On his widely popular Cosmos science program in 1980, Carl Sagan described our paltry existence in pathetic terms: "We live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star, lost in a galaxy, tucked away in some forgotten corner of universe in which there are far more galaxies than people." Several developments since then have altered this perception dramatically.

Secularists like to consider earth as just one of many millions of planets, occupying an obscure place in an insignificant galaxy in a sea of nothingness. Conversely, the Bible teaches that earth is very special to the Creator, performing a crucial role in the universe today, and prepared for an unending role in the cosmic saga.

Visit any anti-creationist website and you're certain to find a discussion of varves, tiny laminae thought to be annual deposits within sedimentary strata. In some areas millions of these are found in succession, which are offered as "proof" of long ages. More importantly, many feel that this proves the Bible's account of recent creation to be in error.

The most volcanically active body in the solar system is a little moon of Jupiter named Io. This moon is pumping out the hottest lavas known, from equator to pole, 24/7. That a small body could be this hyperactive is one of the major mysteries for adherents to the billions-of-years-old universe hypothesis.