What’s This Mars Stuff All About?

I have always had a great interest in space. One of my most vivid childhood memories was watching a space module leave the moon as it began its journey home on our old black and white television set.

The amazing accomplishments of the space shuttle program, in spite of tragic losses, has intrigued me as well. And who isn’t amazed at the marvelous deep space pictures acquired by the lens of the Hubble telescope.

But what I find most thrilling is that my God made this universe, with all of its power and beauty. And so, I was fascinated in 2008 to see what pictures the Mars rover, Spirit, would send back as I eagerly watched the NASA channel.

As I eagerly awaited, my six-year-old son hopped up onto the couch beside me. We watched the video animations of how the NASA engineers hoped the robotic explorer had safely landed on the Martian surface, and how the objectives of this mission would be accomplished.

Nicholas didn’t quite understand. “What’s this Mars stuff all about?” he inquired.

I explained that the scientists were sending a robot to explore the surface of Mars.

“Why do they want to do that?”

“Well, they are trying to find out what they can about Mars. They want to know if life may have existed at some point on that planet,” I replied.

“But why are they doing that?” he pursued.

I struggled to answer the inquisitive mind of a 6-year-old boy. “Because they think that life might have been there a long time ago.”

“Why?”

“Because they believe that life can start on its own. That it could happen without God. Because they don’t believe the Bible and how it tells us about God’s creation. And they think that if they can prove life existed at one time on another planet, then it must have happened the same way here on Earth, without God.”

Nicholas had a strained look on his face. With all seriousness, he cupped his hand next to his mouth and whispered, “Daddy, they’re stupid aren’t they?”

No doubt his confided message was quietly deposited into my ear because he knew that calling people derogatory names was not nice.

I explained, “No, Nicholas, they are not stupid. They must be very smart to have built those robots and rockets and computers. But just because they are smart, doesn’t mean they are always right. They just don’t believe the Bible. And we should be very careful about how we use the word ‘stupid.’”

“Okay, Daddy”

Although I was somewhat embarrassed at my child’s innocent, but bold judgment upon NASA’s finest, I must confess that I was pleased with one aspect of it. He had drawn a logical conclusion, based on our teaching, that those who disbelieve God’s word are wrong.

Our space program has produced amazing benefits. We cannot count the ways the quality of our everyday lives have been improved through the technology developed by men and women in the aerospace industry. And, no doubt, the Mars explorer will increase our knowledge of the red planet.

I am also well aware of the fact that many of the brilliant minds in the space program are devout believers in our Heavenly Father and his creative activity in the first week.

But the fact remains that our government has spent billions and billions of dollars on an effort to expose the so-called “myth” of Genesis. They have put a man on the moon, and a robot on Mars. And like a message in a bottle, they’ve sent deep space probes with instructions on how to find our planet should it be discovered by an intelligent life form.

Our brilliant scientists, with every tool and resource imaginable, are searching high and low for the ever-elusive “holy-grail” of evolutionary evidence that will allow them to once-and-for-all proclaim victory over the backward, uneducated, Bible-thumpers. But it will never happen.

“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ...” (Rom. 1:22).

“but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; ... (1 Cor. 1:27).

Some politicians are proposing we return to the Moon, and eventually send men to Mars. While the technological challenge may prove to be a successful political strategy, and while many good-paying jobs may be created in the wake of such lofty goals, the true objective of the larger scientific community will never be achieved, and billions of dollars will have been wasted toward this end.

“For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:” (Rom. 1:20)

There will be no limit to the money spent or the resources tapped to prove that life exists without a Sovereign. These efforts continue to demonstrate the wisdom and brilliance of our God, as well as the folly of Darwin’s disciples.

Therefore, more than any other time in human history, given the superabundance of evidence that continues to point to His everlasting power and divinity, we are without excuse.

My six-year-old gets it. For that, I am thankful.