Our Senseless Pursuit After Nothing
Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our sun, being only 4.25 light-years away. That equates to 24 trillion, 984 billion, 157 million, 822 thousand, and five hundred miles from the sun. And that’s the closest star.
Anyway, since April 29, 2019 Proxima Centauri has been a hot topic for astronomers. That was the day when a signal was beamed from this region to earth which fell within the narrow band of 982 MHz. Such a signal is never made by human aircraft or satellites. Nor does the universe’s background radiation emit it.
Therefore, astronomers began to get excited. For there is an exoplanet which orbits Proxima Centauri which scientists believe might be habitable – Proxima b. They began to be convinced that this strange signal (dubbed BLC1) originated from alien technology, probably from beings on Proxima b.
But there were some doubters. One problem is that the planet Proxima b is subject to stellar wind pressures that are 2,000 times greater than on earth. Such levels of radiation make life on this planet unlikely, if not impossible. There’s another problem with the idea that alien technology emitted the BLC1 signal. It’s that the star Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star, only about 12.5% the mass of our sun. Therefore, the stellar dynamics between this star and planet are so bizarre and foreign to our solar system that we cannot begin to assess Proxima b’s habitability.
But the biggest blow to Proxima b’s habitability came from the realization that the BLC1 signal was not of alien origin at all. It came from a source no more than a few hundred miles from the Parkes Murryang Telescope in Australia which picked it up. Scientists now believe the BLC1 signal is compatible with that emitted by a malfunctioning computer or cell phone. It was of human origin all along. But it took the $100 million alien-hunter project, Breakthrough Listen, two and a half years to figure this out.
This isn’t the first time a high-dollar search for alien intelligence mistook human-made signals for extraterrestrial technology. From 2011-2014, astronomers became convinced that a set of cosmic signals were proof of alien intelligence. Further investigation, however, revealed the signals were coming from scientists microwaving their lunches.
Why am I dashing humanity’s hope that we are not alone in the universe? I am doing no such thing. We are most definitely not alone in the universe. For an infinitely intelligent and loving Creator fills our entire universe (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7-10). But we are ignoring Him in our pursuit of imaginary aliens – just as God’s people in the Old Testament ignored Him who loved them to pursue imaginary gods. Satan always provides some substitute to distract us from God.
Yet someone will object. “But it makes no sense that God would create this vast universe, 93 billion light-years from end to end, with roughly 200 billion galaxies, each containing an average of 100 billion stars, each having multiple planets – and not populate them with complex life forms.”
Actually, it makes perfect sense. Let me explain. For one thing, it falls perfectly in line with God’s habit of focusing His most significant efforts in “backwater” places and through the least significant people (e.g. Luke 3:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Compared to the universe, Earth is certainly a backwater and insignificant location. On the other hand, astronomers increasingly acknowledge that Earth is the most unique planet in the universe, a rare oasis in a desolate cosmos.
From a theological perspective, we must also consider the terrible cost of Christ’s redemption of humanity and creation. It was incredibly painful to God. Is it logical that God would repeat it over and over if He created others in His image on other planets? In other words, if God created other beings – capable or embracing or rejecting Him – and placed them on many other planets, then there’d also be the potential for sin on multiple planets. Consequently, there’d be the repeated need for a costly redemption. Is it likely that He’d repeat this pain over and over again on multiple planets?
And think about it. Don’t all those estimated 700 quintillion barren planets send a profound message to humanity? They send a two-fold message. First, they tell sinful mankind, “Think of what could have been had you never sinned. Humanity would have advanced in technology and numbers to the extent that their offspring would have conquered and inhabited every barren planet. Without sin’s corrupting effects and God’s curse, humanity would have been capable of inter-stellar, even inter-galactic travel. All those ‘unfinished’ worlds would have been completed and perfected.”
Yet, all those barren worlds also send a hopeful message. “This is what will be through Christ’s great redemption. Those 700 quintillion worlds will be explored, conquered, and inhabited. No place will be left a wasteland. Through Christ’s redemption, humanity will be perfectly delivered from sin and corruption. Mankind will be restored to God’s glorious image and God will use them to inhabit the universe.”
Cease your senseless pursuit after aliens and other gods. Stop ignoring the God who loves you and lavishes His benevolent attention upon you. God is everywhere. He’s inescapable. Yet most people will miss Him … until they must appear before His Judgment Throne.
PRAYER: Dear Father in heaven, so many things in my mixed up and messed up life will be resolved if I will only bow before You and open my heart to You. So, please, dear God, soften my stubborn, sinful heart. Grant me faith and repentance, I pray, that I may believe in Your holy Son and embrace His atoning sacrifice for my sins. Here and now, I stop my senseless pursuits and cling to Jesus Christ for salvation. Save me, O God I pray. In Jesus’ name, amen.
(Information from: https://www.livescience.com/alien-signal-blc1-earth-origin; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima Centauri; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima Centauri_b)
