Origin of Life’s New Favorite Source

In 1999, NASA launched a probe which, in 2004, passed through the tail of a comet. In its pass, it collected a debris sample then returned it to earth in 2006. That was reported in Scientific American with the headline: Sample-return mission pulls a building block of life from a comet.

In 2016, the Stardust spacecraft was launched by Japan. It returned in 2020 with asteroid samples from Ryugu. Reuters reported that event this way: Asteroid discovery suggests ingredients for life on Earth came from space.

More recently, in 2016, NASA launched a probe that landed on an asteroid, dug up a sample, and brought it back to earth just this year. The Fox News headline for that event is: NASA finds water, building blocks of life in largest-ever asteroid sample. And CBS News reported the same event this way: NASA's recovered Bennu asteroid samples show evidence of carbon and water, scientists say.

So what do all of these articles have in common? All of them are promoting the belief that life on earth originated based on naturalistic evolution, and that the building blocks for that life, particularly carbon and water, were deposited here by foreign objects that crashed into the planet billions of years ago.

In spite of the fact that there is no credible theory backed up by actual science that naturalistic evolution is even possible, governments worldwide continue to spend billions and billions of dollars specifically to try and figure out how life on our planet came to be.

For years it has been known what elements living organisms are made up of. Thus, the effort to discover these “building blocks for life” out in the universe has become a primary focus of evolutionary scientists. So they send out their probes and, sure enough, they find those elements in the extraterrestrial environment.

But the truth is, carbon is not exclusive to living things. It is an element that is also found in rocks, soil, the atmosphere, and the oceans. The fact that astronomers have found carbon in outer space means absolutely nothing. All of the other elements are found out there, too.

What drives this obsession actually has nothing to do with science. It has to do with certain people’s religious beliefs. People who hold to a naturalistic worldview believe, as a matter of faith, that the natural universe, operating by natural laws, is all that exists. They have rejected belief in God, so their belief about origins has nowhere to originate but in the natural universe itself. They believe this as a matter of faith in their naturalistic worldview.

But they have a dilemma. Their belief requires that a natural explanation for all of existence be true. But there is no natural explanation for the origin or development of life itself. So, they formulate theories and spend billions on efforts to prove their beliefs true. They are religious zealots on a religious quest.

Now don’t misunderstand. I personally have no qualms about exploring our universe. I believe it is fascinating to learn about what God has created, and to see the amazing scope of His creation. But my fascination expresses an entirely different motivation than those who are desperately trying to find something to back up their naturalistic beliefs.

Those naturalistic scientists can hunt ‘till the cows come home for proof that Naturalism is true. They can find carbon and water. They can continue their quest to figure out how life could have emerged out of non-life. They can keep hunting for biological mechanisms that will show how naturalistic evolution could have happened.

But all they will find is ... NOTHING! They will find nothing because Naturalism is not true. It is a faith that has no scientific grounding whatsoever.

But even with that, naturalistic proofs are not the only way to demonstrate reality. Reality involves more than the natural universe operating by natural laws. There is a spiritual reality, as well, and human beings are spiritual beings. We have a spiritual part of us that is capable of connecting with God in a personal relationship. And since that spiritual part is an element of actual reality, the spiritual connection that people make with God through Jesus Christ is an objectively real thing. And the actual personal relationship that Christians make with God is proof of its reality.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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