Design in the Earth-Sun System
In the earth-sun system we see many exquisitely balanced design features
that include the following:28
1. The average distance of the earth from the sun provides the
average temperatures required for life.
2. The sun's temperature is correct to provide the right kind of
radiation to sustain life and not annihilate it.
3. The nearly circular orbit of the earth limits temperature
variations.
4. The water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere produce a
"greenhouse effect" which moderates the temperature extremes.
5. A high altitude ozone layer effectively absorbs the lethal
fraction of solar ultraviolet rays which would otherwise in minutes destroy life on the
earth's surface.
6. The 23½ degree inclination of the earth's axis of rotation
from the plane of its orbit provides for the seasons and probably prevents the locking of
excessive amounts of water in polar glaciers. Average equatorial temperatures are probably
lower and desert areas less extensive than would be the case were the axis not inclined.
In addition intensive summer agriculture is possible in large areas north of the temperate
zone.
7. The earth's magnetic field, extending tens of thousands of
miles into space, shields the earth's surface from the lower energy cosmic rays and high
energy solar wind particles which would be deleterious to life.
8. The lunar gravitation provides important tidal circulation
effects in the oceans, which make conditions much more suitable for sea life in the
shallow zones along shores and in estuaries.
9. The mass and size of the earth are adjusted to provide
gravitational force and atmospheric pressure suitable for life. Furthermore, the vital
gases such as oxygen and nitrogen and water vapor are not able to escape from the earth.
10. The two principal constituents of the atmosphere, oxygen (21
percent) and nitrogen (78 percent), are balanced to make up the ideal medium for the
support of life. A substantially higher partial pressure of oxygen would cause combustion
to be explosive.
11. The elements essential to life, such as nitrogen, carbon,
oxygen, and phosphorus, are contained in the earth's crust, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
considerably or even greatly enriched over the average content of these elements observed
in most other parts of the cosmos.
figure 1-12. The peak in solar radiation in the center of the
visible range of wavelengths, coupled with the peculiar absorption characteristics of the
earth's atmosphere, provides an ideal radiation environment for living things. Needed
wavelengths are admitted and deadly ultraviolet light of wavelengths shorter than 400nm
are largely excluded from the earth's surface. (From Helena Curtis, Invitation to
Biology, Worth Publishers, New York, 1972, p. 91).
The obvious question at this point is, "Where does the weight of
evidence lie the evidence from living things, ecological communities, the structure and
properties of the water molecule, the balanced conditions upon the earth's surface and in
the solar system, and the chemical composition of the earth?" Does the weight of
evidence lie with the thesis of origin of all things by random, purposeless, unplanned,
materialistic processes, or does it lie with the thesis of origin by intelligent,
purposeful design and creation by an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator? You must answer
this question for yourself.
References
28. Meldau, Fred John, Why We Believe in Creation, Not in
Evolution (Christian Victory Pub. Co., Denver, Colo., 1959), pp. 23-51.
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