subject: The Seti Search For Extra-terrestials [print this page] I recently read an online news article with the bold headline "New Evidence of Life In Space." The article itself, however, didn't offer much of anything that could pass as evidence of alien life. Even when I clicked on a link to a more in-depth article I encountered another optimistic headline: "Search for ETs Focuses on 166 'promising' signals" but this article also offered only the most vague evidence.
These two news articles described how SETI (the California based "Search for Extra-Terrestial Intelligence" institute) had crunched billions of radio signals received from outer space and is now focusing on 166 signals that have some features that could indicate that they came from intelligent life forms.
Four pages into the second article I read that physicist Dan Werthimer, one of the leaders of the project, said he was not too optimistic that any of the signals are from extra-terrestial life and he puts the chance for success at less than one percent. Over the last 24 years Werthimer has examined many promising signals only to find that they were from a passing satellite or random noise.
SETI was founded in 1984 and began operations the following year. Their team of brilliant scientists and support staff examine radio wave transmissions from deep space to see if there is a pattern; even a short burst of pulses arranged in a pattern.
A pattern could indicate language, information and therefore intelligent origin of the radio waves. A pattern would mean that the radio waves are an artifact, something made by alien intelligent life. They have found NOTHING in decades of prodigious effort! No patterns no alien life, no extra-terrestials but they haven't given up.
There are however, patterns here on earth that need explaining. Consider the DNA molecule. The DNA molecule of the smallest, simplest single celled organism contains over 500,000 nucleotide base pairs arranged in precise sequence to give the blueprint for the living cell. That's quite a pattern of information! That no doubt came from an intelligent source. Many scientifically minded people have come to the conclusion that an intelligent designer whom we may call God, designed the first living cell and all other forms of life.
If they find a short burst of radio waves in a pattern they'd likely shout "intelligent origin!" Why not consider that the brilliant pattern of immense information in DNA has an intelligent designer?
The huge expenditure of time and money by SETI in the search for extra-terrestials most likely stems from several motives. Perhaps a motive in the minds of some researchers is the need to find an alternative to God. Some researchers implicitly or even explicitly admit that a single celled organism is far too complex to have formed by random collisions of atoms on the early earth. Some of them believe that life formed on another planet and was brought to earth by aliens. Let me elaborate.
Sir Francis Crick (1916- ), Nobel Laureate, co-discoverer of DNA and pioneer in microbiology did extensive research and probability analysis on how the first life forms could have developed. His research and calculations showed that the likelihood of even one protein with just 200 precisely ordered base pairs would have a probability of one in ten to the 40,000th power to form by chance in the primordial ooze.
Those who study probability have said that anything with a probability of one in ten to the 50th power will essentially never happen. Crick's protein example therefore would never happen even in a trillion years.
Microbiologists now know that the simplest of cells (such as bacteria, fungi and algae) are constructed using a minimum of 239 proteins. An average protein is composed of 445 amino acids arranged in precise order. These 239 proteins (along with DNA and RNA--even more complex) then have to be assembled into a living cell. A living cell is more complex than any machine made by man!
Crick sensibly abandoned the idea that life could form by chance on earth. Crick developed the theory called "Directed Pan Spermia" which maintains that life formed on a distant planet and was transported to earth. This theory, however, does not really explain anything but simply moves the problem of life forming by chance to another location where the same monstrous probability obstacles must be overcome!!
This far fetched Pan Spermia theory seems to be a desperate and pathetic attempt to avoid belief in God as the intelligent designer and creator of life. The prodigious efforts of SETI stand as an tacit admission by leading members of the scientific community that life could not form on earth by chance. It is, by extension, an admission that evolution has no foundation in science since evolution can't explain how even the simplest life forms could come about by chance. I therefore exhibit SETI and the bizarre Pan Spermia theory as evidence given by scientists for the implicit refutation of evolution.
Furthermore let me point out that even if aliens were found on another planet -- unlikely as that would be -- it still doesn't contradict anything taught in the Bible. God could have created 100 alien civilizations on distant planets. Our concern is not with whether or not there are such civilizations. Our need is to be reconciled with God through Jesus Christ who was sent by God to die for our sins!
Christ has given us hope. Jesus of Nazareth came in fulfillment of over 300 predictive prophecies. He worked miracles among the Jewish people of ancient Judea that served to prove that He is the promised Messiah who came to die in our place. He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved for our sins.
We can turn from sin and turn to Christ to ask for forgiveness of sins. There is a conscious existence after death. We are accountable to God for our deeds done in this life. Through Christ we can stand before God forgiven and redeemed!
