Mars Rover Mission

So how will you all react or what will you think when the new Mars Rover finds evidence of life... assuming they release the info to the public?

P.S. Of course I realize that it may not find anything, but my gut feeling is that they might, or it will be found someday in the not too distant future.

I am interested in a discussion regarding how Christians should react if life elsehere IS found, vs. an argument as to why it can't or won't be.

In other words, for the sake of argument, let's assume that they DO find evidence of life on Mars. Then what?

TMK asks

how will you all react or what will you think when the new Mars Rover finds evidence of life... assuming they release the info to the public..... and....In other words, for the sake of argument, let's assume that they DO find evidence of life on Mars.

I think my response will be rather matter of fact. In essence...it's a yawner.

Much the same as finding new life in the ocean depths.

So they find "life" of some form on mars... or some planet.

So what? It proves or changes nothing.

The scripture does not specifically tell us if there is or is not life on other planets. In fact our creative God may have all kinds of life He has created in other worlds... even life in ways or forms our mortal minds have never contemplated or thought of. He has certainly not revealed everything about all things to us. There may be a very great deal in this area that is not revealed to us in scripture.

Is there life on other planets.... I don't know. However, even if there is God is still the creator, Jesus is still the Savior, and The Holy Spirit the one who empowers us. If they find "life" of any form or not... it changes absolutely nothing.

Finding verifiable signs of life on Mars, no matter how small, would initiate the most significant paradigm shift in cosmology since the Copernican revolution. It would strengthen the probability of countless other planets with life on them. Such a realization would invariably affect every sphere of human thought including theology.

It is difficult to fully appreciate the seismic shift that we would experience as a society, but certainly it would strengthen the link being made between quantum relativity and moral relativity that shapes the consciousness of the 21st century mind. This will of course be be further disorientating and disturbing to those of us who hold to a fixed special revelation.

Personally I'm skeptical they will find anything...but if they did find some evidence of life I think I would feel a strange joy. I take solace in the limitless possibilities of the Universe that God created. Every now and then I'll pull out my reflector telescope to look in on Saturn or Jupiter and allow my heart to leave the cares of this world, if only for a few moments. Our own little world is so messed up that its comforting to know that we are not big enough to impact Gods design.

Blessings,

MC

Compton wrote:

"Personally I'm skeptical they will find anything...but if they did find some evidence of life I think I would feel a strange joy. I take solace in the limitless possibilities of the Universe that God created. Every now and then I'll pull out my reflector telescope to look in on Saturn or Jupiter and allow my heart to leave the cares of this world, if only for a few moments. Our own little world is so messed up that its comforting to know that we are not big enough to impact Gods design."

I like the way you worded this, and I pull out my telescope for the same reason. The only part I disagree with is the skeptical part ;)

I just hope Christians don't "freak out" if they find life elsewhere. If it is there, God put it there for His purposes and His glory. The Bible is silent regarding what God may have done on other planets, beyond creating them.

J-I-G wrote: "I just feel badly for those that believe "aliens" could be anything other than demons. They will be deceived."

Well, I suspect if they do find life it will be in the form of microbes, algae, etc or they may just find evidence of a past life, i.e. fossils.

I assume when you say that aliens are nothing other than demons, you mean the gray kind with the big heads and black eyes that pilot flying saucers and abduct people in their sleep, and not these bacteria or other microbes.

But then again, if they do find microbes, it certainly opens the door to the possibility of more complex forms of life. If microbes aren't demons, why would the more complex forms of life be?

BM wrote:

"Sounds like somebody is pretty board to come up with a thread like this."

Yeah, I was pretty bored. But I like space stuff, and this is pretty big news, and this is a question I feel we are all going to have to deal with sooner or later. I would be shocked if every other planet/moon put there by the Creator is sterile.

Quiet yourself. Stand in awe at our Father. How small we are in His vast Creation. But we are His most rare and precious possessions! Never forget that He is totally aware of every minute detail of your life.

_____________________

TMK

I was thinking over your thread as I looked at some of the photos of Mars and then I remembered this quote from another shared with me awhile ago and it just seemed to sum up what GOD was showing me. IT doesn't matter what is found because JESUS still reigns, and HE is LORD :)

Thanks for the thread.

GOD bless
mj

Sigh...Sigh...SIGH

Somehow I recall my childhood...how we would speculate, dream about what would happen if man got to the moon and what would he find there. Of course, our imagination was whetted by Dick Tracy's comic strip who took this to a level of fanciful imagination.

Some things never change do they?

We were promised jet packs.

And remember how moon people had antenna's sprouting from their heads?! lol