Earth Archives - Page 3 of 39 - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

World of Life Beneath the Soil

An unknown world of life lurks beneath our feet, and we should be thankful that it does. A research report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) says that approximately 59% of all living species on Earth live in the soil. Because there are so many organisms living there and they are generally out of sight, scientists don’t know how many species exist in the world of life beneath the soil.

According to the report by Diana Wall of Colorado State University, Fort Collins, soil organisms support life above the soil in many ways. They make it possible for us to grow food, and they break down organic waste. We often think of earthworms, but there are also many smaller worm species. We seldom see various insects that spend their lives in the soil. However, we do see insects that live much of their lives under the ground as well as above. Those include ants, springtails, woodlice, and millipedes. We often think of some animals that live in the soil as pests, such as termites and nematodes. However, they serve the purpose of breaking down organic materials, helping to keep the world from filling up with waste.

Plants also live in the world of life beneath the soil. For example, fungi do not use photosynthesis like green plants, so they can survive in the darkness. Subterranean life forms include the least familiar amphibians, the caecilians, whose name means “blind ones.” Naked mole-rats live underground, and many other mammals spend at least part of their lives in subterranean darkness.

According to the report in PNAS, “soil is the most biodiverse singular habitat.” We don’t often think of the world of life beneath the soil, but we should thank God that He thought of it. Subterranean life makes it possible for life above ground to thrive and prosper. We see this incredible web of life as evidence of design.

Reference: pnas.org

November 17, 2023November 14, 2023

The Purpose for the Cosmos

Scientists and philosophers speculate on the question, “Why Is There Something Instead of Nothing?” The question is why our solar system exists and why there should be countless galaxies other than our Milky Way. Part of this question no one can answer, at least not at the present time. What is the purpose for the cosmos?

Is there intelligent life in any of the other solar systems? We can’t answer that question yet. However, if God’s purpose in creating the physical world in which we live is to advance the battle between good and evil, would He also do that in other places? Isaiah 55:8-9 challenges us to understand that God is not limited to our capacity to think and understand. In that passage, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Science fiction writers have created a whole industry on the assumption that the war between good and evil is ongoing and not limited to the planet on which we live.

A theologian may object to the possibility of other planets with intelligent life, saying, “So you think that Jesus died more than once and experienced more than one resurrection?” The answer to that is “no.” The biblical account is limited to planet Earth. However, many years ago, on a Larry King talk show with an atheist, a caller asked the atheist, “What would you do if a spaceship landed on the White House lawn and a little green man jumped out with a Bible in his hand and said, ‘Has Jesus been here yet?'” My atheist opponent smiled and said, “Punt.”

God may provide a different means for the battle between good and evil than what we see on planet Earth. The point is that there is a purpose for our existence and a purpose for the cosmos. God may use other places and methods to carry out that battle. On a cosmic level, the atheist has no purpose for existing.

Another point we must consider about why the universe exists is that all we see in the cosmos may simply be the result of the creation of time, space, and energy in the beginning. We now understand that the “big bang” singularity was not just a physical process. God created time and space, and matter-energy was engrained in the fabric of space. For us humans, limited to our five senses and able only to comprehend the changes in our physical world, the purpose for the cosmos is beyond our current understanding.

Recent advances in quantum mechanics have shown that time did have a beginning and that the fabric of space contains all the residual matter produced by the creation process. God was not just concerned about the scientifically ignorant population of the days of Moses and Christ. God knew that humans would eventually come to understand the creation process to such an extent that we could see evidence of God’s hand in the cosmos. As God’s ultimate creation, it makes sense that humans would seek to know the purpose for the cosmos.

We suggest that what makes humans unique and special is our spiritual makeup, being created in the image of God. Our physical qualities are of secondary importance. The whole message of the cosmos is that God is a God of incredible power, wisdom, and purpose. The universe radiates that, and the more we see of the creation, the more we understand of its Creator.

October 24, 2023April 12, 2024

Solar System Formation

NASA released a fascinating picture showing solar system formation. The star in the picture is PDS 70, and the resolution is so good that a planet orbiting the star is clearly visible. Also visible is a disk around the planet, apparently forming several moons.

This picture shows what astronomers believe was the process that produced Jupiter and some of its moons. This is the first time astronomers have seen a solar system formation in progress. The amazing thing about this is that it is very reminiscent of the Bible’s description of the process God used to produce the Earth and the other objects in our solar system.

Genesis 1:1 uses the Hebrew word for creation (bara), which describes a process that only God can do, creating something from nothing. Modern science has now shown that time, space, and matter/energy came into existence at a point called a singularity, but can’t answer what went on before this singularity. From verse 1 through the rest of Genesis chapter 1, the word “bara” is not used until verse 21, when God created the first animal life. The term used elsewhere is “asah,” which describes changing something already created. (See verses 7, 16, and 25.) The word “bara” is used again in verse 27, when God created man and woman in his own image. Chapter 2, verse 3 summarizes what God had done by saying that He rested from all He had created (bara) and made (asah).

What we are now seeing is how material already created is crafted into a solar system. We may never know what purpose God has for these other solar systems. However, watching this solar system formation helps us understand the formation of our solar system and our unique planet. We know that our giant gas planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) are strategically placed to protect Earth from collisions by comets and other objects coming from outside our solar system.

In Psalms 8:3-4 we read, “When I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him,…” We don’t see the answer to that question in the physical processes God has used and continues to use. The significance of humans and Jesus Christ’s teachings reveal God’s spiritual purposes in the creation.

The horrible wars wreaking havoc among humans in today’s world are caused by the evil that combats the good Jesus came to establish. While the world is embroiled in war, selfishness, power struggles, greed, and death, we see God working in the lives of men and women and the good being done by the people who faithfully follow Jesus.

Reference: apod.nasa.gov for October 17, 2023.

October 23, 2023October 22, 2023

Incredible Color in Birds and Trees

One of the great mysteries of living things is the presence of beauty. If your faith is “survival of the fittest,” you have no explanation for beauty. Things in the natural world often radiate incredible beauty that has no survival benefit or even threatens survival. The incredible color in birds and trees provides a classic example. Some birds have gorgeous colors that can make them vulnerable to predators.

Here in Michigan, we are witnessing another example of beauty with no survival value but seems designed for humans to enjoy. The green color we see in plants is due to chlorophyll, which allows plants to use photosynthesis. There are two kinds of chlorophyll molecules called chlorophyll A and chlorophyll B. Chlorophyll A absorbs blue light, and chlorophyll B absorbs red light. Green light is the highest energy of sunlight reaching Earth’s surface. Plants are green because the green light radiation is reflected away to protect the plants. In the fall of the year, the chlorophyll in the leaves is removed, and we see the remaining colors.

These facts explain why trees are green and the wisdom in the green color of chlorophyll. But why do the leaves have different colors when the chlorophyll is removed? In our area, the first fall colors that appear are the reds of sumac and poison ivy. Depending on the variety, maple trees have various colors of red, orange, and yellow. We also have multiple birch tree varieties, each with different fall colors.

Why should there be different colors we can’t see until the chlorophyll is gone? The chemistry that creates these colors is very complex. From an evolutionary view, all trees would have the one pigment that advances survival, but that is not the case. The picture gets even more complicated when we consider plants that never see sunlight, such as ferns and various grasses.

As we enjoy the incredible color in birds and trees, we can see beauty for the spiritual value it offers and the joy it brings. That is because we are created in the image of God, the creator of beauty.

For a detailed discussion of chlorophyll, see Wikipedia.

October 16, 2023October 14, 2023

Annular Solar Eclipse

If you were in the path of the annular solar eclipse on Saturday, October 14, 2023, and had a clear sky, you were privileged to see something that won’t happen again until 2039. In an annular solar eclipse, as opposed to total or partial eclipses, the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth without totally blocking the Sun. That is because the Moon is at a distant point in its eliptical orbit. Because of that, it appears slightly smaller, so its shadow cannot completely hide the Sun from our view.

The Moon and Sun are on the same side of Earth once every 29.5 days. We call that event the “new moon” because it is invisible to us. When the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides, we see the monthly “full moon.” Because the orbit of the Moon is 5 degrees off from the Sun’s path (which we call the ecliptic), the Moon rarely falls precisely between the Sun and Earth. When it does, we see a total solar eclipse. When it is a little off from directly blocking the Sun’s light, we witness a partial solar eclipse. We have an annular solar eclipse on those rare times when the Moon is directly in front of the Sun but at its farthest distance from Earth (known as apogee). We see the “ring of fire” around the Moon’s shadow, which is what happened Saturday.

Although the lower 48 United States all experienced a partial eclipse, those in the direct path of the Moon’s shadow witnessed an annular solar eclipse. It began in Oregon, traveled across several western states, and exited from Texas into the Gulf of Mexico. It then covered several Central and South American countries before leaving into the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil. Millions of people could view this annular eclipse. In the U.S., the eclipse crossed several national parks, including Bryce Canyon, where Does God Exist? has often taken groups on our Canyonlands tours.

The wonderfully amazing thing is that we can accurately predict solar (and lunar) eclipses hundreds of years, even a thousand years into the future. That is because we live in a precision-designed universe and solar system. The next solar eclipse crossing North America will be a total eclipse at 2:10 p.m. Eastern time on April 8, 2024. You can put that on your calendar.

Eclipses have taught us many things about our Sun and the solar system design. Regardless of what some people may try to tell you, eclipses are not prophetic signs. They are part of God’s design for a planet where life can live and prosper.

October 9, 2023October 8, 2023

Misunderstandings About Weather and Climate

The cause and control of the weather has been one of the great human misunderstandings throughout the ages and even today. In ancient times, pagan societies invented gods to explain weather phenomena. They had gods and goddesses of rain, hail, lightning, wind, snow, and even rainbows. As human knowledge increased, we have come to understand these things are design features of the Earth. However, we still have misunderstandings about weather and climate. The current climate change debate makes that obvious.

The Bible doesn’t embrace the pagan misunderstandings of weather and related phenomena. Essential to our weather is the water cycle beautifully described in Ecclesiastes 1:7, “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; the place from which the rivers come they return again.” You will also find this in Job 36:27-28. The ancients viewed lightning as weapons of the gods, but the Bible repeatedly references the fact that lightning is a natural occurrence. (See Jeremiah 10:13 and 51:16.) Recently, a local weather person said that lightning never hits the same place twice, but between 2015 and 2020, lightning struck the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago 250 times.

Tornadoes are a significant issue for those who want to blame God for destructive weather. However, few understand that tornadoes are pretty much an American phenomenon that seems related to how we have used the land. Every year, roughly 1,200 tornadoes are reported in the U.S. That is 75% of all tornado reports in the world. I have talked with indigenous people in America, and they tell me that their ancestors never saw a tornado and had no word for it. (They did have a word for dust devils.) Between our plowing and blacktopping the land, we may have provided a catalyst for these terrible storms.

Now, we are seeing global changes in climate and weather. Scientific evidence indicates that the way we use what God has given us is at least a contributor to these changes. Misunderstandings about weather and climate cause some to believe that destructive weather is a vindictive act of an angry God. The truth is that we have caused a very high percentage of our misery from dust storms to recent fires and flooding. We must listen to and obey God’s admonition to “Take care of the garden” (Genesis 2:15).

Reference: Reader’s Digest for September 2023, pages 26-28.

September 27, 2023September 26, 2023

Protection from Incoming Space Objects

One of the exciting features of our planet and solar system is how they are built for life. The cosmos contains a lot of material left over from the creation process, and we have learned that volcanic eruptions and asteroid impacts can eject material into outer space. Fragments that appear to be cast off from Mars have been found on Earth. The need for protection from incoming space objects like asteroids or comets is becoming more evident as scientists discover the enormous amount of damage done by the few collisions Earth has sustained.

Most people have heard of the asteroid collision scientists believe caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. However, evidence exists of earlier collisions that shaped and molded our planet. The recent experiment to alter the path of an asteroid by slamming a spacecraft into it shows the concern many have that an asteroid could crash into Earth and wipe out all human life.

During the last week in August of 2023, NASA’s Juno spacecraft confirmed an amateur astronomer’s report of seeing an object slamming into the surface of Jupiter. This is the third recorded sizable object impact on Jupiter, creating a fireball visible from Earth. In 1994, astronomers observed fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet hitting Jupiter, and in September 2021, astronomers observed another collision.

Jupiter is strategically located and so massive that its gravity draws in asteroids, comets, and other materials that would cause a major disaster if they struck the Earth. Some objects don’t actually hit Jupiter, but they come close enough that Jupiter’s gravitational field slings them out of the inner solar system. Journalist Passant Rabie wrote on Yahoo News, “The solar system’s gas giant certainly knows how to keep peace in its cosmic neighborhood.”

We suggest that when God designed and created the solar system, He gave Earth protection from incoming space objects, which has kept humans safe for our entire history. Between Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, it is almost impossible for a large object from outside the solar system to hit our planet.

The number of things that had to be “right” for our planet to support life is enormous. The more we discover, the less likely it is that pure accidental chance can explain them. A better explanation is, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalms 19:1).

September 26, 2023September 25, 2023

Preparing for Winter – How Do They Know?

Preparing for Winter – How Do Living Things Know?

The ability of plants and animals to achieve maximum survival success in changing seasons is quite interesting. Here in Michigan, our winters can arrive suddenly and forcefully. It may be 75 degrees one day and below freezing the next. It was quite warm in early September, but many trees were already preparing for winter. The leaves of our sumac trees became brilliant red and started falling off the branches. As we approach the end of September, some species of maple trees are changing colors and dropping their leaves.

Several species of birds have left Michigan, heading south for the winter. We live on a river where we see a massive increase in fish activity. There is also a significant increase in the activity of insects, with some butterflies, such as monarchs, heading south in groups. The number of cocoons in our bushes and in our house has accelerated, and some species of bees and wasps have become more aggressive.

The big question is how living things seem to know it’s time to start preparing for winter, even when there is no significant temperature change. There have also been no clues from other weather factors like humidity, rainfall, wind velocity, and direction. The scientific evidence shows that living things pick up on less obvious signals that say, “Winter is coming, and you need to prepare.”

Some living things sense the length of daylight, telling them to prepare for winter. Another factor is the angle of the Sun’s rays, which controls what kind of light reaches Earth’s surface. The Sun’s light contains a variety of wavelengths. The higher energy wavelengths are refracted and scattered more than the longer, lower energy forms. The sky is blue because blue light has higher energy than the rest of the visible spectrum and thus is scattered and refracted more. The next highest energy wavelength is green. Plants are green because they reflect that color, protecting them from the next highest energy of light that reaches Earth’s surface.

As the Sun gets lower in the sky, wavelengths we can’t even see, such as ultraviolet, are refracted and scattered away from the surface. Living things detect that change and start preparation for winter. Explaining how this system of life came into existence is a real challenge for those who deny God’s creation of our planet and the life on it. It’s a joy to see the things God has made testifying about His intelligence and design as they start preparing for winter (Romans 1:20).

September 25, 2023September 24, 2023

Colonizing Space – Does it Make Sense?

“Why We’ll Never Live In Space” by Sarah Scoles is the lead article in the October 2023 issue of Scientific American. This question is relevant with NASA proposing plans to establish colonies on the Moon and Elon Musk claiming that SpaceX will colonize Mars. Scoles points out that Biosphere 2, where people entered to live for two years, revealed that an encapsulated environment didn’t produce enough oxygen, water, or food for the inhabitants. Later experiments ran into psychological and personal conflicts for those involved. There are similar experiments planned in the United States, Kenya, Israel, and Oman. Does colonizing space make sense?

The problems of trying to survive in space are enormous. Scoles points out that studies of astronauts after spending some time in space show significant physiological damage. Immune systems falter, muscles shrink, and bone loss is so great that it outpaces bone growth. Eye damage, called neuro-ocular syndrome, is associated with space flight.

Radiation from various sources is the biggest problem of being in space. The Sun sends out a variety of radiations, all of which damage human tissue. The radiation of galactic cosmic rays is very difficult to stop. Followup reports on Biosphere 2 show many human problems in a self-contained environment. Those problems are not only physical issues of providing essentials for life but also psychological, social, and even re-entry issues. Medical studies of astronauts in the space station show significant physical and genetic damage. However, these studies involve fewer problems than would be faced in outer space. Biosphere 2 was on Earth, and the International Space Station is in low Earth orbit, where there is still some radiation protection.

When God created Earth, He gave us a more unique place than most of us realize. Science fiction ignores many issues involved in colonizing space. Even if we could overcome all of the obstacles, doesn’t spending tax money to address the challenges on this planet make more sense than sending a few people to Mars? We still have much to learn about life on Earth, and we need to work together to improve the lives of people on this planet. The teachings of Christ give us tools that enable us to do that.

Reference: Scientific American

September 11, 2023September 10, 2023

Life Elsewhere in the Universe

A frequent obsession of modern Americans is the question of life elsewhere in the universe. In July 2023, Defense Department employee David Grusch testified before Congress, claiming government mishandling and deliberate misrepresentations about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) believed to be alien spacecraft. The media continues to sensationalize the idea of alien life and exaggerate the unexplained phenomena.

Alien life has no bearing on God’s existence. If there is life elsewhere in the universe, God created it. The belief that life from outer space could solve the problems of humans on Earth is unfortunate. Here are some erroneous assumptions people have recently made:

Some people claim that objects from outside our solar system, such as Oumuamua in 2017, are sent by aliens to spy on us. Scientists have found meteorites with high abundances of beryllium, lanthanum, and uranium, which don’t match alloys found on Earth. These show no signs of alien creation, and no researcher claims any of these support alien life, even though they probably came from outside our solar system.
India’s landing of a spacecraft on the south pole of the Moon was certainly a great accomplishment. However, scientists were interested in the south pole because of the possibility of frozen water there since direct sunlight does not reach that area. They did not expect to find life, and they didn’t.
Concerns about the Cassini spacecraft contaminating Saturn with Earth organisms when it crashed into that planet and the landing of Huygens on Saturn’s moon Titan are not because of aliens. Saturn’s atmosphere and the cold on Titan make it impossible for life to exist there.
Military pilot sightings of things they don’t understand can have many possible explanations, including reflections on the canopy or effects generated by military actions.

Looking for help from aliens to solve the problems we have on Earth is a waste of time and money. The solution to human struggles will not come from alien life elsewhere in the universe. We can find the solution to our struggles in the teachings of Jesus Christ who came to Earth two thousand years ago. He came from outside of space and time to show us the way, the truth, and the life.

References: Article by Eric Lagatta in USA Today and Astronomy magazine for October 2023, page 54.