, the only creature made in His image, and that the earth is also unique, being created first as a habitation for humanity. The evolutionary study of astrobiology assumes that the vastness of the universe, the innumerable stars and planets, make the earth nothing special at all. It is just another rock in an infinite cosmos. Thus, humanity cannot possibly be unique or special, as well. The processes that gave rise to intelligent life on earth must have happened elsewhere. It should be clear, however, that the evolutionary view is not that of “science” backed by facts, and the Biblical view that of “religion” backed by myths. No, the facts here, at least in the observational sense, are identical no matter which side of this particular debate one falls on.
- The earth is one planet among many in the universe.
- There exists intelligent life on earth.
- No intelligent life has been discovered elsewhere in the universe.
It is the interpretation of these observations that differ. The Biblical worldview explains the earth’s solitary position in the universe as the result of God’s creative freedom, as Rev. Funes so eloquently put it. The evolutionary worldview, on the other hand, views the apparent solitude of the earth as evidence that the earth is nothing special among the planets in the universe, further extrapolating that intelligent life is likely to exist elsewhere as a result.
“It was astronomical observations that let us understand that Earth (and man) don’t have a privileged position or role in the universe. I ask myself what tools will we use in the next 400 years, and I ask what revolutions of understanding they’ll bring about, like resolving the mystery of our apparent cosmic solitude.” – Tommaso Maccacaro, President of Italy’s National Institute of Astrophysics
It is not possible for astronomical observations alone to bring about such philosophical and moral conclusions with respect to the earth or mankind. The astronomical observations to which President Maccacaro refers, when interpreted from a Biblical Worldview, support the opposite conclusion, as explained previously in this article, that the Earth and mankind absolutely dohave a privileged position and role in the universe. (Actually, I would also accept that it may be more proper for me to say that they do not oppose the Biblical conclusions.) The “not privileged” conclusion comes not from astronomical observations alone, but from evolutionary interpretation of said observations. I would propose to President Maccacaro that the mystery of our apparent cosmic solitude has already been solved. The Bible explains it very well. We are God’s special creation, so special that He has redeemed us from the curse of sin with the blood of His own Son, Jesus. To assume that life at a level equal to or greater than our own exists elsewhere in the universe is to belittle the love of God demonstrated through His ultimate sacrifice.
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