On Thu, 8 Aug 1996 12:50:14 -0500 (CDT), Steven Schimmrich wrote:
SS>In relation to the news about possible Martian life...
[...]
SS>What is the consensus (if there even is one) among YECs about life on other
>planets? I'm assuming YEC wouldn't buy anything about this Martian meteorite
>anyway since radiometric dating is involved in determining its age, etc.
I am not sure of YECs in general, but Morris seems against the idea
of extraterrestrial life:
"....some of the definite predictions from the creation model are as
follows:...4. No evidence of past or present life would be found
anywhere in the solar system except on earth." (Morris H.M.,
"Scientific Creationism", Second Edition 1985, Master Books, El Cajon
CA, pp29-30)
"The space program has at least shown there is no life anywhere else
in the solar system. This fact is so fully accepted now as to
require no documentation here...." (Morris H.M. & Parker G.E.,
"What is Creation Science?", Master Books: El Cajon CA, 1987
p267-268).
And ReMine, although not a YEC, seems to believe that
extraterrestrial life and extraterrestrial intelligennce would
falsify his Biotic Message theory:
"Extraterrestrials. Some creationists presumed that life's designer
wanted to create as much beauty, variety, magnificence, and "glory"
as possible. They therefore expected an abundance of life in Space.
Message theory says that such presumptions are mistaken. The
designer had a different goal in mind. The designer fashioned life to
tell where life came from. That goal would be ruined by other
intelligent life in the universe, since they might be mistaken for the
designer. An observer might attribute earthly life to the wrong being.
A biomessage sender would take steps to prevent that
misinterpretation, and thus would not create intelligent life
indiscriminately. A biotic message sender would create the minimum
number of intelligent life forms. Moreover, life was made to look like
the work of a single designer, and that goal would be ruined by the
existence of extraterrestrial life. Suppose the designer were to make
extraterrestrial life unlike life on Earth. The universe's life forms
would then look like the result of multiple, separate designers, (and
that would defeat the biotic message). Or, it would look as if the
result of multiple separate origins and evolutions of life-and that is
precisely what evolutionists would claim. They would use this
pattern as evidence for evolution. On the other hand, suppose the
designer made extraterrestrial life virtually identical to life on Earth.
Many evolutionists would use this as evidence that the origin of life
is biochemically predestined and that evolution proceeds only along
specific pathways. (Some evolutionists already make that claim, but
they presently have no evidence to base it on.) Other evolutionists
would claim this situation as evidence that life evolved elsewhere and
was brought to Earth by extraterrestrials, or by directed panspermia
(as in Francis Crick's theory), or by viruses (as in Hoyle and
Wickramasinghe's theory). In either case, evolutionists would use
extraterrestrial life as evidence in their favor. Extraterrestrial life
would harm the biotic message and so would not be created by a
biotic message sender." (ReMine W.J., "The Biotic Message:
Evolution Versus Message Theory", St. Paul Science: Saint Paul
MN, 1993, p441).
However, not all Creationists agree that life on Mars (if proved)
would be a problem. Ross, actually predicts it:
"Some may become skeptical about these conclusions when the remains
of life are someday discovered on Mars. Such a discovery may be
inevitable. However, it will not mean that spontaneous generation
works. Rather, both the solar wind and ejected debris from asteroid
collisions have the capacity to carry life materials from Earth to
Mars." (Ross H., "The Fingerprint of God", Promise Publishing
Co: Orange CA, Second Edition, 1991, p138).
I personally would not have a problem if extinct (or even living)
micro-organisms were found on Mars. Such life could have originated
on Earth and was transported to Mars or it is even possible that life
originated on Mars and was transported to Earth. The Bible does not
say exactly where life originated. The first life spoken of in
Genesis 1 "vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land
that bear fruit with seed in it" (Gn 1:11,12), was already highly
complex, so unless one believes that such "plants and trees" were
created in one step as whole organisms, it is open for Biblical
theists to accept an extraterrestrial origin of life if it is
eventually proved.
God bless.
Steve
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