{"id":66792,"date":"2018-10-29T14:27:55","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=66792"},"modified":"2018-10-29T14:28:37","modified_gmt":"2018-10-29T20:28:37","slug":"life-on-earth-and-in-it-and-elsewhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2018\/10\/life-on-earth-and-in-it-and-elsewhere.html","title":{"rendered":"Life on Earth, and in it, and elsewhere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Moon,<\/a>
Earth from just above the Moon. \u00a0(NASA public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A common notion among some critics of theism or religion is that, with our recent appreciation for how large the universe is and, accordingly, how small and seemingly unimportant our home planet is, the idea of a God who cares about us is simply no longer believable.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This idea can be discussed from a host of angles, but it\u2019s important to know that the fact that Earth is very, very tiny relative to the overall size of the cosmos was known a long time ago. \u00a0Here, for example, is the British medievalist C. S. Lewis, writing originally in 1947:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The immensity of the universe is not a recent discovery.\u00a0 More than seventeen hundred years ago Ptolemy taught that in relation to the distance of the fixed stars the whole Earth must be regarded as a point with no magnitude.\u00a0 His astronomical system was universally accepted in the Dark and Middle Ages.\u00a0 The insignificance of Earth was as much a commonplace to Boethius, King Alfred, Dante, and Chaucer as it is to Mr H.G. Wells or Professor Haldane.\u00a0 Statements to the contrary in modern books are due to ignorance.<\/strong>[1]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study<\/em> (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 77-78.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of you may find this encouraging:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the best age to learn a language? \u00a0When it comes to learning a foreign language, we tend to think that children are the most adept. But that may not be the case \u2013 and there are added benefits to starting as an adult.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In additional science news:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cScientists call for \u2018mega-mission\u2019 to find ancient life on Mars: Rocket scientists tell Nasa a new rover could finally unlock red planet\u2019s secrets\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once again, the human side of science is nicely illustrated:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Politics Behind Choosing a Mars 2020 Landing Site\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMeet the Endoterrestrials:\u00a0They live thousands of feet below the Earth\u2019s surface. They eat hydrogen and exhale methane. And they may shape our world more profoundly than we can imagine.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

From below the surface to above<\/em> the surface. \u00a0This sounds like an interesting book:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201818 Miles\u2019 is full of interesting tales about Earth\u2019s atmosphere: A new book explains the science behind climate and weather\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

***<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the Pacific Northwest smoked tobacco long before Europeans showed up: Unearthed pipes reveal the earliest record of nicotine use in the region\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

And guess what: \u00a0Every single one of those people is dead.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I feel better, though, about this next one:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAncient South Americans tasted chocolate 1,500 years before anyone else: Archaeological finds are the earliest evidence for cacao use in the world\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 A common notion among some critics of theism or religion is that, with our recent appreciation for how large the universe is and, accordingly, how small and seemingly unimportant our home planet is, the idea of a God who cares about us is simply no longer believable. \u00a0 This idea can be discussed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLife on Earth, and in it, and elsewhere<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"    A common notion among some critics of theism or religion is that, with our recent appreciation for how large the universe is and,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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