My Step-son asked me something this morning out of the blue on the way to work today that really floored me. My Step Son is 5 years old.

Sitting in the back seat today, out of nowhere, he asks "Why did God make all the other planets if no one lives there?"

I stammered a little bit and said well son I don't know. I think that the question he asked is very simple but also begs the question if there is a God why would he waste the space?

Well lets see here,

1- Can we prove the existence of a God ?

2- Did this God create the Universe and the Planets ?

3- Do we know that " all " the planets in this Universe are lifeless ?

Kids are such curious critters, I would have stammered myself, but replied in regards to whatever doctrine I may practice and have my children practicing, in your case, Christianity.

I guess when your step-son is older he can find these answers himself, but untill then, teach him however you feel moraly fit.

Deep

I don't understand.... a waste of space?

How can something as utterly beautiful as the Universe be a waste of space?

The Bible tells us that the wonders of Creation are an expression of God's glory and power. The stars cry out His name! Have you ever been anywhere remote that is far, far away from the lights and polluted skies of this industrial world and simply gazed up at the night?

God reveals himself to us in different ways - the vastness and unknowable glory of the Universe is one of those ways. No-one will be able to claim ignorance on that Day! Deep down, every human being knows that God exists - we, to varying degrees - simply refuse to accept His claim on our lives. Staring into the crystal blackness of a perfect night sky certainly helps my soul to acknowledge it's Creator more fully!

Hope this helps.

It seems to me to be a bit on the arrogant side (although of course natural for us human beings) to assume that the whole of the universe was created for our benefit. I'm certain that when God created the laws that caused (eventually) planets to be formed in our solar system, there were very good reasons. Although to us, they would not be reasons. Our reason is not as God's reason, our words are not as God's words, our thoughts are not as God's thoughts. Even if a human being was the brightest, most wise, most intelligent human being possible, she would be nothing in contrast to God. And even this is a false metaphor. Humans simply do not have the capacity to understand God's reasons. After all, God is not simply a powerful person in the sky. God is God, always God, ineffably God.

AlexKennedy
In response: If there was a reason man would find it.
illimey
To comment on that: If man could interpret the stories in the bible to suit his/her need then man can sure find a reason why god made the other planets.

We are good at BSing. BS away the answer. Remember a simple question requires a simple answer. Don't bore the kid to sleep, make him interested.

"Why would god make the planets If No One Lives There"
good question: Ever hear of the Gaia hypothesis, some say that the earth is a living organism. relate that to the other planets.

How about astrology. Do you like your fortune being told. Ever wonder where it came from.

If the ancients weren't so interested in the universe Where Would We Be? Wait I'll answer that: Nowhere (back in the day the sky wasn't polluted so a clear view of the sky with many stars visible could be seen)

Why does a planet have to contain life, why not lost souls(another form of life)....maybe we should get the rising speculations on earth sorted out before we dive into the unknown. iearanormal studies...

and the list goes on and on....

Originally posted by websurfer
AlexKennedy
In response: If there was a reason man would find it.

Humbly, I couldn't disagree more. What reason has man ever found for anything? We are given to know what we can know, and I think we should be proud of all the learning we've accomplished, but it is the height of foolishness to think we actually understand even the smallest part of the mind of God.

If there is a god, then it's very arrogant of us to believe that we're special creatures. Think about how infinite the universe is, there's bound to be other people out there somewhere.

What if God didn't make the universe?

WHAT IF THERE IS NO GOD???

Think about it...

Well I believe that God created whatever alien life may be outside of our planet. I actually have a crazy theory about aliens and Judeo/Christian religion, but this is neither the time nor the place.

So tell your son that God created the other planets for other nice lifeforms to live on =)

Kids always ask the questions that adults either don't think about or are embarassed to ask. to your stepson.

My opinion is that there are many planets that are dead. Like Mars, Venus, etc. But that with all the millions of solar systems out there, there has to be life in some of them.

If you believe in God, and also believe that he created everything, and if there are other planets with other life on them, then it stands to reason that 'God' also created those planets and those lives.

Remember we are answering this question for a five year old boy. I would simply tell him God created the stars to inspire his children.

Originally posted by websurfer
illimey
To comment on that: If man could interpret the stories in the bible to suit his/her need then man can sure find a reason why god made the other planets.

We are good at BSing. BS away the answer. Remember a simple question requires a simple answer. Don't bore the kid to sleep, make him interested.

Huh?

I humbly(ish) apologise if my suggested answer bored you, however that is how I feel so that is what I said! And I think my answer is the ultimate in simplicity! God made the Universe because he could and because it allows those who witness it with open hearts and minds to see Him reflected in His Creation. Childlike simplicity. God is not the author of confusion! We humans, however, are past masters of that particular art!!

In this day and age I guess asking a kid to stare at the night sky for a few hours is a little strange, but as long as a young brain hasn't been totally fried by McDonalds and McTendo then I beg to suggest that the experience usually results in a little bit of welcome, naturally induced, awe.

Vacant orbiting chunks of rock are useful as stopover points and for colonization by sentient beings. Homo sapiens might not get to many at this rate, but after all it is a noisome and destructive pest in the scheme of things.

Oh, and ask Galactus.

If there is a god, he is above your understanding.

Religion didn't make man. Man made religion.

My Stepson has went on to ask his grandfather, mother, and grandmother the same question trying to get an answer. To me it is amazing that he even came up with this question in the first place but anyways.

The best answer for the situation that we could think to give him was

"God does some things that we just don't understand but, when you get to heaven you can ask him"

all the other baren planets are for when the life forms that god created have some where to go when their planets get over crowded, and im talking really over crowded.

The answer may be that to create life on Earth, the solar sytem had to be set up in this way to give life here a chance. The 3 largest planets, with high gravitations, are outside the asteriod belt. Like a fence to protect Earth from space debris. Earth is just the right distance from the sun to promote life. Can't come up with anything logical for Venus and Mercury, but the rest you should be able to explain.

The other planets were never intended to have life on them, they were designed to support life on earth.
These planets were situated by God to keep earth in place and if the planets were in any other position it would disturb earths orbit and life on earth would die.
At one time there was a 'firmament' or canopy around the earth which was filled with water. It was like a greenhouse effect that's why people lived so long. When God ruptured the canopy there was a flood, after the flood people began dying younger.
He told Noah that it was OK to eat meat probably because the vegetation would not be as nutritious as it was in the 'greenhouse'.

Try to give him all the information he needs, if he doesn't get satisfactory answers his desire to learn will diminish....my son had so many questions we tried to answer them all, sometimes having to do research. Then when he could read we had a hard time keeping him in books on his interests. Then he wanted hands on learning, like chemistry sets, etc...that's when we failed him. His dad had the knowledge but not the time and I knew nothing about chemistry and just couldn't seem to understand when I read about it...not enough testosterone I guess. Now our son is 13 and all he can think or talk about is BMX and death metal music...school is just a big bore to him.

Maybe God made them to test our faith.