Is there life on other planets?
Many science fiction movies, television series,
and books were much enjoyed by me. In most of these books and mo, people
had spaceships that allowed them to travel between different star systems, and on planets in these other systems,
intelligent creatures lived that somewhat looked like people, but were different.
We all know that reality is different from books. Physics tells us that strange things happen when we travel with a
speed, somewhat close to the speed of light
- and, if modern physics is correct, it is impossible for humans to travel between star systems.
If other creatures live on other planets, then they have to face the same type of problems, so it seems impossible for them
to travel from their planets to ours. So, if there are intelligent creatures living on planets in other star systems,
it seems, according to modern science, that we won't meet them.
But, are there planets with other living creatures in this universe? And if so, are there intelligent creatures on other planets?
Some people are fascinated by the thought, and quite some effort is spent to try to see if such creatures are there.
For instance, there is the SETI at home project: a project where one tries to see if in the some random noise coming from
space to earth, there is some pattern to be seen that comes from a civilization on some other planet: SETI means: the search
for extra-terrestial intelligence: looking for intelligent beings not from this earth. One of the arguments for the
expeditions to the planet Mars that were given is that these may help to search for life on Mars.
I do not understand why people make these types of efforts.
If there is life on other planets, how did it originate? I see three hypotheses:
- On the other planet, life started in the same way as the evolution theory says that it started here. Apart from the
fact that the evolution theory is not the well-rounded and totally scientifically proven theory that people want us to
believe,
in general, followers of the theory tell that the chance of life starting on a planet is
rather small. A term used is sometimes: A magnificent accident. I believe the probability is even smaller than
they say, too small to assume that it actually can have happened by accident, but even if you believe life on earth
was such a magnificent accident, the chances that this has happened more than once are too small to assume that that
can have happened.
- Life on different planets has a common origin. Say, some very primitive form of life originated somewhere, and it then
travels from there also to some other planet, developping there to some intelligent form of life too. There are quite a lot
of questions to be asked to such a theory, and, again, calculating the probabilities seems to make the theory unlikely.
- Life on earth has been created by God. Possibly, God also has created life on other planets. If God has created life
on earth, he may have created life on other planets too. As far as I can tell, the Bible does not say something about
this, so this remains possible. If there are intelligent beings on other planets, I would assume they would know God. Would
they also have a fall to sin, like the humans? Would we meet them in heaven? Would there be atheists and religious
extra-terrestials? We cannot know.
So, if there are extra-terrestial intelligent beings, or, even, other types of life on planets outside our solar system, then to me,
that would be a new proof of the existence of God. But, I cannot understand atheists that sincerely state they follow
standard evolution theory and are at the same moment on a search for intelligent life on other planets.
Finally, is there life on other planets in our solar system? Well, I guess, yes: probably on Mars, there now will be bacteria
brought to the planet from earth by one of the Mars-expeditions that were recently carried out.
Hans Bodlaender, January 2004
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