Dear list members,
Tonight on PBS in South Carolina there will be a re-broadcast of a program
that came out last fall. I think it'll be of interest to some of you, as
it deals with the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Below is my review
of this episode. If you're interested, check out your local PBS schedule.
Keenan
Life Beyond Earth
Are We Alone?
This is the first episode of a two part series exploring the
possibility of extraterrestrial life. It is an excellent introduction to
the discussion of the possibility of life on other planets. Although
unabashedaly pro-ET, the images and soundtrack make for an engaging
program. There are interviews with scientists, some of whom are leaders in
the field.
Arguments for abundance of life in the universe:
1. "It's inconceivable that we're all alone"--Francis Cordova
This is a variation on Sagan's argument.(superscript: 1) Since there
are so many stars and so many worlds, it's prideful to think that we're the
only ones here. On the other hand, maybe a universe this big and this old
is just right for life to come into existence once.(superscript: 2)
2. Origin of life is easy
Freeman Dyson states that the origin of life either comes from
ordinary chemistry or is an extraordinary fluke. Those committed to
naturalism would prefer the former. Their answer to the problem of the
complexity of life is the sentence analogy. There's a lot of information
in DNA, but this could be generated randomly like a sentence typed by
monkeys in which we keep the correct letters (selection). There's been a
lot written recently to point out how irreducibly complex life is and so
selecting for it piece-meal won't work.(superscript: 3)
3. The possible Martian life
Mars is our nearest neighbor, besides the moon, and is therefore
within the habitable zone: the right distance from the sun to meet life's
energy requirements. So far our probes, Viking and Pathfinder, haven't
found life. Recent meteorite finds hint at ancient life on Mars. Norman
Page points out that life, once started on earth, could've spewed out
across the solar system..
4. Life is found in extreme environments on earth
The search for extra-terrestial life is compared to the Age of
Exploration. Captain Cook's voyage of 1769 included a scientific mission.
Sidney Parkinson, the naturalist on board, documented the lifeforms they
found. He wrote, "How diversified are the works of the Deity within the
narrow limits of this globe we inhabit."
A lot of evidence is presented in this section: bacteria in hot
springs and black smokers, worms in methane ice, algea in Antarctica. I
would add to the list recent discoveries of possible glass-eating microbes.
(superscript: 4,5) Life is so rugged it has survived volcanic flooding of
the entire planet (500 mya) and freezing of the entire planet (600-700
mya).(superscript: 6) They argue that since life can exist in places
without sunlight, in high, low, hot, and cold regions, the habitable zone
should be increased, and that we should explore Europa, Triton, Titan and
Io for possible signs of life.
Stephen Jay Gould points out that bacteria rule the earth. I think
that what he means is that once life got started, evolution diversified
life to fill all possible niches. What we're seeing isn't evidence for how
easy it is for life to get started, but how wonderfully life has fulfilled
God's command (Gen. 1:22).
5. Why not?
"Reality is richer and more resourceful than our wildest dreams." In
other words, truth is stranger than fiction. This is hardly a positive
argument for anything, much less the existence of life on other planets.
Along the way there's some young-earth-creationist bashing and a side
comment which promotes the false myth of Galileo freeing us from our pride.
There is a creative history on a highway sequence demonstrating the vast
amounts of time for the development of life on earth.
Although some Christians see the origin-of-life issue as dead-end
science, there has been much written about it recently.(superscript: 7,8)
I think we need to be aware of the arguments for naturalistic genesis and
this video is an exciting introduction to the topic.
References:
(1) Dungey, K. ,
http://www.furman.edu/~kdungey/personal/scichri/contact.htm
(2) Ross, H. The Creator and The Cosmos.
(3) Behe, M. Darwin's Black Box, 1996.
(4) Furnes, H.; Thorseth, I. H.; Tumyr, O.; Torsvik, T.; Fisk, M. R.
In Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results; Alt, J.
C., Kinoshita, H., Stokking, L. B., Michael, P. J., Eds.; Ocean Drilling
Program: College Station, TX, 1996; Vol. 148; pp 191-206.
(5) Giovannoni, S. J.; Fisk, M. R.; Mullins, T. D.; Furnes, H. In
Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results; Alt, J. C.,
Kinoshita, H., Stokking, L. B., Michael, P. J., Eds.; Ocean Drilling
Program: College Station, TX, 1996; Vol. 148; pp 207-214.
(6) Hoffman, P.; Kaufman, A. J.; Halverson, G. P.; Schrag, D. P.
Science 1998, 281, 1342-1346.
(7) The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle;
Brack, A., Ed.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, U.K., 1998, pp 417.
(8) Davies, P. The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and
Meaning of Life; Simon & Schuster, 1999.
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