Extra-terrestrial Life And The Bible

Biblegems #260

Question:  Does the Bible indicate whether or not extraterrestrial life exists?

First, let’s agree on terms. “Extraterrestrial life” in this brief article means conscious, intelligent life. Most who are curious about this subject wonder about the possibility of humans encountering ET.

The Bible teaches that God created the universe in its present, mature state (Gen. 1-2). The stars within their familiar constellations were created as we see them from earth, animal and plant life were created in their mature state, immediately capable of reproduction according to their kinds. Humanity—in the form of the first man and woman—was likewise created in a mature state, independent of other life forms, ready for reproduction. The Bible portrays a universe that is created, not evolved; mature, not evolving into maturity; and recent (tens of thousands of years), not the result of a Big Bang billions of years past. This means that ET would also have to have been recently created—not evolved over millennia.

Secondly, the Bible teaches that death—indeed, entropy itself (the second law of thermodynamics)—is not native to the universe as originally created, but a devastating cancer introduced by the willful disobedience of the first human couple. There could not have been, therefore, alien civilizations living and dying on distant worlds for millions or billions of years because, prior to Adam and Eve’s sin, there was no death in the “cosmos” (Rom. 5:12).

However, the Bible does plainly teaches the existence of extraterrestrial life: creatures who are not dependent upon planets and star systems for survival, and who are not subject to death, disease and decay. It describes beings who tread upon the stars as we easily as we walk upon a carpet (Ezek. 28:14, 16), and who vary in appearance as widely as animal species on earth. Some possess wings (Is. 6:2), while others do not (Acts 1:10-11). Some have eyes all over their bodies (Rev. 4:6-8) and some have more than one face (Ezek. 1:10; 10:14). Many, if not all, can change their appearance, making it easier for humans to perceive them without fear (Lk. 1:19, 26), or they can make their presence known as wind, fire or other seemingly natural forces (Heb. 1:7). These beings are not hindered by time or physical barriers (Lk. 2:19-14), and their size is likely more a matter of our perception (Rev. 10:2)—not something that applies in their own natural state.

These angels, seraphim, cherubim, etc. were brought into existence early in creation week by the living and eternal God, the Creator of all that exists. They do not require space ships for travel and are not bound by such physical laws as the speed of light. They inhabit the non-physical realm the Bible calls heaven; and all the physical universe of matter, energy, galaxies, solar systems, planets, and all life in the physical universe, exists as an expression of God’s love and creativity.

To demonstrate once and for all His immeasurable power and love, God took on human form and lived among us: Jesus, the Son of God—the Supreme ET on planet earth!.

Heb. 1:2  “…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”

   

Is There Evidence For Biblical Creation? Part 2

Biblegems #252

Question: How do we answer the criticism that the order of events in the Creation account contradicts scientific evidence?

It is important to note that the order of events in the Genesis account of creation does not contradict scientific evidence; it does, however, contradict current scientific theory.

Compare the order & origins of the universe from both worldviews:

(Note: y.a. = years ago. M. = million, b. = billion, etc.)

Genesis                                        Secular

[10,000 – 6,000 years ago]           [13.5 – 14 billion years ago]

Day 1         (1:1-5)                         0 sec. -300,000 years

Time, light & darkness,                           Eternal.atter & energy.

Big Bang (13.7 m.y.a.): time,  

shapeless earth & water,                expanding radiation,

space, first 24 hour day                 elementary particles,

                                                      intense heat.

                          

Day 2         (1:6-10)                       300,000 – 150 million years (m.y.)

Sky & Ocean                                  Universe dominated by “dark Matter”              

Day 3         (1:11-13)                     150 – 1 billion years (b.y.)

Land & seas, mature                     Reionization:

vegetation reproducing                           Gravitational collapse

it’s own kind.                                  forms quasars &

                                                      ionized plasma.

                                                      1 b.y. – 9 b.y.

Day 4         (1:14-19)                     Star & galaxy formation, gas

Heavenly bodies                            pockets collapse & trigger

nuclear fusion.

Solar System (4.5 b.y.a.)

Day 5         (1:20-23)                     600 m.y.a.

Water creatures and birds             Fish

Reproducing their own kinds.

                                                      500 m.y.a.

Day 6         (1:24-31)                     land plants

Land creatures produced from

the ground reproducing                 400 m.y.a.

according to their kinds,                Amphibians, reptiles, forests

man separately created                

to oversee the earth and               300 m.y.a.

reproducing according to               Dinosaurs evolve,       

human kind.                                   Mammals evolve

                                                      200 m.y.a.

                                                      Bees, birds, flowering plants

                                                      100 m.y.a.

Apes evolve, homo-sapiens evolve

Discrepancies between the biblical and secular views go well beyond the order of events and differences in time. The biblical worldview does not allow for long epochs of evolution, nor does the secular view allow for man to be created uniquely separate from the animals.

The question, however, is whether the Bible contradicts scientific evidence for the secular worldview. And the answer is that there is no evidence for human evolution from apes—none. That is speculative theory. There is no evidence for the evolution of dinosaurs from some other kind of creature— none. That is speculative theory. There is no evidence for the evolution of amphibians from non-amphibians— none. That is speculative theory. And there is absolutely no evidence of our solar system evolving from pockets of ionized gas expanding from a Big Bang 14 billion years ago— none. That is speculative theory.

These secular theories are based upon a host of false assumptions, such as the Uniformitarian Principle. That principle holds that all the processes we see at work in the universe today have been uniformly at work throughout all time. Based on that principle, it is assumed that since light travels at approximately 186 miles per second, we can determine how long it takes light from a star to travel to earth, estimate the stars distance from earth, and estimate the star’s relative age.

If, however, God cast the stars into their relative positions in space at His command as the Scripture reveals, time and space at the moment of creation exceeded the speed of light by a vast degree, canceling out the carefully constructed mathematical formulas based upon speculation and assumption.

Rom. 1:20  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Is There Evidence For Biblical Creation? Part 1

Biblegems #251

Question: For those of us who take the biblical account of creation literally, how do we answer those who say that there is no evidence for a universe that is only thousands of years old as opposed to billions of years old? And how do we answer the criticism that the order of events in the Creation account contradicts the scientific evidence?

This two-pronged question will be answered as a Part 1 & 2.

Actually, responding to the claim that there is no evidence for a young universe is not difficult. There is an abundance of evidence available, yet just one piece of factual evidence for a recent creation settles the question!

So here are evidences for a young universe taken from two separate scientific disciplines: astronomy and biology.

Astronomic Evidence: Comet 67P

According to current theory, all the material in the universe, including stars, planets moons and comets, comes from the same source of matter that emerged from the Big Bang over 4 billion years ago. In 2014, the comet identified as Comet 67P was approached by the European Space Agency’s space probe “Rosetta.” Much to the surprise of the scientific community, the probe began picking up several unexpected emissions from the comet that are more in keeping with a universe only thousands of years old.[i]

The Rosetta probe detected a plume of water vapor being ejected from the comet at the rate of 6,000 gallons a day! A comet formed billions of years ago would have exhausted its escaping water long, long ago. A comet formed only thousands of years ago fits the evidence presented by Comet 67P. Not only so, but the comet’s water contains a much higher ratio of the chemical Deuterium than the water found on earth, revealing that the earth and the comet do not share the same source.

This is strong evidence for a young universe. God has revealed how the heavenly bodies came into existence on the fourth day of creation (Gen. 1:14-19), and how minutely He keeps track of His creation:

         Gen. 1:16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars.

Ps. 147:4  He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

Biological Evidence: Sea Turtles and the Nautilus

According to current theory, sea turtles evolved from fresh water and land-based turtles around 230 million years ago. Similarly, the small, beautifully colored—and nearly extinct—deep sea Nautilus shellfish is considered by modern biologists to be the evolutionary descendant of massive, tentacled shellfish that supposedly existed 500 million years ago.

Yet, despite this confidence in an evolutionary process requiring millions of years, there is no evidence of an evolutionary process taking place from land-based to sea-based turtles. Likewise, it is admitted by secular scientists that no evolutionary change has taken place in the Nautilus shellfish for the last 500 million years.[ii] In fact, sea turtle fossils from the Cambrian Period (542 – 488 m.y.a.) look just like their modern day counterparts!

This is the evidence biblical creationists would expect to find—not evolutionary metamorphosis over millions of years but each sea and land animal producing after its own kind (Gen. 1:21).

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[i] Thomas, B. Unexpected Oxygen on Young-Looking Comet. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org November 16, 2015.

[ii] Thomas, B. 'Living Fossils' Point to Recent Creation. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org September 21, 2015.

Dragons In The Bible?

Biblegems #189

Question: Job 41 seems to be God describing fire breathing dragons as if they were real and Job was familiar with them. Is this just poetic or symbolic language?

Most people assume that life as we now know it is a reliable indicator for what life has always been like (the theory of uniformitarianism). The apostle Peter reminds us that this false assumption is in large part responsible for mankind’s tendency to “deliberately forget” the creation of the world from water and the destruction of that world’s environment by a global flood (2Pet. 3:3-6). That same false assumption blinds us to the possibility of creatures once existing that match the description in Job 41:1-34.

The creature described in Job is called “Leviathan” (Job 41:1). In this passage Job—who was clearly familiar with the creature—is reminded that even this massive animal is just another one of many created and owned by God (Job 41:11).

Leviathan was earth’s largest creature at the time (33-34), too huge to tie down or lead with a rope (1-2), with a hide too tough and folded over on itself to penetrate with spears, arrows or swords (7, 24, 26-29). His neck was powerful, his chest “hard as rock.” He was completely untamable (5, 9), terrifying the most fearless hunters when he “rose up” (25). His massive limbs were both incredibly strong and graceful (12), and his great jaws were “ringed about with…fearsome teeth” (14). He made a snorting sound accompanied by bursts of fire and smoke from his nostrils, and he could spout fire from his mouth (20-21). His back was covered with tightly layered scales (15-17), and his underbelly likewise covered with sharp protrusions that gouged out the ground he walked over (30). Leviathan was amphibious, stirring up the water where he submerged as if it were boiling (31-32). Isaiah the prophet describes Leviathan as a “gliding,…coiling serpent (i.e., dragon),…the monster of the sea” (Is. 27:1).

Obviously, no such creature exists today. But historical evidence and archeological evidence confirm that Leviathan and other dinosaurs did indeed co-inhabit the earth with mankind.[i] (See also: The World News Daily Report article from March 9, 2014, “Prehistoric Cave Art Depicting Humans Hunting Dinosaurs Discovered in Kuwait”)[ii]

Now that supporting evidence is piling up, those who once scoffed at the idea of humans and dinosaurs co-existing are suddenly changing gears and asking, ‘So what?’

That is a real good question. The ‘so what’ is that these discoveries challenges current evolutionary models that separate dinosaurs and humans by millions of years. Exodus 20:11 summarizes the Genesis creation account that “…in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them…” If the biblical account of creation is true there will be evidence of interaction between humans and dinosaurs and the theory of evolution will suffer a serious set-back.

The Bible and all it teaches is grounded in history. History leaves a record in the ground that eventually comes to light. And when such evidence is unearthed and brushed off for all to see, the creation once again points back to the Creator:

         Rom. 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

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[i] Morris, J. 2008. The Dinosaur Next Door. Acts & Facts.

[ii] See more at: http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/prehistoric-cave-art-depicting-humans-hunting-dinosaurs-discovered-in-kuwait/#sthash.nlZKr6f2.dpuf).