The many very special qualities of Earth suggest it was designed for life. My book describes these qualities (Chapter 13), and argues they support belief in God. Here are two new items that support this hypothesis.
A paper by two astrophysicists looks at how often and where gamma ray bursts take place. Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions in the universe. They can fry a planet from thousands of light years away. The scientists conclude that 90% of all galaxies have too many gamma ray bursts for life to survive. They also conclude that there would have been too many gamma ray bursts in all galaxies for the first five billion years after the Big Bang for life to survive.
Forbes magazine recently ran an interview with an atheist and an agnostic discussing how critical plate tectonics are for the existence of life. Earth’s crust is divided into large plates, and plate tectonics is the process of continents drifting and colliding, with rock grinding and mountain ranges being formed and earthquakes. Plate tectonics keep Earth alive and dynamic. Plate tectonics recycle chemicals, and this “allows for a very rich planetary atmosphere with an extended life.” Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics. Plate tectonics help to create granite, and “if you can’t make granite, you’re not going to have continents.” Plate tectonics recycle carbon, and help to keep Earth’s temperature stable.
So the consensus continues to grow that Earth is special.
Thanks for reading.