Are We Alone?

Interestingly, just yesterday (I think -- may have been this morning) I heard a kindly yet authoritative voice on the radio saying that, essentially, there can be no life on any planet other than earth because the Bible says God created life on earth and earth only.

Sigh.

Just cut off a bunch of science fiction at the knees, there, guys . . .

Yes, the Bible does not mention alien life from other planets. And that's supposed to mean it doesn't exist? I mean, the Bible also doesn't mention that Jesus smiled, so does that mean he never did? (Actually . . . some people have said this.)

I know, I know . . . they aren't just coming from the words on the page, they are also saying that earth is created to be a unique place in our universe -- the home of humanity and, therefore, the home of Christ: God in flesh.

And I do believe that God created earth to be unique. And it is a special place. 

But to say, definitively and authoritatively that he created this ginormous universe and did not create any other life at all in it is, well, a little like putting God in a box.

Ironically, today I found this article from the Associated Press, which states that the Vatican has said that it's okay to believe in aliens and that you can believe in God and aliens.

Now, I don't know what's true or not. I don't know how many aliens can dance on a pinhead.

But I do know that God has created an amazing universe. A beautiful universe. A universe with more secrets than we will ever know. A universe he wants us to learn about and explore and observe. A universe populated with fleshy beings and spiritual beings and fleshy spiritual beings (to put in a nutshell the classifications of the Classical thinkers).

And there just might be some little green men out there who are worshipping God in their own, strange way, discussing the possibility (or impossibility) of life on other planets.

~ Ben

Coolest Vehicle Ever

This thing is just awesome:

http://www.monotracer.ch/

I'm going to save up the $77,000 it costs and then get me a plane ticket to Switzerland so I can attend the training course.

Perhaps I'll just put it on my credit card.

Seriously, though, this thing just rules. It's a luxury car on two wheels. It's Tron come to life. It just plain rocks.

~ Ben

Galileo is a JERK!

So I'm going along, writing the latest TimeFlyz book, and everything's going according to plan for the most part.

Mind you, it's TOUGH. It's been a difficult story to do, so far, but some recent revelations about some historical things that fit into my plan made it suddenly start to click!

Then, BAM!

Galileo shows up and ruins everything.

He didn't follow the outline!

Instead, as Laurel and her time traveling fly companions show up to protect him from the evil time traveling spider, he says to them, "You aren't more time travelers, are you?"

I was thunderstruck!

How DARE he deviate from the course!

But then, suddenly, there's a whole new level to this story. (Not only had Galileo been visited by time travelers before . . . he KNEW about it! There's a story there. For another day, of course.)

Meanwhile, I'm rushing to keep up with Galileo and this monkey wrench he threw at me. Is it going to make things easier? Or harder?

Who knows?

And is he going to pull something like that again?

(Answer: yes. He just tricked Laurel's brother into revealed that the Copernican view of the universe was right.)

Meanwhile, I'm extremely excited to do this story.

Did you know that Mr. "Poster Boy for Seperation of Religion and Science" Galileo was ACTUALLY a devout man of faith?

And that he believed that the Bible was inerrant?

That's right! He believed the Bible was T R U E true!

(Kinda embarrassing, for those who find him to be an awesome man of secularism . . .)

He also believed that -- get this -- if science and the Bible didn't match, then either the SCIENCE was wrong or our interpretation of the Bible was wrong.

And yet, he's credited with the rift between faith and science!

Galileo actually was afraid that the Catholic Church was going to get left behind. As the rest of the world discovered the truth about the world, the Church was going to be stuck believing an outdated lie! And that's exactly what happened.

Of course, the Aristotle/Ptolemy view of things WAS wrong. And the Copernicus/Galileo view WAS right. And for a LONG time after Galileo made his claim that the earth did, indeed, revolve around the sun, the Church suppressed those teachings. Because the Bible said, "The earth cannot be moved."

That's not to say the Church was wrong to question him. Some of his theories were wrong, and he sometimes did not have the evidence needed to fully prove his points.

But he sought the truth. And he tried to get the Church to do the same. And part of that truth, for him, was the Holy Writ. Awesome.

And I get to play the part of Paul Harvey and tell my readers "the rest of the story".

~ Ben

PS -- Turns out, he really was a jerk. if he had just been a little less pompous, he might not have made enemies in the Catholic Church and his theories just might have been more accepted earlier on. And he tended, in his writings, to do things to humiliate, on a personal level, his detractors.