Conditions for life – coincidence?

Fine-tuning in the universe and on Earth clearly points to God's work of creation. Life did not arise by itself by chance

The reality that can be observed around us is the existence of life. There is life in the seas, life on land and life in the air. There are plants and animals that demonstrate the reality of this. Earth is not a lifeless planet.

What about the conditions for life? If we assume that life arose by itself - even though there is no evidence for it - we still have to explain why the conditions are just right for life. Why are they suitable for a life that is possible within very narrow limits? In naturalistic and atheistic theory, it is assumed that everything is due to chance, but there seem to be too many such coincidences. Miracles after miracles are required, so that these things and the steps that preceded them could have been realized by themselves. A much more logical explanation is that behind them is a supernatural being, God.

Important prerequisites for life are e.g. the following things:

Appropriate distance from the sun. The earth is about 150 million kilometers from the sun, and that's just the right distance. The temperature stays between 0 and +40 °C in most parts of the globe, and almost nowhere is it extremely hot or cold. It has been calculated that if we were just 5% closer to the sun, it would cause the oceans to boil and the water to evaporate. A 5% greater distance would cause the seas to freeze. Likewise, the relationship between distance and solar energy radiation is shown in the following numbers:

• If the distance were only a third of the current distance (150 million km.), we would get 9 times more heat compared to today.

• If the distance were half of the current distance (75 million km.), we would get 4 times more heat compared to the current one.

• Mercury is 58 million kilometers and Venus 108 million kilometers from the sun. The temperatures can be several hundreds of degrees in them, which makes life impossible.

• If the distance were double (300 million km), we would only get a quarter of the current heat.

Earth's circular orbit. The Earth's orbit around the Sun is almost perfectly circular. If the orbit were oval and eccentric much like orbits of comets , there would be huge temperature changes as a result. The Earth would alternately be glowing hot as it approached the sun and freezing cold as it moved away from the sun. It would make the existence of life more difficult than it is now.

Earth's rotation speed. If the Earth's rotation speed around its axis were much slower than it is today, the days would be unbearably hot and the nights freezing cold. The current rotation speed prevents temperature differences from becoming too large. There are neither too long cold nights nor too hot days when the vegetation would turn into reindeer.

For example, for Venus – the planet closest to earth – it takes 244 days to rotate around its own axis. Why are the differences in rotation times so significant and why is the Earth's rotation speed just right for life?

The tilt of the Earth's axis is 23.5 degrees. It causes seasonal changes. If this tilt were not there, there would be eternal darkness in the polar region. The snow would not melt and the sea would be frozen. Ice continents would form in both hemispheres, north and south, but the equatorial regions would be correspondingly scorching hot. This would greatly limit the possibilities of life on Earth.

The attraction of the moon and the sun cause the tides. If the moon were closer to the earth than it is now, the tides would be radically higher. It has been calculated that if the moon had been only one-fifth closer to the earth than it is now, the continents would have been completely covered under the tides twice a day. It would make life on land impossible.

Jupiter's attraction. The great planet Jupiter is in just the right place and big enough that its gravity can pull meteors and comets away from Earth so they don't hit us.

The protective effect of the atmosphere. The atmosphere surrounding the Earth is unique. No other planet or moon has a similar protective atmosphere. One way our atmosphere protects us is the ozone layer, which prevents detrimental ultraviolet radiation from entering our atmosphere. It prevents plants and animals from being destroyed. Still, a sufficient amount of heat and light can pass through the atmosphere to make the conditions favorable for life.

The atmosphere also protects the earth from meteors. Most of them never reach the surface of the earth because they burn up in the atmosphere. Otherwise, thousands of meteors would hit the Earth and cause destruction.

Due to the influence of the atmosphere, there is also a greenhouse effect on Earth, which keeps temperatures constant and prevents heat from escaping into space. Without this phenomenon, the Earth's average temperature would be approx. - 20 °C, while it is now + 15 °C. The greenhouse effect therefore raises the Earth's average temperature by 35 degrees and makes the conditions suitable for life. In contrast, the moon, which has no atmosphere at all, experiences huge temperature fluctuations even though it is as far from the sun as Earth. The temperature there varies from + 120 degrees Celsius to - 170 degrees.

Oxygen and other gases in the atmosphere. One of the vital gases is oxygen, which is 21% in the air. Without it, people and animals would die within minutes. However, if there was a clearly higher amount of oxygen, it would become toxic if inhaled for too long. In addition, if there was e.g. more than 50% oxygen, it would make all combustible substances extremely flammable. One lightning strike could set the entire forest on fire like an explosion.

Another important substance in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide, which is less than one percent of the gases in the air. From this amount, the plants get the carbon they need. Without it, they would die, and so would the animals that eat them. The appropriate amount of this gas is one indication of how small life on earth depends on.

Earth's size and atmosphere. The size of the Earth is decisive for the atmosphere. If the Earth were much smaller, the surface water would evaporate, the life-sustaining oxygen would evaporate, and there would be no atmosphere here like on the moon. That's why astronauts need space suits on the moon to survive there. The moon is too small to hold oxygen, nitrogen and water vapor.

On the other hand, if the earth were bigger than the moon, but smaller than today, the atmosphere could remain so thin and small that it would not have the same protective and life-sustaining effect as the current atmosphere. It would radically limit life's possibilities.

What if the Earth were significantly larger than it is today? Then the hydrogen as a gas would collect together and not be able to leave the atmosphere. Together with oxygen, it would form an explosive combination. A small flame would cause huge explosions.

The following example also shows what a small change in the size of the Earth can do. If the Earth were larger than it is now, it would bind more gases and affect the water cycle and amount:

The difference between planets with 12 8000 and 15 200 kilometer diameters is not great, when contrasted with the infinite sizes of other planets, and yet this slight difference is enough to increase the latter’s size by two-thirds, and its mass would be, including the increased denseness caused by greater pull, approximately larger by half. But doubling the mass would also double any gases that the planet would attract and hold, and probably double the amount of water on the planet as well. But the surface area of the planet would have increased by only half; the amount of water would therefore be large enough to bury the entire surface under water several kilometres deep. (1)

Seas and dry land. One peculiarity of the Earth is the large proportion of seas and water. 70.8% of the earth's surface is covered by water, while 29.2% is dry land. In addition, the average depth of the seas is 3.8 kilometers, while the average height of the continents above sea level is only 0.84 km. If the surface of the earth were leveled and shoveled into the sea, the amount of water in the seas would cover the entire earth with a layer 2440 meters thick.

What if there was only a tenth more water than now? Just such a small percentage increase would cause almost the entire current surface of the earth to be under water! It shows how much land life depends on the right amount of water. If there were a little more of it, there would be no versatile land life.

Effect of oceans on temperature. There are large oceans on Earth. If they did not regulate the surface temperatures of the earth, life would either boil or freeze to death. Without oceans and atmospheric currents, the equatorial regions would be approx. 15 degrees warmer and the polar regions 25 degrees colder than today. The annual average temperature at the equator would be approx. +40 °C and in Finland - 25 °C. Now the large water masses even out the temperature differences and keep them within suitable limits. It is an important condition for life.

Water. An important element for life is water. Without it we would die in a few days. It is an odorless and tasteless liquid in itself, which is very versatile:

• We drink it

• We wash in it

• We boil food in water.

• 65 % of our bodies is water.

• Seas, lakes and rivers are filled with fish, which we can eat.

• We can ice skate and go ice fishing on a frozen lake.

• There is snow and rain. The constant cycle of water and snow keeps the land fertile. Areas far from lakes and rivers get water thanks to it.

• You can ski on snow

• Snow can be made into snowballs and snowmen

• Clouds are considered light, but they contain a huge amount of water. An ordinary summer cloud weighs as much as a passenger plane. In addition, there is a billion kilograms of water in a cubic kilometer-sized cloud.

• Water is a solvent for at least 64 substances. Salts, acids, bases, minerals and vitamins dissolve in it. It also carries various substances throughout the body after they have been dissolved. In addition, water, the most important component of the blood, dissolves carbon dioxide, transporting it to the lungs, where it is expelled in the breath.

Water freezing. One of the special features of water is that it expands when it freezes, unlike other substances that contract (Water is densest at 4 degrees. If the temperature is increased or decreased, water expands). Only water increases its volume when it cools and turns into ice; other substances do not have the same property.

The previous physical fact is of great importance. If water behaved like other substances, ice would not form on the surface of bodies of water but at their bottom. The ice would always sink to the bottom and all water bodies would gradually freeze completely. Only the equator might be able to retain a small body of unfrozen water. This would render life on earth impossible, since all that ice would not have enough time to melt, even over the summer. But this is not the case, as ice floats on water and forms a shell, which protects fish from the coldness of winter. Can this be considered a coincidence? Why is water, an essential element for our life, such an exception? If water lacked this property, the seas would be frozen and the earth would be an almost lifeless planet.

The right conditions do not guarantee life. The conditions that make life possible have been discussed above. They all attest how one single phenomenon, from major to minor, can play a key role in having a habitable planet. If the conditions were slightly different, the earth could be a lifeless planet. It could be similar to the moon, which has no atmosphere, or Venus and other planets, which would be impossible to live on for longer periods of time. However, that is not the case now.

How do naturalistic and atheistic theories explain the existence of life here on earth and its diverse nature? The following traits are often typical for such theories:

• When the conditions are right, life can arise anywhere

• Time and chance make everything possible

"When the conditions are right, life can arise anywhere". A good idea of how life is thought to be able to arise by itself, when the circumstances are just right, we get from the following quote. The author seriously thinks that it is possible within the right conditions. This view is quite common in those people who have a naturalistic mindset:

It is a fact that life started on Earth at a specific point in time, but the way how it came into being is – at least for the time being – an unsolved mystery. There is no other possibility, however, than life starting on its own, i.e. the birth of life being an event that is part of the natural order anywhere with similar conditions as on the Earth when life came into being. The birth of life is no larger or smaller mystery than the birth of the Earth, for example. If we were able to experimentally – i.e. artificially – generate in a laboratory or elsewhere the conditions that prevailed on Earth in the beginning, we would surely see life starting from something inanimate. We might achieve this some day. We may also get in contact with life on other planets at some point. It is surely so that as we gain more knowledge, God and the Creator will have to move farther and farther away. (2)

What to answer to those who think in the previous way?

Frankly speaking, the previous notion is based on a belief that is not supported by practical observations. It is not a matter of science, but of an attitude of faith, which is impossible to prove to be true. If it were a matter of science as the people with this thought model want to think, the origin of life would have already been solved. However, the more information about the area has accumulated, the more difficult the problem has become. The gap between the living and the non-living has grown with the increase in knowledge. Merely suitable conditions will never produce life by themselves. It's a delusion. A few comments show the problematic nature of the origin of life:

Paul Davies: When I began to write this book, I was convinced that science had almost solved the mystery of the birth of life. (…) I have spent one or two years studying this area and now I think that there is an enormous gap in our knowledge. We have, of course, a good idea of the time and place of the birth of life but there is still a long way to go to understanding the series of events. This gap in our understanding is not mere ignorance about some technical details but it is a notable conceptual defect. (…) Many researchers are careful to say publicly that the birth of life is a mystery, although behind closed doors they openly admit to being confused.…(3)

Andy Knoll, professor of biology at Harvard University: In trying to bring together what we know about the deep history of life on planet Earth, the origins of life, and the stages of its formation that led to the biology that appears around us, we have to admit that it is shrouded in obscurity. We do not know how life began on this planet. We don't know exactly when it started, and we don't know under what circumstances. (4)

What about the notion that time and chance make everything possible, so that the right conditions for life, the birth of life and the current species are their consequence? Can time and chance make everything happen by itself?

Again, it must be stated that this is a faith-based view. It's not about science. It has not been proven that time and coincidence could generate life, or that our current diverse nature could be the result of such impersonal factors, which some people regard as God-like. These factors cannot be behind the current beauty of nature and diverse life.

The same applies to human thinking, reason and emotions (joy, sadness, hope, fear, humor and laughter, crying, anger, infatuation). If there is no rational Creator, how did non-intellectual matter produce a thinking, speaking, emotional and intelligent being? The theory of evolution requires that, but isn't it much easier to explain these things with the historical notion that God created man in his own image and the rest of nature? It is difficult to explain these complex things from inanimate, non-intellectual and impersonal matter. Nobel Prize-winning biochemist George Wald (1906-1997) considered the possibility that intelligence was involved from the beginning:

How has it happened that, among the many options, we are in a universe with precisely those specific properties that produce life? It has recently occurred to me – and I have to admit that it initially came as a shock to my scientific instincts – that both questions can be linked together to some extent. This is what happens if we assume that intelligence has not arisen as a late by-product of the development of life, but that it has always existed as a breeding ground, origin and condition of physical reality. According to this assumption, physical reality is built on intelligence. Intelligence has built a physical universe that gives rise to life and thus ultimately develops creatures that have knowledge and create science, art and technology. (5)

Without going further into the faith-based nature of the previous concept, Let's look at a few verses of the Bible how life began. It did not start by itself as many people want to believe and which they consider a scientific concept, but by God. The fact that God created life and everything is no more unrealistic than the current naturalistic conception of the beginning of everything and life. On the contrary, it is a great folly to think that the non-existent by itself produces matter, and that the non-intellectual inanimate matter afterwards produces life and intelligent beings, as is thought in the naturalistic theory. Instead, the teaching of the Bible is a much more realistic option. It makes more sense to believe that what is done has its maker. Scientists themselves admit that the universe and life have a beginning. They could not have arisen by themselves, but must have had a creator.

- (Gen 1:1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

- (Rev 4:11) You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.

- (Rev 10;5,6) And the angel which I saw stand on the sea and on the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

6 And swore by him that lives for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

- (Rev 14:7) Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

References:

1. A.R. Wallace: Mans place in the Universe, p. 217

2. V.T. Aaltonen: Miksi en ole kristitty?, p. 22

3. Paul Davies: Viides ihme, 1999, p. 14,15

4. Andy Knoll (2004) PBS Nova interview, 3. 5. 2004, Cit. Antony Flew & Roy Varghese (2007) There is A God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind. New York: HarperOne

5. George Wald: Life and Mind in the Universe, in book Henry Margenau & Roy Abraham Varghese (toim.) Cosmos, Bios, Theos. La Salle,IL: Open Court