Question:

If life is discovered on another planet, how will it affect our understanding of the Bible, God, the Anthropic Principle, and our place in the universe?

Answer:

In a word: no effect. If God created life here, he can create life elsewhere. That is God’s prerogative. The Bible does not suggest one way or another whether life exists on other planets. The ancient Jews would have been pretty much incapable of conceiving of life on other planets anyway, which may help explain why God did not bring up this question. Besides, this is not an important concern for us as believers in God. Whether life was created by God elsewhere or not, does not affect my life as a Christian. It is a fun question, but one which cannot be answered at this time, either by science (yet, anyway) or by the Bible.

So, I guess we will have to leave this as one of those fun questions which are unanswerable, either by science or by the Bible, but a fun one anyway. Theological implications? None that I can think of. Anthropic implications? None that I can think of. Effect on our “place” in the universe? None I can think of. Our “place” is as people, loved by God.

John Oakes