Every form of biological life, known or imaginable,
depends partly on the arrangement of chemical elements in countless ways into
hierarchically ordered goal-oriented systems, interacting in an astronomically
large number of ways to create the Earth's biosphere of which
humans are a part and in which they play a central role (e.g. by being aware
that the biosphere exists and that they are meant to be stewards of it). Moreover, the latest biomolecular research indicates that the protein molecules (amino acids etc.) out of which life is formed are finely tuned to fold themselves into the 'building blocks' of life; so this propensity must have been embodied in the original creation design along with the finely tuned physical constants (i.e. laws of physics) also needed for life to be possible.
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In 1954 Fred Hoyle calculated that for this miraculous
phenomenon of life to be possible a certain kind of nuclear reaction would have had to
have occurred inside stars billions of years ago. He even forecast
the energy of the reaction – 7.6 million electron volts. He calculated that it would have only a small chance of occurring but without it carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and most other elements could never been produced in stars or anywhere else for that matter. Astronomers then searched for the gamma rays which would show the existence of this reaction, subsequently named the ‘Hoyle state’, and they found it within 5 years.
This had a profound effect on Hoyle, who became convinced that the universe and the life in it was not just a chance throwing together of matter and energy. He did not believe in God and so was opposed to the idea of a created universe (subsequent observations have proved with growing accuracy that the universe was indeed created, as stated in Genesis 1.1 and John 1:1) : the only alternative for him was an eternal infinite universe which had a kind of mind.
the energy of the reaction – 7.6 million electron volts. He calculated that it would have only a small chance of occurring but without it carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and most other elements could never been produced in stars or anywhere else for that matter. Astronomers then searched for the gamma rays which would show the existence of this reaction, subsequently named the ‘Hoyle state’, and they found it within 5 years.
This had a profound effect on Hoyle, who became convinced that the universe and the life in it was not just a chance throwing together of matter and energy. He did not believe in God and so was opposed to the idea of a created universe (subsequent observations have proved with growing accuracy that the universe was indeed created, as stated in Genesis 1.1 and John 1:1) : the only alternative for him was an eternal infinite universe which had a kind of mind.
Hoyle was right in stating that the
universe has a teleological nature. However, it is now accepted by most cosmologists
that the universe is not infinite and eternal. It emerged from outside of
space-time and indeed space-time only came into being as it emerged, i.e.
during the Big Bang. So in a sense it emerged from the mind of God and its
teleological properties can be seen as a means by which the Creator guides,
permeates and holds in being the whole creation, including evolution of some kind. The creation and ongoing involvement
of the God in the created order is now easier to imagine than it was before
modern physics and cosmology. Life was dependent on these early stellar reactions and on
the way the atomic output of these cosmic factories formed the protein molecules which assembled, folded and arranged themselves
into ultra-sophisticated systems that thrived under the right conditions –
conditions which are very probably unique to Earth, judging by observations of
the 4000 or so exoplanets detected to date and the specifically life-friendly nature of these conditions which modern science is revealing.
So where and when was life created? Where does all this
information and intelligence come from? There can, it seems to me, be only one
answer. Order cannot emerge from chaos. The ultra-sophisticated purposeful complexities of viruses, bacteria,
plants and animals must have been designed before the universe exploded into
existence. In essence, living systems, ranging from bacteria to mammals, were created from outside the universe, not within
it.
Whether life formed early in the history of the earth, say 4 billion years ago, or only few thousand years ago (I don’t believe that, incidentally) its real origin resides outside our reality, in the mind or being of the Creator, who is also able to exert ongoing influence on it. Life is not just extraterrestrial: it is supernatural.
Whether life formed early in the history of the earth, say 4 billion years ago, or only few thousand years ago (I don’t believe that, incidentally) its real origin resides outside our reality, in the mind or being of the Creator, who is also able to exert ongoing influence on it. Life is not just extraterrestrial: it is supernatural.
Life comes from a timeless and spaceless 'place', and it seems
not surprising that life at some level should return ‘there’ in some form when
it has finished ‘here’, having undergone a learning process. ‘There’ is the place of eternal life and from which eternal life is held within a living believer, to continue when he or she casts off the 37 trillion body cells.
John Sears
