Universe Quick Glance:
"The Universe is very large and possibly infinite in volume; the observable matter is spread over a space at least 93 billion light years across. For comparison, the diameter of a typical galaxy is only 30,000 light-years, and the typical distance between two neighboring galaxies is only 3 million light-years. As an example, our Milky Way galaxy is roughly 100,000 light years in diameter, and our nearest sister galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, is located roughly 2.5 million light years away."
The universe is complicated and vast. Just think about it -- the observable matter is at least 93 billion light years across. This estimate must not include any unobservable matter, which could be 93 billion light years more.
Scientists use the Big Bang Theory to explain the creation of the universe. Civilizations and religions often describe the creation of the universe through a being or deity.
"Many cultures have stories describing the creation of the world, which may be roughly grouped into common types. In one type of story, the world is born from a world egg; such stories include the Finnish epic poem Kalevala, the Chinese story of Pangu or the Indian Brahmanda Purana. In related stories, the creation is caused by a single god emanating or producing something by themselves, as in Buddhist concept of Adi-Buddha, the ancient Greek story of Gaia (Mother Earth), the Aztec goddess Coatlicue or the ancient Egyptian god Atum. In another type of story, the world is created from the union of male and female deities, as in the Maori story of Rangi and Papa. In other stories, the universe is created by crafting it from pre-existing materials, such as the corpse of a dead god - as from Tiamat in the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish or from the giant Ymir in Norse mythology – or from chaotic materials, as in Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology. In another type of story, the world is created by the command of a divinity, as in the ancient Egyptian story of Ptah or the Biblical account in Genesis. In other stories, the universe emanates from fundamental principles, such as Brahman and Prakrti, or the yin and yang of the Tao."
At least in America, the concept of God creating the earth dominates. I have many issues with this account, although the perfect nature of Earth sustaining life certainly lends itself to a higher being. It seems impossible it's just a coincidence the sun is the perfect distance from the Earth to sustain life, Earth is the only known planet in this galaxy with water and plants, and living creatures live in a Circle of Life. Everything seems a little too perfect and unlike any other planet to be created alone by the Big Bang.
One thing I wonder about Genesis: Where do the dinosaurs come in? Sure, birds were created on the Fifth Day, but there is no mention of land creatures until the Six Day, the same day man was created. Also, the time gap between when dinosaurs lived and the earliest man is dated are extremely far apart.
"Dinosaurs were the dominant vertebrate animals of terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) to the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago), when most of them became extinct in the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event"
"Homo habilis lived from about 2.4 to 1.4 million years ago (mya). H. habilis, the first species of the genus Homo, evolved in South and East Africa in the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene, 2.5 – 2 mya, when it diverged from the Australopithecines."
Okay, I suppose this is where our evolution from primates comes in (primates date back to 85 to 65 million years ago, depending on who you ask). This does not explain the time gap between when the dinosaurs lived and the first indications of man in the Bible (except for the lovely theory of evolution). Could God have traveled the universe, searching for the perfect planet until he stumbled upon Earth? Maybe that's how the dinosaurs died -- God wanted their planet.
An explanation easier for me to swallow is that the Bible was created by a civilization to teach lessons, as many civilizations have used oral storytelling to describe moral behavior. Maybe its only purpose is to provide people who believe with something to look forward to and learn from (although this moral thing can be either taken too far or not far enough, as many Christians do not live what I consider to be a moral life or use the Bible to inhibit certain behaviors or beliefs).
It seems amazing that a creature other than man dominated this earth for millions of years, and then other creatures before him for millions of years. Man finally shows up in his most primitive form after the Earth had been inhabited only by animals for more than 200 million years.
Even though evolution is looking pretty good right now, I would consider myself spiritual. I believe in a higher power. I believe there is only one higher power, and that each civilization has created an equivalent to it. Each of these beliefs is valid, as the higher power encompasses them all. I do not believe in assigning this higher power with a name. Each person has a right to believe in whatever higher power (s)he chooses, and anyone who refuses that right is most certainly in the wrong. There are religions out there I think are crazy, but it always goes back to my life motto: To Each His Own.
I also believe it is naive to think we are the only creatures with higher intelligence in the whole universe. I go back to the 93 million light years statement and have a hard time truly believing we are the only ones out there. There may even be living creatures in the next closest galaxies, Andromeda and Triangulum. For them, contact with us could be only years away, if they haven't figured it out already. I mean, 2.5 to 3 million light years away is certainly difficult to traverse, and us humans are extremely far away from discovering it.
"The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own.
Andromeda is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which consists of the Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way Galaxy, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 other smaller galaxies.
The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Sun at about 186 miles per second, so it is one of the few blue shifted galaxies. Given the motion of the Solar System inside the Milky Way, one finds that the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are approaching one another at a speed of 62 to 87 miles per second. The impact is predicted to occur in about 2.5 billion years."
More and more I think about what I truly believe. It's hard to pin down when you don't believe in an organized story/religion/fable. I have my own ideas about what my higher being would be, and I wonder if anyone else out there thinks the same thing. It may be more of a theory/idea/crazy thought, something I'm not sure I believe wholeheartedly but the idea is believable (at least to me).
This is what my religion would look like.
The Higher Being travels the universe to the millions of galaxies out there at will. The Higher Being goes to galaxies in search of livable planets and creates experiments. There are many different experiments, first with animals to ensure the planet will sustain life, then with man. The Higher Being creates man in different ways with different senses of freedom and knowledge. When creating something with free will, it is difficult to control it afterward, so some of these experiments include a control on free will, or no free will at all. There are thousands of these experiments throughout the universe, some of them more successful than others. Some planets are dead already, some are on their way, and others are thriving. The Higher Being will continue these experiments until it finds the combination for the perfect existence. Those of us on Earth will never know if the Higher Being has achieved this or not because we are a failed experiment. The way man is going now, life will no longer exist before any other factor from the universe comes into play (sun burning out, meteor pummeling earth, etc.) Too much free will is a recipe for disaster.
To be honest, I don't really believe in anything when it comes to creation. I have a hard time putting stock in any one idea, even my own religion I just created above. This comes from examining every side of the story, seeing ideas from each angle in order to understand where people are coming from. No matter what religion I believed in, there would always be something that didn't add up because science has provided evidence against it. I guess science is one thing I can believe in because it always has proof to back up its ideas. Science is something I can put stock in. And really, to me the only theory that makes any bit of sense is evolution because the numbers add up. The dinosaurs rule the earth for more than 160 years, then some event kills the land-bound ones off around 65 million years ago. Primates either survive this change, or evolve after the change, first dating to 65 (or 85) million years ago. Then, for more than 60 million years, primates and other animals evolve into better species and finally, around 2 million years ago, the first dating of primitive man comes along. According to artifacts found on the earth, there were many different species of man, which suggests that humans also evolved into what we are today. I think 60 years would be plenty of time for man to evolve from a primate into a basic being like Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Man is actually a member of the order Primate.
I don't remember ever learning about this in school, probably because the Creationism vs. Evolution debate rages on. Or maybe I did and the details slipped my mind. I feel as though I am closer to believing in something as a result of Science. I am not closer to believing in something as a result of a Creator.
Source: Wikipedia. See links for more information.
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