Driving to work early one morning, I approached an intersection. The vehicle facing me in the other lane had stopped at the red light, and its lights were shining in my direction. As I moved toward it, I noticed someone walking in front of the headlights.
Judging by what I saw, it could have been a Hispanic man. He might have weighed between 200 and 225 pounds. He was probably five feet away from the bumper of the car and moving in a westward to eastwardly direction at approximately three miles per hour. His hair may have been black and it could have been parted on the left side. He may have been going to work that morning, and maybe he worked for some oilfield service company.
He could have been wearing a maroon shirt that may have been recently washed with an aromatic detergent. He could have had a pocket knife in his right-hand pocket. He might have spoken English, and might have had a Spanish accent, and he might have been from Mexico. He could have had a tattoo between his shoulder blades which might have been in the shape of an eagle. He also could have had a pierced ear.
You may be asking yourself, “How can you tell all that from a person walking in front of the headlights of a car?” You know there is not enough information to make such determinations simply by passing in front of a light. Did you notice how many times I used the terms could have, might have, and may have? Did you notice that I left a way out each time? I didn’t say that he was Hispanic; I said he could been a Hispanic man. I didn’t say he had black hair parted on the left side. I said he may have had black hair parted on the left side.
Again this week NASA has announced the discovery of seven new exoplanets (http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/science/astronomers-find-7-earth-size-planets-where-life-may-be-possible/ar-AAne8q7), that is, supposedly earthlike planets outside our own solar system. The title of the article states that astronomers have found seven earthlike planets where “life is possible.” How do they know if life is possible? How did they determine that? As you read through the article, and listen to the video narration, you will notice how many times they use the words could, might, and may.
Three of the planets, they say, are within the life zone that may support life. They say that one may have an atmosphere that could contain water vapor that might mean there is water on the surface of the planet. And how did they determine all this? They looked at a star forty light years away and noticed a diminished amount of light coming from the star. That can only mean one thing, a planet passing in front of it. All the rest is speculation, just like my story about the person I saw passing in front of the headlights of a car.
If it is all such speculation, why are scientists so determined to find life on other planets? It is not a scientific question, but a philosophical question. They are so convinced that evolution is true, and therefore, life must have evolved on one of the many “earth-like” planets out there. They believe that finding life on other planets would justify their belief in evolution. However, even finding life on another planet would not prove that evolution is true. Evolution has too many scientific problems to be true, and it is not supported by observable, empirical science. It just “has to be” because the alternative is untenable. They will never be dissuaded despite the lack of evidence to support evolution.
If the planets are forty light years away, it would take that long just to send a signal and another 40 years to receive a response. Traveling at the speed of light, it would take forty years to get there. Even travelling at ten times the speed of light would require four years to travel even if a ship could travel that fast. Stars would never go zipping by in the background as they do in science fiction movies such as Star Wars. All this is designed to tell us that we got here merely by processes that can be explained naturally. Again, these are not scientific issues, but philosophical. It is a reason to explain the existence of everything without believing in a Creator God.
What would scientists expect to find in space? Paul wrote, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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.” Finding life on another planet is an excuse to accept evolution and disbelieve God’s Word.
What should we find in the heavens? “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). Rather than trying to find alien life in the heavens to disprove God, we should look to the heavens and see His glory. There is no excuse not to believe in God. Through Christ, you can have a relationship with the Creator God of this universe. Apart from him, you will only be searching through the darkness.
Mike McGuire Ministries 