The first is to protect humanity from extinction. If something happens to the Earth, it may also affect the Moon. Mars is farther away and might remain untouched. The weakness of this reasoning is that the probability of total extinction on Earth is extremely low, assuming that God is guiding the future towards the goal that has been told in the Bible.
The second is the assumption that the billions invested in space travel and colonization will lead to new inventions that can also be utilized on Earth. The weakness of this reasoning is that a similar kind of investment in research on Earth might provide as useful innovations than the space research aiming to colonization of Mars.
The third one is that research on Mars is likely to add much new knowledge - nice for scientists interested of the stuff. The weakness of this reasoning is that there is no need to colonize Mars, research trips would be sufficient.
The main counterargument to colonization of Mars is probably the amount of funding spent. This money could be used to something else.
If I would not be waiting for the return of Jesus and everything that happens after that, I probably would support the colonization of Mars as an insurance against cosmic catastrophes hitting Earth.
âChristians have the hope that a cataclysmic event killing all of humanity will not happen due to the story Godâs promise to Noah.â
But thatâs the reason why many Christians reject all climate change. But even if we donât all die, the planet could become almost unlivable for everybody, with an increase in political and religious instability, food shortages, pollution, and the like.
We explore space because we are curious, and that is one of our positive traits. Itâs important for us here on earth also. This famous, iconic 1968 picture of earth taken from the moon is considered by some to be the start of the environmental movement and gave us a new appreciation for the earth.
There are other benefits. Helium is named for the sun, because it was discovered by studying the sun. And there are many technology spinoffs from space exploration. e.g. lasik surgery.
Here is NASAâs own document detailing various spinoffs from the space program that help us right here on earth:
@Maaike_Harmsen I found it interesting that you are working on a sermon series for geeks! I hope we can hear about them as well, as they come available. You have quite a background, as well! I am fascinated at your Far Eastern involvement. Thanks for your contribution.
Thanks.
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She also preaches and is creating a series of sermons titled: Thank God for Technology: Sermons for Nerds and Geeks.
And you would be under-insured indeed! Iâm just as much a space-enthusiast as the next geek, but reality is that if we are having trouble keeping this relatively paradisical planet in roughly healthy livable shape for ourselves and our many co-inhabitants, then our chances of starting out with an unlivable planet and turning it into something that could be a permanent, independent home are vanishingly close to zero. âTerra-formingâ is a pipe dream when we canât even get ourselves up-to-speed with âTerra-maintainingâ.
But the other reasons you list - those are the more likely (and already realizable) benefits
Since the Great Oxidation 2 billion years ago, at no time was Earth as inhospitable to life as Mars is right now. No oxygen, low atmospheric pressures, high levels of radiation, no surface water, toxic soil, cold temps, low gravity that could cause medical issues . . . what would it take to make Earth as bad as Mars?
The only reason I can see for visiting the planet is to determine if life exists now or at any point in Marsâ history. Exploration for explorationâs sake is a basic human drive, so maybe it would be comparable to climbing Mt. Everest.
Being on the move is also a basic drive for man; we left Africa and have been on the move every since. We arenât afraid of harsh environments or danger.
At times, I do question the ethics and morality of people going to Mars given the inherent dangers. Then I remember that Mt. Everest has claimed the lives of many climbers, and people still line up every year to make the climb. It seems people are trying to justify going to Mars with the fig leaf of protecting the human species when the real reason, paraphrasing Sir Edumund Hillary, is âbecause itâs there, and because we canâ. Or maybe people do it just to snap an awesome selfie for their Instagram page.
Mankind comes up with a lot of ideas, they always have. But the only things that matter are those done out of love for, trust in and obedience to God. Many years ago mankind built a tower to bind themselves together. God was not pleased with them because it was not His will, so He caused confusion and dispersed them.
Living a life instep with the Holy Spirit is the only life that matters, everything else is man centered and vanity. Let us live our lives to glorify the Father and not ourselves. I know what my future holds, physical death, resurrection and eternal life in the presence of the Father and the Son.
Praise God for Jesus and His Spirit living in those who love Him.
Assuming that a large chunck of rock would hit Earth, exterminate most humans and drop remaining civilization to the pre-industrial level, a colony outside Earth would be valuable. Could be a big space station but if it would be on a planet or moon, what other choices would be as easy as Mars (or Moon)?
Otherwise, I agree. We should rather invest in maintaining livable conditions on Earth than imagine hypothetical Earth 2.0 elsewhere.
By the way, Johns report of what was shown to him could be interpreted as a rock dropping on Earth.
âThe second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was hurled into the seaâ. (Revelation 8:8).
Klax
(The only thing that matters is faith expressed in love.)
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Or immorally spending billions on vanity projects.
Klax
(The only thing that matters is faith expressed in love.)
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Valuable to who? The 7 billion who die, most of which will be agonizing and a bit slow? Or the small colony that gets to live in tiny prison domes on Mars? Who actually has it worse?
We have various solutions and apologetics for natural evil that donât really work in the end, but a global extinctor? That is on God to stop if He wants the human race to continue living, growing and establishing a relationship with Him. At what point does our capacity for believing in a good God get breached in the face of overwhelming natural evil? The bubonic plague already makes it hard, stretching my faith to its elastic limits. Billions dying from a space rock that God could have so easily nudged off course with a minuscule trajectory change? In the case of climate change some of our chief concerns are self-caused. We have nothing to do with an asteroid or comet smashing into the planet.
Also something I never really understood. Is our preoccupation with the survival of the human race (at all costs?) biblical (be fruitful and multiply) or simply biological (evolution). I realize it could be both but personally I never shared this sentiment. If itâs time for our species to end, like the 99.9% of those before us, itâs time.
The thought had crossed my mind as well. If or when earth goes - I suspect weâll be going along with it. But who apart from God knows what the future holds?
I hope BioLogos doesnât have an influence on young children or their parents, because children dream big dreams. Iâm sure they dream of becoming astronauts. We need future-minded young people.
