Are we really on the Brink?
On The Brink?
W. S. Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol
“The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic." - Aleksei Leonov Cosmonaut, USSR
When the first astronauts to fly around our moon came around from the dark side, the view that welcomed them must have been breathtaking. And perhaps a bit surreal- I have heard it described as being out of place- a magician’s trick on a darkened stage. From such a distance, one might never imagine that this blue and white ball is alive.
Ribonucleaicc Acids first formed in the seas over four billion years ago and evolved into single-celled life. In an explosion of life durring the Cambrian period spanning millions of years, these first humble beginnings evolved into a multitude of multicellular organisms. And then it stopped.
Four hundred and forty-eight million years ago, a mass extinction killed off nearly every species on the planet, leaving the once teaming oceans decimated and nearly empty. Forty million years later, as the seas were once again beginning to flourish with newly evolved organisms, another massive extinction again left the seas barren and nearlly devoid of life. Three hundred and seventy million years ago, as the first plants and insects evolved, they too were devistated by a series of events that killed off over 70 percent of all life. Down through history the cycle repeated again and again. Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life had again gained a foot hold on land for the first time, only to be killed off. Over the next two hundred million years, life would flourish and progress- only to be decimated; brought to the very edge of extinction.
When the remnants of the dinosaurs, already dying off on a volcanically active planet were whiped out sixty-five millions years ago, their demose only Earth’s most recent mass extinctions.
We humans, thinking we are the pincale of the evolutionary process, have been around less than 100,000 years ago. Yet our progress has been staggering by comparison. From cave paintings to the books; from Columbus to the Space Shuttle; from the Abbacus to the Home computer, humanity has proved to be a tireless force upon the Earth. Rising to a world population of over 6.5 billion people, we are all descended from that original RNA molecule, that first single cell, that original first spark of life. Yet for all our knowledge, what no one can say what, or who ignited that spark. Is there, as reliogion claims, a plan? Is there a purpose or a reason to our existence? Will we pass, as those before us, into oblivion; that sixth mass extinction that many scientists tell us is already underway?
Will the religions prove out, and some great leader arise to redirect our enegies away from self destruction? Will some advanced interstellar species lend us a quiding hand? Will the mystery be revealed to us through a sign, a symbol, or perhaps a revelation?
Time will tell- if there be but time enough.
W. S. Davis, BA, MS, M.Div, Dr. Theol
“The Earth was small, light blue, and so touchingly alone, our home that must be defended like a holy relic." - Aleksei Leonov Cosmonaut, USSR
When the first astronauts to fly around our moon came around from the dark side, the view that welcomed them must have been breathtaking. And perhaps a bit surreal- I have heard it described as being out of place- a magician’s trick on a darkened stage. From such a distance, one might never imagine that this blue and white ball is alive.
Ribonucleaicc Acids first formed in the seas over four billion years ago and evolved into single-celled life. In an explosion of life durring the Cambrian period spanning millions of years, these first humble beginnings evolved into a multitude of multicellular organisms. And then it stopped.
Four hundred and forty-eight million years ago, a mass extinction killed off nearly every species on the planet, leaving the once teaming oceans decimated and nearly empty. Forty million years later, as the seas were once again beginning to flourish with newly evolved organisms, another massive extinction again left the seas barren and nearlly devoid of life. Three hundred and seventy million years ago, as the first plants and insects evolved, they too were devistated by a series of events that killed off over 70 percent of all life. Down through history the cycle repeated again and again. Two hundred and fifty million years ago, life had again gained a foot hold on land for the first time, only to be killed off. Over the next two hundred million years, life would flourish and progress- only to be decimated; brought to the very edge of extinction.
When the remnants of the dinosaurs, already dying off on a volcanically active planet were whiped out sixty-five millions years ago, their demose only Earth’s most recent mass extinctions.
We humans, thinking we are the pincale of the evolutionary process, have been around less than 100,000 years ago. Yet our progress has been staggering by comparison. From cave paintings to the books; from Columbus to the Space Shuttle; from the Abbacus to the Home computer, humanity has proved to be a tireless force upon the Earth. Rising to a world population of over 6.5 billion people, we are all descended from that original RNA molecule, that first single cell, that original first spark of life. Yet for all our knowledge, what no one can say what, or who ignited that spark. Is there, as reliogion claims, a plan? Is there a purpose or a reason to our existence? Will we pass, as those before us, into oblivion; that sixth mass extinction that many scientists tell us is already underway?
Will the religions prove out, and some great leader arise to redirect our enegies away from self destruction? Will some advanced interstellar species lend us a quiding hand? Will the mystery be revealed to us through a sign, a symbol, or perhaps a revelation?
Time will tell- if there be but time enough.
posted by Dr. W. Sumner Davis at 8:08 AM
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