For the existence of life on Earth, various complex conditions are necessary. These conditions are such that they simply cannot come about by mere chance. It is impossible that they can together by fluke. This being the case, one must necessarily accept that there is some supernatural conscious guidance that is present in the universe that is the cause behind these conditions and that has arranged for them to come about in just the manner needed for life to be able to exist on Earth.
The Earth is continuously moving about in the vast space. That itself is a fascinating phenomenon! Along with this, the conditions on Earth are those of an extremely exceptional planet. These things are so astounding that if one thinks about them, one is amazed. There are many signs on Earth and in the rest of the universe which if a person sincerely reflects on can become for him a mirror for the realisation of God and of God’s beauty and majesty.
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In terms of size, the Earth does not even have the status of a tiny particle in comparison to the rest of the universe. But despite this, in the entire known universe, as far as scientists have been able to discover, it is only on tiny little Earth that the conditions necessary for life are present. As far as our knowledge goes, such conditions are not present anywhere else.
To get an idea of some of these conditions that necessary for hosting life, consider the issue of the Earth’s size. Has the Earth been considerably smaller or bigger than it presently is, life on it would have become impossible. If the Earth were as small as the moon—that is, if its diameter was a fourth of its present size—its gravitational force would turn into a sixth of it of what it is now. As a result, the Earth would not have been able to maintain water on its surface and air on top of it, and then life here would have been simply inconceivable. On the other hand, had the diameter of the Earth been twice of what it presently is, its gravitational force would double. As a result, the Earth’s atmosphere, which stretches to a height of around 500 miles above the Earth’s surface, would have been pulled down. The atmospheric pressure would have then increased by between 15 to 30 pounds per square inch, which would prove to be very harmful in various ways for life.
Consider another feature of the amazing way Earth has been designed, in a manner that is conducive for life. Earth is surrounded by a blanket—the atmosphere—which is some 500 miles high. If this thickness were reduced from 500 to 400 miles, the atmospheric pressure would increase to up to one ton per square inch. Due to this extraordinary pressure, it would no longer be possible for living beings to flourish on Earth. An animal that weighed one pound would now weigh some 150 pounds!
Reflect on another fascinating aspect of Earth which shows how perfectly it has been designed, in a manner that is necessary for life to flourish on it. Earth completes one round around its axis in 24 hours’ time. In other words, Earth is travelling around its axis at the speed of around 1000 miles an hour. Now, suppose this speed were to drop to 200 miles an hour, our days and our nights would become 10 times longer than at present. In summer, the sharp sunlight would burn up all the plants on Earth, and what might remain would be subjected to frost during the long nights.
Think of another interesting aspect: The sun, which provides us with heat and light, is a really hot place. Its surface temperature is 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit! The sun is located at a distance of around 93 million miles from the Earth. This distance is maintained with amazing regularity. This phenomenon is exceedingly significant for us, because if the distance between the sun and the Earth were to reduce substantially—for instance, if it were to half—it would become so very hot on Earth that life here would be impossible. On the other hand, if this distance were to double, Earth would become so cold that, once again, life would be not possible here. The same would happen if the place of the sun were assumed by an extraordinarily bigger and hotter star. Its immense heat would have caused the Earth to become like a furnace.
Another special feature of the Earth that indicates how its design is well-calculated for the flourishing of life as we know it is that its axis is tilted at around 23 degrees. This tilt gives us our seasons. As a result of this tilt, large portions of the surface of the Earth have become inhabitable and can host different sorts of plants and crops. Had the Earth not been tilted like this, there would have been perpetual darkness in the polar regions, with major consequences for the world’s climate. There would be many other such effects, as a result of which life would have become impossible on Earth.
The upper atmosphere of Earth is a collection of gases, of which 78% is nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with other gases in very small proportions. Here the question arises of how these gases combined together in this way and remained in just the right quantity and proportion in the atmosphere that were necessary for life. If the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere had been 50% instead of 21%, many things on the face of the Earth might have easily caught fire. On the other hand, has this proportion been substantially lower, human life as we know it would have been impossible on Earth. Oxygen, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are separately formed and are extremely important components of life. There is not even a chance of one in a billion that they could come together by chance in just the right proportions that they are presently in that enables human life to flourish on Earth.
Consider another issue that highlights how finely and wisely designed our Earth is: An estimated 25 million meteoroids, micrometeoroids and other space debris enter Earth's atmosphere each day, which results in an estimated 15,000 tons of that material entering the Earth’s atmosphere each year. If this atmosphere has been considerably thinner than it is now, many meteorites would have fallen on the Earth. These meteorites travel at the speed of between six and forty miles per second. They would have burnt up every flammable thing on Earth and converted its surface into a vast field full of craters. Meteorites, which travel 90 times faster that the bullet of a gun, can turn a creature like man into pieces simply by their heat, but the Earth’s atmosphere, on account of its exceedingly accurate and appropriate thickness, protects us from this fiery onslaught.
When we look up at the sky and see an innumerable number of stars scattered about, we are astounded. These huge balls that have been in the space for aeons have their own specific and determined pathways, and are moving about continuously. They travel in their orbits with such discipline and regularity that their location at a certain time can be predicted with complete accuracy centuries earlier. These and innumerable other such phenomena in the universe cannot be explained without accepting the role of a higher intelligence behind them. How absurd it is to think that all this could be the result of matter organising itself on its own!
The regularity, predictability, order, precision and fine-tuning that are found in the universe certainly demand a supernatural Creator of the universe who is also its Master. The fact is that if modern science will not accept God, it would deny a necessary result of its own findings.
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