Goldylocks zone planet: very few must exist (Introduction)

by dhw, Wednesday, March 08, 2017, 11:53 (2609 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

DAVID’s comment: the more the Earth is studied, the more exclusivity it presents. It could well be the only planet in the universe that supports life. It certainly appears to represent God at work.

TONY: I know David and myself believe in a God, regardless of whether we disagree on His/Her nature. What I wonder is how much more evidence of extreme improbability is need before others come around to the idea that life without a God is (IMHO) a simple impossibility.

As an agnostic, I find the design argument (the enormous complexity of even the most basic forms of life) extremely compelling. However, the possible exclusivity of the Earth is far from compelling. Why would your God create billions and billions of solar systems that come and go, all for the sake of one tiny planet? What a waste of energy! (At least life elsewhere might remove that objection). The sheer immensity - perhaps even infinity - of the universe creates doubts: which is harder to believe in – a mind which incredibly has no origin and can encompass infinity, or an incredibly lucky combination in an infinity of combinations? I use “incredibly” in its most literal sense, because that is the agnostic’s dilemma. I cannot believe in either explanation. And so I am wrong one way or the other! Ah, but which way?