There is doubt among some scientists and others that a Creator God is alive and reigning over this universe. Others, however, watch an amazing phenomenon that occurs occasionally over Earth and ponder whether such a thing can happen just by accident.
That phenomenon is the fact that our moon happens to be 238,900 miles from Earth and a much more massive sun is 92.96 million miles away—but from Earth, those vastly different distances make the moon appear to fit EXACTLY over the sun to form total solar eclipses.
Too Exact to Be an Accident? On Aug. 21, as such an eclipse cut a 60-mile wide swath across America from Oregon to South Carolina, Hugh Ross believes it demonstrated a fit that is far too exact to be mere serendipity.
“Right now, the Sun is 400 times farther away from us than the Moon,” this astronomer and minister told CBN News. “But the Sun is 400 times bigger. So that’s why you get a perfect solar eclipse.” Ross founded Reasons to Believe, a group that uses science to point toward what they believe is a Creator God.
Though they may disagree over whether these eclipses are created or coincidence, humans are fortunate to exist at just this time on planet Earth. That’s because only during this period can the Sun and Moon form such an exact fit.
“The moon is moving farther away from the Earth. So over time—a long, long time—eclipses will not be observable from here on Earth. So we happen to live in a really good time because the alignments are right; the distances are right; the relative sizes are right.
Ross also pointed out that in a solar system with eight planets and dozens of moons, only the Sun, Earth and Moon are at just the right distances from each other to form these exact fits in the sky over Earth. It doesn’t happen on any of the other seven planets.
“In other words, the only place where humans can live in the solar system is also the only place where perfect solar eclipses occur and these eclipses are occurring at the one time when human observers can appreciate them,” Ross wrote.
Ross finds further proof of fine-tuning when it comes to the Moon. He explained that compared to all the other moons in the solar system, our Moon is a massive one orbiting relatively close to a fairly small planet.
“And because our Earth has one gigantic moon not too far away, the gravity of that Moon stabilizes the tilt of our rotation axis,” he explained. “Right now, we’re at 23-and-a-half degrees. And that only varies by plus or minus one degree over the history of the Earth. That gives us stable climates, and because of stable climates, we’re able to sustain human beings on the face of the Earth.”
All the other planets, not having a massive moon close by, tilt wildly from one side to the other over time. Therefore, they have climate instability that rules out the possibility of life. Another hugely important thing about the Moon is it’s close enough to exert tidal friction on the Earth, which has slowed the planet’s rotation rate in a crucial way.
Ross and his friends at Reasons to Believe say they can list 20 characteristics of the Moon fine-tuned precisely to make life possible here on Earth.
And he suggested, “Next time you look up at the Moon, thank God for the way He designed it because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy life.”