Earth’s Design, and Designer

Robert Wearner looks at evidence for Creation

Job, an ancient desert chieftain of the Middle East, in rapid succession lost his entire herd of oxen, donkeys, sheep and camels. Then a gale caused his house to collapse, killing his 12 sons and daughters. In deep mourning, he suddenly found himself covered with painful sores from head to foot.

In his despair, his wife thoughtlessly advised him to “curse God and die.” Three well-meaning friends appeared and added to his mental torture by assuring him that his situation was entirely his fault.

Sorely tempted, the afflicted man refused to surrender his faith in God. He strongly maintained a belief in the sovereignty of his Maker, and to his accusers, he pointed to nature for proofs that God was still in control and working for the well being of His creation.

Rhetorically he told them to ask creation—the animals, birds and fish—if they thought God existed that they might teach his tormentors about the Creator. Intriguingly, he said, “Speak to the earth, and it will teach you” (Job 12:8).

And, surrounded as we are by the smoke of war, natural disasters and death, when we too are tempted to believe that God may not exist, what evidence does Planet Earth give that He does, and is in control? Our Blue Planet, when you look a little closer, contains a wealth of evidence that God exists, that He made it (as He did us), and that it was done in such a way as to maximise our enjoyment of it. Following is a sampling of the evidence.

its situation
The third from the sun of nine planets, Earth speeds through space at 30 km/sec following a slightly elliptical path around the sun at an average distance of 149,600,000 km. At this distance, Earth stays within a region of tolerance called the “ecosphere.”
This safety zone fits neatly between the orbits of Venus and Mars. Temperatures never get too high or too low to support its life forms. Mercury and Venus circulate closer to the sun, and their surface temperatures ascend into the hundreds of degrees. Life forms would burn up in seconds in such a torrid habitat.

Just beyond us is the orbit of Mars. Its surface is too cold for comfort and, beyond the Red Planet, life of any form, no matter what the atmosphere of the planet, would freeze instantly. Not too close; not too distant. How does one explain our fortuitous location in the solar system? Luck? Such a perfect situation indicates an intelligent decision.

its magnetic field
Outward from the sun toward Earth stream dangerous electrically charged particles, carried on the solar wind. But around the earth is a magnetic field, our shield against the solar wind and their deadly cargo. Some particles are trapped in the Van Allen Belts, two doughnut-shaped bands that encircle the earth. Explorer 1, the first US satellite placed in orbit, discovered these protective belts in 1958. They were named in honour of James A van Allen of the University of Iowa, who directed the project.

These fields protect Earth without disturbing life forms on its surface. Of the inner planets, Earth alone enjoys such protection. Astronauts, orbiting within 1000 km of the earth, are within the inner belt, and are quite safe. Outside the Van Allen radiation belt, the environment is much more dangerous to humankind.

That such a defence occurs only around our planet is further evidence of intelligence at work, and one that actually cares for our environment and us.

its oceans of air
Life would be short-lived and even impossible without an atmosphere such as Earth’s. Comprising 78 per cent nitrogen (inert), 21 per cent oxygen (highly flammable), and 1 per cent other gases such as argon, neon, carbon dioxide, water vapour and ozone, it appears to be proportioned just right for life of many forms. Fortunately, nitrogen makes up over three-quarters of dry air by volume. It’s a “neutral” gas and doesn’t enter easily into chemical union with other substances.

In contrast, oxygen is highly active and combines readily with other elements in the process of oxidation. Combustion of fuels represents a rapid form of oxidation. If oxygen occupied the place of nitrogen, forest fires and all other destructive fires would be common and not easily quelled.

Carbon dioxide amounts to a tiny 0.0033 per cent in the composition of the atmosphere. However, it plays an important role in its ability to absorb radiant heat. Thus it augments the warming of the lower atmosphere, making life more pleasant for all of us. Green plants, in the process of photosynthesis, utilise carbon dioxide in the production of carbohydrates to provide us with food and fibre.

We live at the bottom of this ocean of air pressed down on us by the force of gravity. Of greatest importance to life forms is the troposphere, the lowest of six layers. It’s here that all weather occurs—gentle trade winds, massive cyclones, thunderstorms and lightning. The air is denser, offering us plenty of oxygen to breathe.

The atmospheric layer above the troposphere is called the stratosphere. Here the ozone layer is located, which is of vital importance to all life forms. This shield of life surrounds the earth at an altitude of about 15 kilometres and extends upward to about 55 kilometres. Ozone, a form of oxygen molecule with three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two, serves as a shield protecting the Earth’s surface from most ultraviolet rays.

Without this ozone layer, these lethal rays would destroy all exposed bacteria. Human and animal tissues would be severely damaged. With this protecting ozone layer high above us in the stratosphere, Planet Earth is habitable.

Someone may ask, Venus our sister planet has an atmosphere, so why doesn’t life exist there? Well, unlike Earth’s atmosphere, which is made up primarily of nitrogen plus a good supply of life-supporting oxygen, Venus’s atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. Sunlight is absorbed by the surface of Venus and so heats it up. The re-radiation from the surface is mostly infrared, which is trapped under a cloud layer, resulting in temperatures of up to 480°C (900°F), rendering life impossible.

The protective blanket of air enveloping our home also protects us from the explosive intrusion of chunks of interplanetary matter—the meteoroids that inhabit the space between the planets. Some of this debris measures tens of metres in diameter.
When one hits Earth’s atmosphere at a height of about 100 kilometres, friction slows it down and heats it up. Most of these small visitors from space vaporise.

If a fragment survives its passage through the atmosphere and reaches Earth, it’s called a meteorite. Most are small and do no damage. Only rarely is one large enough to do real damage, producing craters such as the Barringer meteor crater in Arizona.
The protection from meteorite impact, unsurvivable high temperatures and cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation that the atmosphere affords, suggests that it was put there for reasons other than for us to breath.

its oceans of water
Astronomers tell us that Planet Earth is the only body in the solar system where liquid water, the sustainer of life, exists. The oceans of water are just as essential to life forms as the air above us. This huge water mass stores a large quantity of heat. This heat is gained and lost very slowly, allowing the oceans to effectively moderate the seasonal extremes of temperature, and transfer heat from the tropics toward the poles.

Even more important for life on Earth, the oceans supply water vapour to the atmosphere. Winds carry this moisture over the continents where it falls as rain to refresh the land. Rays from the sun heat the water in the ocean. A process of distillation leaves behind the salt. Fresh water supplies moisture for forests and farms.

Without the evaporation of ocean water, our continents would be vast deserts. Water of oceans, atmosphere and lands move in a series of continuous interchanges of both geographic position and physical state, known as the hydrologic cycle.

But at the molecular level, water, as simple as it is, is also a marvel. Two hydrogen atoms combine with one of oxygen—H20. The water molecule is extremely stable, because the hydrogen and oxygen atoms are strongly bonded.

Plants, in the process of photosynthesis, are capable of breaking down the water molecule, causing the release of oxygen. This process, made possible by an input of solar energy, produces the food and fibre so necessary for life.

Life continues to exist here because of the interaction of the ocean of air with the ocean of water. Why would this be so? It suggests forethought, not chance, the outworking of an intelligence to produce a sustainable, symbiotic system.

its Creator
To the believer in the Bible, intelligent design implies an intelligent designer—the Designer. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” wrote the psalmist (Psalm 19:1, 2). We know God as Creator and the Sustainer of all things animate and inanimate.

It’s no wonder that Job told us to ask the earth if there is a Creator. For, he says, “It will teach you” that there is. “Which of all these [that’s us] does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?” (12:8, 9).

In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to come to this great Creator of the universe as if to our own father, for He is real and He is personal. His creation not only tells us that He exists, but that He cares.

Articles of interest: