One of those "What if... where's this going?" moments.
BNefore I start wombling off into general possibility mode (and you all get bored and change channel), I'd like to wish caveynik Happy Birthday. Hope you have a good 'un, mate!
Ok... you can think about changing channel now.
Yesterday I heard the potentially very exciting news that evidence of flowing water has been discovered on Mars. I think this is very exciting news because it opens up a whole load of possibilities for the future exploration of space. Besides being vital for life (as we know it), water is also a pretty good fuel being made up of hydrogen and oxygen (combustible together).
Then I started to think about the implications of finding evidence of flowing water on Mars. The next logical step is to increase the search for any forms of life (as we know it) as the prescence of water has always been held as a prerequisite for the existence of life.
Now comes the crunch point.
What would happen IF life was to be discovered on Mars? By life, I mean anything down to the smallest microbe. There are a lot of issues to think about IF life is idscovered on another planet.
The one that worries me is the ramifications it could have for religion(s). Think about it. Christianity (in particular, I can't say for other religions) states in its core literature, The Bible, that God created life on THIS planet. Doesn't mention anywhere about him having a trial run on another planet, or a work-shop for building bits, or a backup plan.. just in case.
So, if you find life on another planet would that necessarily challenge (Christian) religious belief? Is it that God created life on this planet alone, or just that The Bible only covers the creation of life on this planet?
What happens next? Would fundamentalist Christians rail up against "science" as being the Devil's work for discrediting The Bible? Or, would it lead to a major rethink in the way that religion is viewed and held in people's lives if a central idea behind life on this planet as being "special" was proved not to be necessarily true?
Ok... you can think about changing channel now.
Yesterday I heard the potentially very exciting news that evidence of flowing water has been discovered on Mars. I think this is very exciting news because it opens up a whole load of possibilities for the future exploration of space. Besides being vital for life (as we know it), water is also a pretty good fuel being made up of hydrogen and oxygen (combustible together).
Then I started to think about the implications of finding evidence of flowing water on Mars. The next logical step is to increase the search for any forms of life (as we know it) as the prescence of water has always been held as a prerequisite for the existence of life.
Now comes the crunch point.
What would happen IF life was to be discovered on Mars? By life, I mean anything down to the smallest microbe. There are a lot of issues to think about IF life is idscovered on another planet.
The one that worries me is the ramifications it could have for religion(s). Think about it. Christianity (in particular, I can't say for other religions) states in its core literature, The Bible, that God created life on THIS planet. Doesn't mention anywhere about him having a trial run on another planet, or a work-shop for building bits, or a backup plan.. just in case.
So, if you find life on another planet would that necessarily challenge (Christian) religious belief? Is it that God created life on this planet alone, or just that The Bible only covers the creation of life on this planet?
What happens next? Would fundamentalist Christians rail up against "science" as being the Devil's work for discrediting The Bible? Or, would it lead to a major rethink in the way that religion is viewed and held in people's lives if a central idea behind life on this planet as being "special" was proved not to be necessarily true?