What If God Put Life On Mars?

Astronomy and space have always fascinated me (maybe that is why I am such a Star Wars fan). Now, with the new pictures of the Red Planet's rocks and soil appearing on my television and computer screen, I am actually looking at the planet's surface. I begin to wonder what it is like on the planet, and the next thing that comes out of my mouth is: "Glory be to God, Lord of the Worlds."

Invariably, the next question that comes to my head--the same question that drives the exploration of the Red Planet--is, "What if they find life, or evidence of it, on Mars?" Would such a discovery throw religion a loop?

Reading the sacred scriptures, one gets the sense that we humans are the only living beings in all of the universe; Earth is the only planet in the vast expanse of the firmament that can sustain life; everything we see around us has been created for us. In fact, the scriptures say just that.

In the Qur'an it says: "It is God who hath created the heavens and the earth and sendeth down rain from the skies, and with it bringeth out fruits wherewith to feed you; it is He Who hath made the ships subject to you, that they may sail through the sea by His command; and the rivers (also) hath He made subject to you. And He hath made subject to you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses; and the night and the day hath he (also) made subject to you" (14:32-33).

In Genesis 1:26 it says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Indeed, for decades the Catholic Church maintained that the earth was at the center of the universe, until Galileo and Copernicus proved otherwise.

If we one day discover life on Mars, does that mean religion had it all wrong? Is religion then false? Not at all. The discovery of life on Mars, in fact, would only increase my praise, glory, and adoration for the Most Holy One. Science tells us that the atmospheric and other physical conditions on Mars should not sustain life as we know it. Yet, God can do anything. It is well within His Awesome Power--in fact, quite easy for Him--to create a life form that is perfectly suited to live on Mars. Right here on earth, microbiologists have discovered bacteria that can live in the hot sulfur pits of Yellowstone National Park, a place where human beings could not survive at all. Why could not God do the same on Mars?

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