ABSTRACT
However, in recent decades there has been a revival of scientic interest in catastrophist ideas, together with anxiety about potential catastrophe from space, inspired by the discovery that the extinction of the dinosaurs some sixty-ve million years ago might have been precipitated by the impact of a monumental asteroid some six miles in diameter. is would be unusually large, but a comet or asteroid only a hundred metres wide could cause immense destruction today and possibly millions of human deaths. It is known that mass extinctions have occurred throughout the history of life on earth, on average every thirty million years, and it is possible that a number of these were caused by comet or asteroid impact. is has led to political discussion about how to protect the earth against such dangers from space. ere is growing awareness of the fragility of life on this planet, which inevitably leads to theological questions.
