How The Earth’s Atmosphere Testifies That It Was Designed For Life

The Earth is an amazing and complex planet. It is the only known planet in the universe that has the capability of sustaining life. Creationists believe that God created the Earth and created it specifically for life. Evolutionists believe the Earth came into being by accident, without a plan or design and that even life is a mere accident. They believe all things simply happened by chance over billions of years. Earth’s atmosphere is a great testimony that creationists are correct and that Earth was designed by God for the specific purpose of sustaining life.

The Earth’s atmosphere is very complex and is essential for the existence of life on Earth. It is divided into five layers. The troposphere is the bottom layer and is where weather occurs. The stratosphere is the layer that is very stable and it is also the ozone layer, which absorbs harmful rays from the sun. In the third layer, called the mesosphere, meteors or rock fragments are burned up before they have a chance to hit the Earth. The thermosphere is a layer with auroras, and where the atmosphere merges into space is called the exosphere. These layers of the atmosphere are arranged perfectly. The atmosphere contains the right amount of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide, and are the perfect thickness. The balance of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and less than .03% carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere is just right for life as we know it on Earth.

If oxygen levels were higher in the Earth’s atmosphere, combustion would occur more quickly meaning rocks and metals would deteriorate faster and life on Earth would be adversely effected. If oxygen levels were lower, breathing would be much more difficult or even impossible. Since carbon dioxide is essential to terrestrial and marine plant life, too little would result in less food for animals and humans. Less than optimal carbon dioxide would also result in the ocean becoming more acidic and the climate would become colder. Too much carbon dioxide would result in the surface temperature of the Earth being too warm.

The density or pressure of the Earth’s atmosphere is perfect for sustaining life. It acts as an insulating blanket which protects the Earth from the coldness of space. If the Earth had a more dense atmosphere, the blanketing effect would be greater and would produce a much warmer climate. If the atmosphere were less dense, the climate would be much colder. But because the Earth was designed for life, it has the correct surface temperature and the proper atmospheric density.

Ozone is another part of the Earth’s atmosphere that testifies it was designed for life. It acts as a shield that provides protection from UV light. Without it humans and animals would be much more susceptible to diseases like cancer, weakened immune systems, and cataracts in the eyes. Ozone is actually a poisonous gas. If it were closer to the Earth, breathing it in would damage the lungs of humans and animals, as well as impairing the transpiration process in plants. The position of ozone in our atmosphere is perfect for sustaining life.

Another function of Earth’s atmosphere protects us from dangerous meteors. When a meteor enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it goes from traveling through a vacuum to traveling through air. Traveling through a vacuum takes no energy. On the other hand, traveling through air takes energy. A meteor traveling through the vacuum of space can reach speeds of tens of thousands of miles per hour. When it hits the Earth’s atmosphere, the air compresses it very quickly; and it’s temperature rises. The meteor burns until there is nothing left of it. It’s temperature can reach as high as three thousand degrees F.

Interestingly, dust is another important part of the Earth’s atmosphere. We usually think of dust as just small bits of dirt, but it is actually much more than that. It includes many microscopic particles such as pollen, spores, and seeds. It can also be the remains of meteors that have disintegrated as they passed through the Earth’s atmosphere. Without dust, there would be no clouds or fog. They act as surfaces where water condenses and forms clouds. The water droplets grow large and fall to the Earth as snow or rain. Without dust particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, the water cycle would not work properly.

Another aspect of Earth’s atmosphere that testifies to design for life is the greenhouse effect. Heat from the sun passes through the atmosphere and is then locked inside, unable to escape. This keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain life. Other planets, such as Mars, have thinner atmospheres which allow heat to escape. This causes extremely low temperatures at night, which makes life there impossible.

The debate between those who believe in intelligent design and those who believe all things have come into existance through chance rages on. But regardless of which side of the fence scientists fall on, all acknowledge that the Earth’s atmosphere is unique and the only one that can sustain life. Steven Hawking, a well known physicist and proclaimed atheist, has concluded that “The chance of a planet developing an atmosphere like Earth’s are less than a million to one.” (1)

The Earth’s atmosphere certainly testifies to the fact that God created the Earth for the purpose of sustaining the life he has created. It is inconceivable that all the things our atmosphere contains that make life on Earth possible would have happened by chance. The Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the Earth and then created man, animals, and plant life to reside on the Earth. If one looks closely at the evidence exhibited in the atmosphere alone that points to a creator, it would be difficult to imagine that anyone could conclude that all these many life sustaining systems could have evolved by chance. The Earth’s atmosphere is one of the many things we can study that testify that the Bible gives us the only true explanation of the origin of the universe and of the origin of life. That origin is the God of the Bible.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

Psalm 19:1