Dumb and Dumber - Directed Panspermia
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This statement is a
given for Christians and a stumbling block for those who are blinded by the god
of this world. As Paul points out in Romans 1:20, God’s invisible attributes are
clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without
excuse.
Those who refuse to acknowledge their Creator must work very hard to formulate
alternate explanations for their world view. Philosophers, physicists, and
astronomers scratch their heads while attempting to postulate viable
constructions for a God-less beginning to our universe. Their theories are often
couched in scientific sounding auras of plausibility as they come up with explanations such as an infinite number of universes, or quantum tunneling.
Moving along the plausibility spectrum from dumb to dumber, one encounters the
essence of dumber,
directed panspermia. This theory, first proposed by Dr.
Francis Crick and Dr. Leslie Orgel in 1973, suggests that the seeds of life were
spread throughout the universe by an intelligent alien race - maybe a bit like
the Star Wars equivalent of Noah’s Ark. Never mind that they have absolutely no
evidence for such a theory.
Richard Dawkins, the famed British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and
atheist, is one of those who posits the directed panspermia theory as one
counter to creationism and intelligent design. Ironically, isn’t he arguing in
favor of intelligent design by suggesting that life on earth was started by an
intelligent alien race? And while this theory answers the question of how life
developed on earth, doesn’t it just postpone the obvious question? How was life
started on the alien’s planet? There has to be a first cause.
Yet there is a more elegant explanation as to how our planet and life on it were
started, an explanation which involves evidence and truth. On the first day the
Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters, God spoke, and through His
Word all things were created. As Isaiah 45:12 proclaims, “I made the earth and
created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I
commanded all their host.” And the full reflection of that truth is the
revelation of the incarnate God, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. As John
testifies in the first chapter of his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
It says of Jesus in the first chapter of Colossians:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him
all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through
him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him
all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to
himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of
his cross.
The creation of the universe and human life were not a random event. Life did
not rise up out of some primordial slime, nor was it deposited here by aliens.
Before the universe existed, God already had a plan. That plan can be seen to
some extent by the evidence of the universe itself, is more clearly revealed in
the text of the Old Testament, and is fully revealed in the birth, life, death,
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through
Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his
glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to
the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he
set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in
him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Ephesians 1:4-10
God’s plan for His creation is one of redemption. He sent His Son into the world
to redeem sinful men from their lost condition, a condition which they were
powerless to change. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Do not be
deceived by empty words and smooth talk, wandering off into scientific myths.
Pray that all people may come to a knowledge of the truth, the truth that can
only be found in Jesus Christ.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Written by Scott Diekmann
