The "Ultimate Questions" About Life and the Universe

As a scientist I've often thought about some of the "ultimate questions" (as I like to refer to them) related to life and the universe. They are questions that are very difficult to answer, and indeed, most of them may never be answered. Nevertheless, they're worth thinking about seriously. (Some of them have to do with religion, and I don't want to step on anyones feet. If it appears that I have, I appologize)

I'll list several of the major ones I can think of, and I'm sure there are many more. I'll also comment on some of them, and will write longer blogs related to them later.

Here goes:

1. Are we really at the center of the universe?
      By this I mean: Was the universe created just for us?  This, of course, was the belief many years  
      ago, and many people still believe it.

2. Why is the universe so big (if it really was created just for us)? Indeed, does it even have an end?

     We are really a very insignificant speck in the universe. There are more stars in our observable
      universe than there are grains of sand in all the beaches in the world. And many of these stars
      have recently been shown to have planets.

3.  Does a universe without life make any sense?

     To me it doesn't. If there were no life in the universe -- what would it be here for?  Are we the only
      life in it? It seems unlikely.

4.  Is it possible that the universe just came into being on it own?

     We know for a fact that it is 15 -20 billion years old. So what was here before it existed? Also, is it
     possible that there is no "supreme being"  (i.e. God) behind the making of the universe? It seems
     impossible, but we have to ask if it is possible (by the way, I'm not an atheist).

5.  What would the discovery of other advanced life in the universe do to our views on life, religion,
     and the universe? What would it mean? What would their beliefs and religions be like?

6.  Are the "God" of the Bible and the "Supreme Being" that created the universe the same?

    You can no doubt think of many other questions of this type and I'd like to hear them. I think this is a good start, however.


  Barry Parker, author of "Learn from Yesterday, Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow"
                        Website: Barryparkerbooks.com