Earth’s deep carbon cycle points to a Creator

Science in the press often claims that large numbers of habitable planets must exist throughout the universe. Examples though are hard to come by. We only know of one. Habitable also depends on who is the inhabitor. There are many requirements for a planet to be inhabited by just bacteria. Far more is required for complex life. Even more is required for advanced life. If the planet develops by the processes that we recognize in nature, then the planet must be stable and the processes must be active for billions of years. 

The list of characteristics required for a planet to be habitable, particularly for advanced life keeps growing. A few years ago, scientists basically looked for abundant water. We recognize it really needs both liquid and gaseous states for billions of years. It needs the right amounts as well.  It needs free oxygen, but not too much.  It needs potassium and calcium but the right amounts. It needs things like chromium, but not too much.  Goldilocks is pretty particular. It has to have the right type of sun. It needs long-lived active tectonics and that demands an internal source of energy, i.e. radioactive elements in a reasonably high concentration, but certainly not too much. The list goes on and on.  Hugh Ross’s book, Improbable Planet describes many examples.

Carbon is pretty key.  For one thing, we really don’t have any reason to believe that physical life can exist except as carbon based. No carbon, no life. Life on earth involves a cycle to keep carbon available for all of its lifeforms. (https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/CarbonCycle). This scale of carbon cycle has been recognized and discussed for years. A recent article shows that a bigger scale carbon cycle also exists that makes that smaller scaled cycle possible. I think it shows that parts of this must be in place and viable for carbon-life forms to even exist. The life-forms actually become important in having our tectonic cycle to exist. 

This study helps to explain how we can have carbon rich melts that provide a means to concentrate carbon and bring it to the surface. Carbonate lavas are rare.  You can read about an example in Tanzania here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ol_Doinyo_Lengai and https://www.wired.com/2014/03/strangest-magma-earth-carbonatites-oldoinyo-lengai/.  The process of concentrating and oxidizing carbon rich lavas from the mantle was probably critical in making carbon available eventually for life.  This sounds like another fine-tuned characteristic of earth that made life possible on the early earth and makes it habitable today.

There may be many other scenarios that would leave a planet habitable for complex life.  There definitely are many, many ways a planet could be impossible for such life. There are also many scenarios where a promising planet could be then rendered sterile. What we do find is far more consistent with a designer preparing earth for advanced life than a set of coincidences. Such a designer would be very powerful and incredibly intelligent. The designer made deliberate choices and that indicates a personal creator.  Genesis 1 identifies that creator. He designed our planet, placed us here and desires a personal relationship with us. It would be sad to miss out on this relationship.

References:

Florida State University. “Geologists publish new findings on carbonate melts in Earth’s mantle.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 August 2020. < https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200804165112.htm>.

Ross, Hugh, 2016, Improbable Planet: How Earth Became Humanity’s Home, Baker Publishing Group

Xu, Man et al “High-pressure elastic properties of dolomite melt supporting carbonate-induced melting in deep upper mantle.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117.31 (2020): 18285-18291. Web. 14 Aug. 2020.