I've been following the adventures of the Mars rover Curiosity and I got to thinking, what if Curiosity were to find evidence that microbes exist or once existed on Mars? How would that affect so-called "Creation Science"?
Now, for those who are not familiar with "Creationism" or "Creation Science" or its updated version, "Intelligent Design", this is more than just being anti-evolution. "Creation Science" takes as its starting point the first few chapters of Genesis. ALL data must be interpreted in light of these passages.
Conventional, mainstream science says that the universe is billions of years old (in fact, it was recently announced that the universe is even older than first thought). If I recall correctly, the earth and solar system are around 7 billion years old. Creationists, however, say that the world is only about 6 to 15 thousand years old. They claim that the methods conventional scientists use to date the age of the universe and the earth are flawed. As are the methods used to date fossils. Which in turn means that astronomers, chemists and physicists are all on the wrong track. But of course, they've been misled by Satan!
Creation Science also teaches that there was no rain or continents prior to Noah's Flood because all the water was either underground or in the atmosphere but separated by a barrier which disintegrated when God decreed that the earth should be destroyed. Incidentally, that famous rainbow that appeared after the Flood as a promise there would be no more floods of that extent? Rainbows ONLY appear when it is raining yet the text of Genesis is very clear that the rains had stopped! I know you are all disappointed that I did not stick around to hear Pastor explain that one, but I had had enough.
And of course, evolution. Now I was surprised that Creationists do accept some form of evolution. According to Pastor, the reason Noah could fit all those animals on the Ark is that he didn't take two of every kind that there is. For example, he said, "someone asked me how Polar Bears got from Antarctica to the Ark." Well, I do hope that he was mistaken and meant to say Arctic. Or else did not realize that he was being set up, if in fact the questioner did say Antarctica. At any rate, Noah only took one kind of bear which then afterwards differentiated into the different bear species and so it wasn't necessary for the Polar Bears to come from Antarctica because they didn't exist then.
At any rate, Creationists do not accept that life evolved from microscopic one-celled life. Which would make it very interesting if microbial life is found on Mars. If microbes once lived on Mars but don't any more, how does that fit into their scheme of things? When were they created? Why did they die out? Why only microbes? Why not other, more advanced species? And of course, if living Martian microbes are found, the same questions still apply. Why did Martian life stop there? They cannot hide behind the Fall of Man as an excuse (the Fall having cursed the universe and brought death) because according to Genesis 1, creation was completed by day 6 and if Mars is on the same timetable as Earth, then Martian creation also stopped on day 6. Remember, they are wedded to the Bible as their starting point and everything HAS to fit into that schematic, unlike their mainstream counterparts.
As you probably can tell, I'm rooting for the Martian microbes. I think it'd be way cool if their existence (whether past or present) could be proven. If only to see the Creationists twist themselves in knots trying to explain this!
Now, for those who are not familiar with "Creationism" or "Creation Science" or its updated version, "Intelligent Design", this is more than just being anti-evolution. "Creation Science" takes as its starting point the first few chapters of Genesis. ALL data must be interpreted in light of these passages.
Conventional, mainstream science says that the universe is billions of years old (in fact, it was recently announced that the universe is even older than first thought). If I recall correctly, the earth and solar system are around 7 billion years old. Creationists, however, say that the world is only about 6 to 15 thousand years old. They claim that the methods conventional scientists use to date the age of the universe and the earth are flawed. As are the methods used to date fossils. Which in turn means that astronomers, chemists and physicists are all on the wrong track. But of course, they've been misled by Satan!
Creation Science also teaches that there was no rain or continents prior to Noah's Flood because all the water was either underground or in the atmosphere but separated by a barrier which disintegrated when God decreed that the earth should be destroyed. Incidentally, that famous rainbow that appeared after the Flood as a promise there would be no more floods of that extent? Rainbows ONLY appear when it is raining yet the text of Genesis is very clear that the rains had stopped! I know you are all disappointed that I did not stick around to hear Pastor explain that one, but I had had enough.
And of course, evolution. Now I was surprised that Creationists do accept some form of evolution. According to Pastor, the reason Noah could fit all those animals on the Ark is that he didn't take two of every kind that there is. For example, he said, "someone asked me how Polar Bears got from Antarctica to the Ark." Well, I do hope that he was mistaken and meant to say Arctic. Or else did not realize that he was being set up, if in fact the questioner did say Antarctica. At any rate, Noah only took one kind of bear which then afterwards differentiated into the different bear species and so it wasn't necessary for the Polar Bears to come from Antarctica because they didn't exist then.
At any rate, Creationists do not accept that life evolved from microscopic one-celled life. Which would make it very interesting if microbial life is found on Mars. If microbes once lived on Mars but don't any more, how does that fit into their scheme of things? When were they created? Why did they die out? Why only microbes? Why not other, more advanced species? And of course, if living Martian microbes are found, the same questions still apply. Why did Martian life stop there? They cannot hide behind the Fall of Man as an excuse (the Fall having cursed the universe and brought death) because according to Genesis 1, creation was completed by day 6 and if Mars is on the same timetable as Earth, then Martian creation also stopped on day 6. Remember, they are wedded to the Bible as their starting point and everything HAS to fit into that schematic, unlike their mainstream counterparts.
As you probably can tell, I'm rooting for the Martian microbes. I think it'd be way cool if their existence (whether past or present) could be proven. If only to see the Creationists twist themselves in knots trying to explain this!
