A science show I recently saw explained was talking about all the conditions necessary for a planet to have life, and the odds of that happening. It spoke about the the type of sun necessary, the distance from that sun, the shape of its orbit, the size and gravitational field necessary to hold an atmosphere, the protective radiation shield, the tilt on its axis, the necessity of a moon of a specific size and orbital rate to balance the shift of the planet, etc. Mess with any one of these things then life could not be sustained. It used the example of a ruler stretched across the entire 14 billion LIGHT YEARS (that is the number 365 (days) x 24 (hours) x 60 (minutes) x 60 (seconds) x 186,000 (rough speed of light) x 14 BILLION miles x 63,360 (inches in a mile) of the known universe, divided in 1" increments. The chances of a planet have all of the conditions necessary to sustain life would equal only 1" of that ruler. That is 1 chance in 5,203,106,979,840,000,000,000,000,000,000 (it may not be on the board correctly.... there should be 18 zeros) And guess what... that is only the physical conditions necessary for life, we have not yet spoke about the generation of life itself let alone its development and diversification. How could it be possible without an intelligent guide?
No Chance: Sorry... not an answer. Obviously each and every one of the things mentioned are necessary for life as we know it. They each clearly have certain extremely small odds of occurring. When they added them up, those were the odds they came up with. How could it have happened without a guide?
Tainted: Not an answer. Obviously despite the odds it happened... which means it is more than a coincidence. How many billion times in a row would you have to win the lottery to come up with odds like that?
Dead Fundie: Life developed once. Then it survived after calamity.
Invisible: I didn't invent the odds. Obviously for each of the conditions to be present the tiny odds of it happen were real. The fact that they were tiny is obvious simply by the known size of the universe.
Nero: I agree. All this points to is the necessity of a designer. It tells us nothing about the attitudes of the designer or why He did what He did.
Man: It sometimes certainly seems that way.
charcind: Could have been perhaps... it was a while ago that I saw it. The source doesn't deny the truthfulness of the statement though.
Michael: Which event which I indicated do you deny is necessary to sustain life? Obviously each one had its own odds of occurring. When you add them all up you arrive at an incredible low odds of occurring without guidence.
FU: Actually you prove my point. You are talking about a particular order of something occurring with something that was made by man. It required an intelligent mind to create that deck of cards. What are the odds of that pack of cards leaping into existence on its own?
Yummy: According to you then, if there were an infinate number of possible creators, then it follows that there had to be one that created this universe.
Yummy again: Dice were created by man and therefore have an intelligence behind their creation. What are the odds of dice leaping into creation as a random act?
Madeline: First, I do not deny science, I embrace it. Strange though that you appeal to the "Big Bang" on two levels... first that it was proposed originally by a prominent scientist who was a Catholic priest, and second that if the universe had a start, as the Big Bang implies, then it had to have a cause of that start. It could not have leaped from nothing.
Curious: Maybe if you had read the post you would have realized that I was making an argument why a designer had to exist.
Jamie: Sorry.... that doesn't change the fact that the odds of it occurring. All you are saying is that there might be a few other planets that have the physical conditions support life.... there most likely are, and there may be life on them. Don't forget the fact that just because a planet exists doesn't mean that planet can support life.
YY: You also are using the example of cards to support your view. But the creation of those cards was an intelligent designer. What are the odds of the cards coming into existence on their own?
Reaper: Please note I said "Life as we know it". All of those conditions were necessary for Earth to support life as we know it. The odds are rather extreme, especially since I haven't spoken at all about the odds of life itself happening (which by themselves are astronomical)... just the the odds of a planet necessary to support life as we know it.
Steve: Where is my failure to understand probability? Please point it out. Some people used the example of the probablilty of a certain arrangement of cards or dice... but the forget that the cards and dice HAD an intelligent designer. They did not leap into existence on their own.
Hazzard... Thank you.
skepik: It did, and I thought I did say "life as we know it"... i even said that in another response. Also note I am not denying that the conditions for life could not exist else where. All I am pointing to is the odds and how the odds call for an intelligence.
Mr. Danger: What you said in no way shows how the universe existed before God did. If there is a God then (using the universe's time-line) He had to predate the universe.
Liquid: I am talking about the planet necessary to support life. The odd of life itself are a whole other category. All the figures indicate is an intelligence behind them.
Peter Pan: (An apt name for you btw... the boy who never grew up). Not one mention of "God" or the "Bible" was in my original question. That is another question entirely. Why not try to answer the question I presented?
No Chance: I am not sure the name of the program I saw, but common sense speaks about the odds of these things occurring.
Ben: Thank you for proving my point. Yes, the odds of winning a lottery are huge.... but guess what? The lottery had an intelligent designer. It did not spring into existence on its own.
Scuzzy: I do not deny that there could be a different form of life based on something different than we know. I am certain that there must be for that matter. I am talking about the conditions necessary for the planet Earth to sustain life as we know it and all the things that had to come together in space in order to create those conditions. And please note I have not said a word about what had to occur on planet itself to create that life, let alone intelligent life (if one actually defines human life as being intelligent... I think the jury is still out on that one). And yes people intellectually know what a light year is, but they cannot visualize the actual number and how vast it is. "1 light year" sounds like a trip around the block.
Reality: Well thank you for your well thought out and intelligent reply. You must be one of the greatest thinkers among all atheists.
India; Do the math yourself if you doubt the numbers. The fact that each of those things I mentioned as needed is undeniable and they obviously have great odds against natural occurrence. It do not deny at all that there may be other planets that can support life or that there may be life on other planets. I am talking about our little planet. I did not mention anything about the Bible in my question so it has no bearing here.