First Published: 6th of June, 2022

Although many religious groups claim that their faith is backed by reason, religion and science sometimes conflict. Nevertheless, religion has survived even the “deadliest” scientific conflicts such as the shape of the earth and its relation to the heavenly bodies.

In self-proclaimed Christian nations, for example, such as the United States, Canada, and European countries, the church teaches that God created the Earth in 6 days and rested on the seventh. However, the schools of these same nations teach that life evolved over billions of years “out of nothing.” And to pass the test and get a job, you have to silently and unofficially denounce your religious conviction and answer the questions in the exams according to “science.” Nevertheless, despite this glaring conflict of interest, religion still holds its ground in those countries. That is, citizens would happily put the scientific answer in school and college while proclaiming the biblical answer in church “by faith and not by reason.”

Religious texts of the world’s largest religions, Islam and Christianity, both claim to give an outline of human existence from start to finish – and the ultimate transition into eternity. However, nowhere in these religious texts was there ever mentioned any hints about the colonization of Mars – unless it is written in symbolic language.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who is a self-proclaimed atheist, is planning to put a colony of 50 million people on Mars by 2050. And he intends to start by this decade. NASA also has a Mars colonization plan but with a much more flexible timeline. While colonization of Mars is not an easy task, experts agree that, with the speed and direction of technological advancements, it is doable. Mars has no oxygen, but scientists are confident they can produce oxygen there until they can modify the thin atmosphere on Mars to produce its own oxygen. In a similar way, other challenges to life on Mars can be tackled until there is a thriving city of humans on Mars.

We asked Jehovah Witness, Simon Warner, if he thinks that the colonization of Mars will cause Christians to loose their faith. We asked Simon:

The bible makes no mention of life on Mars. The bible says that Jesus will come back to judge the Earth, but it never mentions humans going to Mars. So what will happen to the people on Mars? Will they escape judgement? Will they be brought back to Earth to be judged? And finally, will this cause people to loose their faith in religion since religious texts make no mention of Mars?

Simon’s response.

Well, the bible has to be relevant right? So at that time when Jesus was on earth, nobody knew about Mars, so if He made mention of Mars, people would be confused and say, “what is He talking about?” Of course, Jesus could judge the people on Mars right on Mars or bring them back to earth at the End Time.

As I mentioned at the start of this article, religion has survived even the “deadliest” scientific conflict, and even the most life-changing scientific developments have failed to shake the faith of religious people.

So what about you? If humans succeed in the colonization of Mars, will you still believe in religion? Why or why not? Do you think the Mars Mission will succeed or will it be another “tower of Babylon?” Tell us in the comments.