MARS MANIA?


The World, the Word & You! Broadcast
Commentary by Dennis L. Finnan

IS THERE LIFE IN OUTER SPACE? IS THERE OTHER LIFE IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM? IS THERE LIFE ON MARS LURKING DEEP UNDER THE GROUND? THAT'S THE LATEST CONCLUSION OF NASA SCIENTISTS WHO ARE WILDLY SPENDING YOUR PAYCHECK, TO PROVE IT TO OUR WORLD TODAY!

I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the WWY Broadcast and in a moment we’ll talk about it…

…Welcome friend to another weekly edition of the World, the Word & You! Broadcast . I'm Dennis Finnan your host and commentator thanking you for joining us on this first weekend of the 21st century! Indeed as we've entered not only a brand new year, but the entrance to a new millennium, I know most people are excited to see what the future holds for us all. We'll I can't look deep into the future nor can anyone else, but we can look at what is happening around us today and consider the implications for our future.

So today on the broadcast I want to examine our nation's newest mania that has captured the minds and hearts of millions of Americans. I'll call it MARS MANIA and after our first musical moment and pause, I'll tell you more about it…

… Hollywood and science fiction writers for quite some time have zeroed in on the fears of many, by producing books and films depicting little green men from Mars invading our planet and destroying life. Perhaps the greatest science fiction thriller was WAR OF THE WORLDS, which Orson Wells read to a radio audience in the 1930's. Many people mistakenly thought it was a real news alert revealing an invasion from Mars had begun. Panic struck many people who headed for the hills. Since then hype and interest has continued to expand by the clever tricks of Hollywood. In its latest Martian invasion film called INDEPENDENCE DAY, people went wild to see it, grossing all box office attempts to gain an audience.

Yes people everywhere are getting the MARS MANIA as not only Hollywood is cashing in on, but so is our National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) in its quest to find life on the mysterious planet Mars. But, before I get into discussing some unanswered questions concerning this new space exploration mania, let's pause one more time and listen to this…

…Recently before the turn of the century the U.S. governments space agency (NASA) experienced its greatest disappoint as the year ended. The $ 165 million Mars Polar Lander project failed miserably. The Polar Lander launched last January, was expected to provide conclusive proof that life exists on Mars, yes I said "exists" on Mars, not existed although that would be accepted too. This failure embarrassingly followed the loss of its earlier sister ship in September of 1999 which was also lost in its long term mission to explore Mars.

There is no doubt the vast majority of Americans not to mention world citizens everywhere are coming to believe that there must be extra-terrestrial life in outer space! With films, books, and evolutionary teaching being drummed into the head of every secular school student, we are finding fewer and fewer who do not believe life exist elsewhere in our universe. Of course all this is predicated on the idea that man's origins are evolutionary, not creative. If so, then life could also have evolved in the same way as on earth on other planets in other solar systems and galaxies.

NASA, our government space agency is clearly evolutionary in its philosophy of life and therefore bent on using every tax dollar it can extract from the American public to "prove" its insatiable desire to get rid of the idea that there is a Creator God who brought all things into existence. Mind you, that is the driving force behind "all" space exploration ¾ to find other life! Yes, discovering life on another planet is the "Holy Grail" of many evolutionary scientists and our national space exploration agency. This alone, is the reason why they have their hands in your pocket book. They need your money to finance the quest to prove there is no God!

Now, as we have entered the 21st century, NASA is planning a long term seventeen year assault on the red planet, searching for life and the possible building blocks for it. For now, many millions if not billions of dollars have been wasted in their attempts to land on Mars with a vehicle to test the polar ice caps there for the possibility of water and the existence of life.

Yes, NASA coyly admits that if water can be found in crystal form, perhaps under the surface liquid water can be found, and if it can be found, then that's all they need to declare that life existed in the past and may now still exist under the surface! The general premise among evolutionists today is, if you have water you then have the basic ingredient for life. All that needs to be added is some nucleic acids and proteins mix them all together like a cocktail, and zap them with some electrical spark and "voila" your have LIFE!

From there, there is nothing to stop it from becoming what we are today. Well, with that kind of thinking, I believe you have madmen or unintelligent life at its worst. For the evolutionary necessity of "spontaneous generation," has long ago been proven impossible! Yet, this is the mindset and purpose of the MARS missions. Do you doubt me? Then listen to this. Scott Hubbard, who heads NASA's new Institute of Astrobiology recently said, "If there's still liquid water underground… then life could still possibly exist on Mars. That's a respected speculation within the scientific community." [1] Well there you have it ¾ it slipped out didn't it? The MARS space program is designed to find "living life" on Mars, deep below the surface. This was why the Mars Polar Lander was equipped with explosive projectiles to slam into the surface of the polar caps and search for liquefied water, and the presence of past life and or better yet ¾ living life itself!

Now what can we make of this? Well this is a Christian broadcast, and our only desire is to first answer any and all claims to the contrary. In addition, to build up and edify the saints in the midst of a sinful and corrupt generation of fallen human beings, who are in rebellion to their Creator's plan and purpose for their existence. So today, in light of the MARS MANIA our world is feverishly embracing, I want to explore from the Bible this idea of the possibility of other life in outer space.

First of all, let me set the stage for this thinking. As Christians we must confess, no one can prove or disprove that life exists outside of this planet. Moreover, the Bible is silent on the matter. And, all reports that surface from the minds of men that claim there is life on other planets is also "pure speculation" in the light of the growing hard evidence against it.

You see friend, life is more than just water and some chemicals, minerals and a spark of electricity. It also must have a complex combination of environmental factors to be possible, as well as divine life to be imparted to non-living matter. Regardless of the fact that if water can be found on Mars, Venus or other planets why even the temperatures on all other planets are either too cold or too hot for life in any higher form comparable to earth's human life.

Admittedly, scientist have found recently what is called "extremophiles" this is simple life on earth that exists alive under extreme conditions. Some such life exists in volcanoes, others in extreme cold, or even acidic environments such as ammonia or sulfuric acid. So some scientists have extrapolated: "if life can live here on earth in such extreme ways, then life can also live on in other extreme locations such as below the surface of the polar ice caps of MARS!

Now let's get down to some thoughts about extra-terrestrial life as it pertains to the Bible. What does it say to us? Well again, there is no chapter and verse for this, but we do have principles and concepts from which we can draw, I believe, reasonable conclusions: They are as follows:

#1 THE BIBLE TELL US THAT OUR EARTH AND THE UNIVERSE ARE NOT BILLIONS OF YEARS OLD AND NOTHING EVOLVED INTO EXISTENCE - Why, the book of Genesis says everything in the space-time-continuum was created in a seven solar day period in the beginning. If this is true, and we believe God's Word and report is, then there was "no time" available for evolution to have begun or happen. It's a matter of faith of course to believe one way or the other. However, there is more evidence on the creation side today, than to believe in the fairy tale of evolution with no "Creator" behind the magnificence of our humanity.

#2 AS TO AGE, THE EARTH IS THE OLDEST SOLAR BODY IN UNIVERSE - Yes the existence of the earth precedes all the stars, solar systems, and galaxies in our universe. How do we know that? God says so. You see the earth was created on the 1st day of creation and the stars and planets followed on the fourth day.

Gen 1:14-19 (NIV) "And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day."

Earth then was and is God's primary creation for life. And, if the earth preceded all other creative bodies in the universe, it must be God's greatest purpose of His masterful creation the human race. Also, we discover…

#3 GOD CREATED THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE TO ULTIMATELY BE DESTROYED! - Sound crazy? Not really. You see God preplanned everything. When God created mankind, the highest form of life on earth, He foresaw that such beings made in the image of God, would have to have, free will. Hence, we humans could say yes or no to the Creator, as to if we will follow and serve Him. Knowing the future, God again foresaw man's rejection and planned to deal with it. The preplanned destruction of the entire universe was necessary to build a sinless perfect world for the future after sin is fully dealt with. Listen to God's Word,

2 Pet 3:7,10 (NIV) "By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men…. 10 " But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare."

Rev 21:1 (NIV) "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."

After Jesus Christ returns to the earth and cleanses sin from the human race, God says He will destroy everything He made, not for the purpose of non-existence, but for the purpose of re-creating it again as a beautiful sinless continuum to be inhabited for all eternity by God's saved children out of all human history.

Now what bearing do such things have on the question, "is there life in outer space?" Well let's extrapolate with some questions that pose answers.

(1) IF GOD CREATED INTELLIGENT LIFE ELSEWHERE, WOULD HE PUNISH THEM WITH DESTRUCTION FOR THE SINS OF PEOPLE ON EARTH? The answer of course is no! The judgment for failure of earthlings would never be carried out against the innocence of other life. Therefore we can deduce that there must not be other life, based on God's Word about what He is going to do with the entire universe in the future.

(2) IF THE UNIVERSE IS UNDER A CURSE OF DEATH BECAUSE OF ADAM'S SIN, WHAT DOES IT TELL US OF MANKIND'S REALM OF ORIGINAL AUTHORITY. If there is life on other planets, then that life is according to God's Word to be subject to man's authority. Listen to the Scripture:

Gen 1:28 (NIV) "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.""

Deu 4:19 (NIV) "And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven."

Psa 8:3,6 (NIV) "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place… 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet:"

It appears from Scripture that "rulership," was given to mankind that was to extend to every thing in the universe. Further, implying the subjection of the creation to Adam as representative of the human race, we read that when Adam sinned, God's judgment not only fell upon him and his wife, but the entire earth, our solar system and the universe at large!

Rom 8:18-22 (NIV) "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."

When God judged man's sin, the curse fell upon the whole creation or "universe!" Now ask yourself, why would God bring such judgment on the entire creation? Only one reason possible ¾ mankind was destined to rule It all. Perhaps if man had not sinned, God would have permitted him to explore the vast universe and conquer and subdue it for His glory and our good? Yes, our world and all other worlds if they exist outside our solar system, were created for mankind and no other life.

In addition, we discover that (1)God created the sun, moon and stars as a means of aiding man in navigating our world (Gen. 1:14) , and (2) to bring great glory to God (Psalm 19:1-6; 8:1; 89:5). We read in,

Gen 1:14 (NIV) "And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years,"

Psa 89:5 (NIV) "The heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones."

As Christians we should not be worried if NASA finds water on Mars. Water is an element of creation. Its abundance on earth, coupled with the exact and perfect environment for abundant life was God's creative plan ¾ which, by the way, we do not see existing anywhere else in our solar system or universe for that matter! However, we must not be dogmatic about it either. We are not told anything about our universe apart from the fact God created it, and that God created it exclusively for our needs! Moreover, the greatest news about this is found in the words of Scripture that reveal God's greatest care and gift. It was to this earth, alone among all the uncounted billions of heavenly bodies, that God himself, came in the person of Jesus Christ to suffer and die for man's sin.

John 3:13 (NIV) "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man."

According to God, the earth is the center of all God's interest, perhaps actually even the universe. Of course no can verify that, but we know God has planned this planet and our life for his glory and purpose.

As such, wouldn't it tragic if any human being missed the purpose of his existence in the foolish quest to find "other" life to disprove God created them? What arrogance that is in light of the fact that whole creation shows us that its call came about by the intelligent design and omnipotent power of an eternal being revealed to us in the Bible, as God. Yes, scripture tells us that all one has to do is look round and up toward the stars and in our hearts we will see God's signature!

Psa 19:1-3 (NIV) ". The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard."

So the real question is, not will we find the existence of past or present life on Mars. But will we acknowledge the fact that God exists, and that His record and revelation of Himself leads us to learn and know about His greatest act of love for a fallen sinful race. Yes, this is the Good News gospel ¾ God sent us His Son Jesus Christ to earth in human form, to live a perfect sinless life, to become a worthy substitute for the sins of the whole world under judgment. Yes, Christ died for you and for me. In fact, He died for the whole world! From the sinner on Wall Street in NYC, to the sinner in the most remote and primitive place on the earth. God loves this lost world and has chosen to redeem it.

So, what is going on now is the final stages of God's redemption, before He brings to fruition His plan to destroy the heavens and the universe! Are you ready? Have you confessed your sins to God? Have your received the only sacrifice than can wash away those sins ¾ the God/Man Jesus Christ? The Bible calls us,

Rom 10:9-10 (NIV) "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

This is God's plan for time and eternity ¾ rescuing fallen sinful humanity from His judgment coming. I trust you are not foolishly looking for your origins in the dust and dirt of a barren planet called MARS. I trust you'll also write to your congress people, asking them to stop the waste of your money to prove NASA's religious philosophy of life. But more important is, that you'll contact Heaven itself by a prayer of faith calling on Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and to grant you eternal life, so that one day when God remakes the heavens and the earth ¾ you'll be there to explore a perfect universe! Then and only then will it be worth our while

You know I'm amused as well as angered. Our U.S. government is funneling millions of dollars to NASA to construct and launch a manned space flight to Mars. This will cost the American public upwards of $ 450 BILLION, and it will only be ¾ money wasted. There is no life on Mars, nor ever has been! There is no way to sustain life on Mars, nor any purpose to do so. There is so much more to explore right here on earth, perhaps undersea, and so much more to spend the billions of dollars on in fixing and curing man's problems here and now. Meanwhile I trust God's Word and what it implies, and leave the speculations of foolishness to those who have turned from the truth to fables and nonsense. . Till then, seek the Lord that He may be found in you on that coming day of judgment.

____________________________________

[1] NEWSWEEK, "The Search for Life," December 6, 1999

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 18 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.

For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker, Dennis L. Finnan(dennis@wwy.org),or visit our webpage at http://www.wwy.org/