The Earths Keep Coming

When NASA launched the Kepler space telescope in 2009, scientists had sky-high expectations for discovering new “earths.” The powerful telescope allows researchers to detect much smaller exoplanets than the gas giants that were found with previous methods. And so far the results have been astronomical.

The Kepler mission—as of this writing—has now netted over 2,300 planet candidates, many of which circle binary star systems. While only sixty-one planets have been confirmed, evolutionists are already buzzing about the possibility of life “out there.” After all, at least one of these planets, Kepler-22b, seems to journey within the so-called habitable zone (the belt around a star or stars in which life could theoretically survive).1

However, Kepler-22b is far from “earth’s twin.” With a radius 2.4 times that of earth, the composition of the planet has yet to be determined. Scientists also have little to no data on the atmosphere, presence of water, gravity, or speed of rotation. Life, after all, is delicate and requires special conditions far more complicated than the “right distance” from a star.

With each discovery and press release, NASA’s researchers reveal their bias more and more. Kepler isn’t intended as just a research mission for scientific exploration; it’s an attempt to prove evolutionary concepts. If life evolved here—as they already believe—then they assume it likely evolved elsewhere.

But they’re missing the bigger point. Each of these planets showcases not the possibility of life, but the far-flung wisdom and power of our Creator. The early astronomer Kepler, who incidentally was a creationist, would agree.

While these discoveries are exciting, the best discovery is much closer to home. God has centered His love on the inhabitants of the earth. When Adam sinned, the cosmos fell under decay (Romans 8:20–22). But God sent His Son to earth, where He died on a cross to redeem all who trust in Him. God’s promise of redemption extends to Adam’s descendants on this earth, not to “aliens” that populate man’s imagination.