Increasingly nations are taking interest in concepts related to the end of the earth, earth as we know it. Survival or extinction is being taken seriously. From ancient times biblical literature has addressed the earth and mankind – their meaning and durability, blessings and threats, and purposes for existence. We now have a variety of prognostications based on science, faith, and assumptions both plausible and implausible. There is a general agreement that the life world, as we know it, will end. Some believe it will end with a whimper, some believe a cataclysm, some believe a dead planet, but all indicate the end of mankind unless some other locale is found for mankind to emigrate, and begin another phase of the ongoing of human beings, perhaps with another form of intelligent life. There have been times in history when the Christian view of that ending was ridiculed as negative, and used to frighten persons into believing in God for rescue. The concept is that Christians, and others offering a theistic view of the universe, have created fear of death, and emptiness of the hereafter – a type of cowardice. Some persons openly say that these are the weak minded – to be ridiculed or pitied. One of these persons is Stephen Hawking.
Stephen Hawking, the eminent theoretical physicist, was reported in the news today (9/25/2013) together with another report of the ultimate end of the earth. According to the report, Hawking believes there could be life after death in that: Brains Could Be Copied to Computers to Allow Life After Death. Although the feat lies beyond our present capabilities . . . conventional afterlife is a fairy tale for people afraid of the dark. A research group is working on a process to preserve the brain along with its memories, emotions and consciousness, The reporter for AOL stated: Called chemical fixation and plastic embedding the process involves converting the brain into plastic, carving it up into tiny slices, and then reconstructing its three dimensional structure into a computer. (What will happen when the fuses fail?)
The second story in the edition was entitled: Life on Earth Likely to End in 2.25 Billion Years. There is a flexible factor in that it could be as much as 750 million years earlier. The prediction is accompanied by some changes in traditional theory. The announcement was made by Andrew Rushby and published in Astrobiology. Apparently the Sun will run out of hydrogen fuel, expand to swallow up planets Mercury and Venus, and impact the earth leading to oceans boiling away. Life will have ended for earth. The solution, according to the research team, is to find planets in space to which we may escape. Mankind must find planets where water may be found to sustain life. As Rushby reports it, it took a long time for the formation of the earth: about five billion years ago. About one or two billion years were needed for the evolution of microscopic life. The next three billion years gave us single cellular life to evolve to the evolution of man, the taming of the atom, and the invention of the digital watch. The team argues that mankind must find habitable planets, and choose the one or several that will not be threatened with destruction. In sum, the end is in sight but we may find new habitation. This is the secular hope.
To the theorists confident because they project in the light of bits of evidence they have; that our current family’s existence is not threatened; and, that all else will somehow work out for balance to survival. We express some doubt. The theories require a faith that is more difficult to accept than faith in a universal and powerful intelligence (God). That humanistic faith believes that in the depletion of resources, necessary for an advanced society that mankind can only be saved by scientific research to substitute for present requirements. It defies what we know about nature. Shortages are already troubling us. The size of the world’s population increases daily to threaten the future – even in the air we breathe and the weather we inherit. These masses are to be fed and cared for, with growing expectations for more and better of everything. The world population, even lf acting responsibly in all matters, will run out of necessities. The Christian acknowledges the end and that God will give recovery, a new earth and heaven, so to assure the life of mankind reestablished for his image. The point to be made here is that human life will not disappear from the earth. God did not create mankind for annihilation. *Mark W. Lee, Sr. — 2016, 2020