What is life and what is not?
What is “life”? One definition is an organism that can grow, reproduce, and metabolize (continuing chemical reactions) rather than a dead organism or non-living matter. While this may seem fairly obvious, it leaves out some elements that we might instinctively consider to be alive. Are seeds that lie dormant for years alive? If they are not, what determines the moment they are “alive”? If the seeds are indeed alive, what makes them so? No chemical reactions take place, i.e. no signs of life.
What about Gram-positive bacteria that are depleted of nutrients? When they feel that they cannot continue to live, they put their biochemical energy into creating spores. In harsh environments, Gram-positive bacteria cease to exist after spores are formed. Are bacterial spores alive? Spores, like seeds, can lie dormant for decades without any signs of chemical reactions occurring. They then come to life as bacteria when the environment provides the right nutrients, environmental conditions, and moisture. These bacteria are genetically identical to the bacteria that produced the spores. If spores are not alive, what gives them life to produce living bacteria?
development
Can evolution explain life? No, it only depicts how life evolved once life existed. If the basic component of the universe was pre-programmed to evolve into life, this would be a new theory of evolution. This has been confirmed by many scholars, including Richard Dawkins.
Lucky us
The mathematical odds of having things from our universe (at least the ones we know) “evolving” into life are extremely small. Sir Fred Hoyle has likened the chance of the random emergence of single-celled life to the possibility of a Boeing 747 being assembled from a tornado in a junkyard. Some scientists say: no problem, just you have many universes (maybe an infinite number) each with trillions of planets that host hurricanes for billions of years. On one of these worlds life will produce and evolve to us. Furthermore, since the conditions for life may exist on some millions of other planets (yes, there could be many), life may be common in our universe. Almost all other universes would be devoid of life. However, this assertion posits the existence of parallel universes or multiple worlds hidden beside our universe.
Does this interpretation expose spirituality?
Suppose we accept this story of the beginning of life. What or who created all these worlds? Why were all these created so that there could be life? Thus, this seemingly bizarre justification for how life began does not address the what, who, or why. Dawkins uses the multiverse conjecture to show how God is an illusion. mistake! The multiverse argument can align with spiritual teachings that include God in general.
The difference between knowledge, disagreement and truth.
Science using accumulated knowledge confirms that parallel universes or multiverses may explain the origin of life. Theories must be testable. Even published experiments have to be reproducible or retracted. Many scientists doubt that the concept of parallel universes and multiverses can be tested. Spiritual wisdom across time, geography, and cultures has similar teachings. I think time has tested and reproduced these beliefs.
Heal the rift. Bridging the gap between science and spirituality.
Scientists have been humbled by the revelations of the past several decades: parallel worlds, lost dark components of the universe, and mysterious objects in the Void. Many physicists declare that the world is spiritual. God has blessed us with the gift of life. By integrating both the spiritual and the scientific, I believe we have a more luxurious life.