At the heart of the war is the battle between the theories of evolution and creative design.

Whatever your personal views on how the Earth was created, it may be happening again.,”There is a war raging between science and religion. It has been waging for years. It involves each and every one of us.

At the heart of the war is the battle between the theories of evolution and creative design.

Whatever your personal views on how the Earth was created, it may be happening again.

According to NASA astronomers, there is evidence of an Earth-like planet forming around a distant solar system approximately 424 light-years away.

Through use of the Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA astronomers found a large belt of stardust circling a sun similar to our own called HD 113766.

The dust belt, scientists believe, is coming together to form a planet about the size of Mars with a geographical structure similar to Earth's.

Unlike Mars, the distant planet being formed is in the middle of its solar system in a terrestrial habitable zone where temperatures are moderate enough to support liquid water.

The forming planet is estimated to be about 10 million years old, which is the right time period for the stardust to come together to form a planet with rocky core similar to Earth.

According to Carey Lisse, a Johns Hopkins University physics professor and member of the NASA study team, the "timing for this system to be building an Earth-like planet is very good."

The materials of stardust belt are circling HD 113766 in a way that can be compared to a "cosmic refrigerator," according to the study team, in that they are composed of pure ingredients from the solar system's formative period.

Essentially, the ingredients from the previous period of the solar system are circling a star similar to Earth's, in an orbit similar to Earth's, all in the right timetable to create an Earth-like planet that has a similar geography as Earth.

There is a war raging between science and religion. And this discovery will fuel that war in that it poses new questions in conflict between creative design and evolution.

The balancing act between science and religion is especially pertinent here at Marquette, an educational institution focused on both religion and developmental science, which is one of the reasons why Marquette attracts prominent scholars on the subject.

One such scholar, Vatican Observatory Director the Rev. George Coyne, visited Marquette in April of last year where he spoke on the development of the universe.

According to Coyne, "Evolution is the best scientific explanation for the facts of the universe . and contrary to popular belief, evolution doesn't prohibit the existence of God because it is possible that evolution is not purely dependent upon random chance and instead is a statistical destiny of probability."

What Coyne was saying is the theory of evolution is very hard to deny scientifically, but the big-bang theory and proliferation of evolution may not have been solely a feat of random chance. They were statistically fated to happen and that over billions of years particle were destined to eventually collide and create the chemical makeup of life.

The scientific facts are these: The death of old stars and solar systems brings about the life of new ones, which is what's occurring around HD 113766.

The creation of new stars develops the chemical elements that compose organic life.

And the new Earth-like planet forming around HD 113766 one day may be able to support organic life similar to Earth.

Whether you acknowledge a supreme deity presiding over these events, I leave up to you.

But on the subject I must say the discovery of the formation of an Earth-like planet presents an argument for the validity of the theory of evolution.

It is very hard to deny evolution when you can look out of a telescope and literally watch evolution taking place.

On the other hand, if Coyne is right and evolution is a "statistical destiny of probability" then isn't it possible that God is using evolution as a tool to create a universe that is capable of knowing and responding to Him?

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