History of Earth, Atmosphere, Moon, Sun, Temperature

The Miraculous History of the Earth

The events that created our wondrous environment on Earth are astounding. Without divine guidance, modern science has no answer as to how life began.

Was life on Earth and the present existence of the human race created by random chance or was divine guidance responsible? This page will explain the amazing scenario that led to the astronomically rare environment on Earth. In truth, our environment is so incredibly comfortable and consistent that it is easy to take for granted. Just like the rest of the cosmos, we should all be reminded that faith and divine guidance are at the core of scientific discovery.

Authored over 2700 years ago (in the 8th century B.C.), the prophet Isaiah references the cosmic majesty of a Creator and the Earth as a circular planet:

"It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;"

- Isaiah 40:22 (ESV)

One may ask, how does an Old Testament prophet like Isaiah accurately write about the Earth as a 'circular' planet? It's because the Bible is not conceived of by mankind but is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

"For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man,

but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

- 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV)

The Sun, Planets and Stellar Events

The Sun directly affects the Earth's temperature as solar radiation warms the Earth's atmosphere. Events including solar flares or gamma ray bursts from distant stars have the capability to destroy life on Earth. Miraculously, our sun, the planets and other stars have amazingly remained stable enough throughout history as to not destroy life as we know it.

Not only does the Bible predate secular science is in describing the Earth as a circular planet, over three thousand years ago the Holy Spirit inspired Job to describe the Earth hanging in the void of outer space.

"He stretches out the north over the void
and hangs the earth on nothing."

- Job 16:7 (ESV)

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit and advanced forms of life struggle to exist above 100 degrees. This leaves a very narrow range of just 68 degrees to promote life when the temperature extremes of the universe range from -459 Fahrenheit all the way up to 2,556,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (2.5 decillion) degrees Fahrenheit.

When considering the consistent condition of Earth's near perfect environment for millions of years, it is nothing short of a miracle!

Incredibly, Earth’s consistent, uninterrupted distance from the sun has allowed for the continuous existence of our critical liquid water. If Earth was any closer or further away from the sun, life would simply not exist. This vital life supporting distance from our sun is referred to by astronomers as the “Goldilocks Zone".

The Earth has amazingly remained in the Goldilocks Zone for millions of years.

Help From The Moon

Without another stellar object, of a specific size, colliding with Earth to create a debris field that eventually coalesced into another object, of a specific size, now called the moon, life on Earth would also not exist.

The symbiotic relationship between the size of both the moon and the Earth and their specific distance from each other is the primary reason why the Earth’s rotational axis has had an undisturbed tilt for so long. The Earth’s constant tilt of a relative 23.5 degrees is critical in stabilizing our planet's uninterrupted life-sustaining climate and weather patterns. This relationship also keeps the Earth’s orbit from wobbling out of the Goldilocks zone. Simply put, this scenario is a mathematical and astronomical miracle!

Earth's 23.5 degree tilt stabilizes Earth's climate and creates our seasons.

This tilt also creates our seasons. As the Earth rotates around the sun, half of the year the northern hemisphere is pointed towards the sun (summer), while the other half of the year, the northern hemisphere is pointed away from the sun (winter). Venus and Mars do not have a moon with the same relationship as the Earth. This is why those planets do not have an atmosphere that still exists today, as their perspective rotations in relation to the sun have changed over time.

The moon also creates the Earth's tides. The Earth's reliable tidal cycles are crucial for many forms of life. Many scientists also theorize that the first land animals originally formed in tidal pools as creatures were forced to live in both water and land as each tidal cycle occurred.

Our Unique Atmosphere and Geology

The Earth originally had a very hostile atmosphere that was made out of toxic nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Without liquid water and an atmosphere with the proper amount of oxygen, the Earth would be relegated to a planet with no capability to support advanced forms of life.

Around 3.8 billion years ago the solar system suffered through a period where the outer planets changed their orbits. These planetary shifts led to a disruptive storm on the inner planets from asteroids and comets. Without these interstellar objects colliding with Earth, which scientists today call “The Late Heavy Bombardment”, the Earth would be void of the important building block of life we call water, which is often in abundance in meteors and asteroids.

Fortunately, as time went by, water accumulated across the Earth’s surface leading to the creation of our oceans and the continuation of the process of the creation of life.

Geological evidence reveals that this is when the Earth's atmosphere was conducive for the creation of bacteria. We obviously know that when organisms like bacteria (or a tree) digest carbon dioxide, it will eventually produce oxygen.

Once this occurred, the Earth, via the process of Photosynthesis, eventually led to an atmosphere with enough oxygen and a unique planetary ecosystem capable of producing and sustaining advanced forms of life.

The Earth's Core

Lastly, we must not forget about the importance of the Earth’s interior core. Take away the proper amount of iron in the Earth’s central core and we would not have the precise strength in our magnetic field to continuously protect the atmosphere and our ozone in a life sustaining condition for millions of years. Remarkably, our long sustained atmosphere is the outcome of a complex mixture of events spread out over billions of years.

Without this unique life saving magnetic shield, life on Earth would also be destroyed by the continuous onslaught of toxic radiation that travels through the vast depths of space from our sun. This deadly radiation is known as the Solar Winds.

The Earth's magnetic field protects us from solar radiation.

When reviewing all of the unique factors and miraculous events that led to the Earth as we know today, what are the odds that they all randomly occurred naturally? This would be astronomically rare at best and a scientific anomaly when logically assessing the scenario from a rational perspective.

As science progresses and we continue to understand more about the incredible events in history that led to our present day Earth, the notion of divine guidance doesn't just become logical, but a rational requirement!