Physics Prove The Existence of God (On A Razor's Edge)

One of the arguments against theism and fine-tuning is that someone had to win the lottery.  Well, when one talks about the fine-tuning that exists, we are not dealing with lottery odds, but with an impossible scenario for chance creation of life.  Psalm 19:1 states, "The heavens proclaim the glory of God.The skies display his craftsmanship."  The universe being finely tuned can only mean one thing, a tuner exists.  Astrophysicist, Paul Davies says, "There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all....It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe....The impression of design is overwhelming".  Design implies a designer.

The Hype Over Stephen Hawking's "The Grand Design"

In this short audio, Dr. Craig address problems with Dr. Hawking's recent comments that the universe created itself.

What If ?

A common argument that is often referred to as a proof of God is Pascal's Wager. Actually, Pascal's Wager is not an argument at all for the existence of God, but more of a what if proposal. Pascal's Wager simply states, What if you believe in God and I don't. If God does not exist, then at death we both win or lose nothing. However, if God does exist, at death you gain everything and I lose everything. What if this logic is applied to what makes the most sense here on earth for a variety of subjects? In other words, in examining various "What If" questions, conclusions can be drawn to follow the most logical outcome. The "What If" questions will follow the logic of the law of the excluded middle (either A or non-A).

What if the universe had a beginning? Either the universe had a beginning or it did not. Almost all scientist believe that the universe began to exist in an event called the big bang. How did the universe come to exist? Stephen Hawkins recently stated that the laws of Physics spurned the universe, but Hawkins never mentions where the laws of Physics came from. According to the Kalam Cosmological Argument, whatever comes into existence has a cause. If the universe came into existence then it was caused to exist.

What if the universe was designed? Either the universe was designed or it happened by chance process alone. Prominent Evolutionary Biologist, Richard Dawkins states, “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” [1] Dawkins, of course, discounts the universe is designed, but instead believes the universe happened by chance. One of the arguments that is commonly used to show the universe could have come into existence by chance is the multi-universe hypothesis. Simply stated the multi-universe hypothesis proposes that millions of universes have been spawned and ours happened to be the one where everything fell into place in order for life to exist. There are two main problems with this argument. First, there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support this. Secondly, it never answers the question of where the original universe came from.

On the flip side of the chance argument is the idea that the universe was designed. There is powerful evidence that the universe did not occur by chance, but by way of fine-tuning. Astronomer, John O'Keefe, has commented, "We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures.. .. If the Universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in." [2] The universe appears to be designed as opposed to a chance happening.

What if a moral law exists? Either a moral law exists or it does not. Some say that morals simply cannot exist. They posit that the appearance of morals are just the result of Darwinian evolution. Philosopher, Michael Ruse says, "Morality is just an aid to survival and reproduction... and any deeper meaning is illusory." [3]

Many recognize that a moral law does seem to exist. There are some things that we intuitively know are right and wrong or good and evil. For example, torturing the innocent for sport and the raping and murder of small children can easily be seen as immoral. Where does this sense of morality come from? It seems a moral law exists, and this would necessitate a moral Law-Giver or God.

What if Jesus is the only way to God? Either he is or he is not. Jesus claimed that he is the exclusive way (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). If he is the exclusive way then Christianity is the one and only religion that counts for anything. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 asks us to "Test everything." Testing everything includes the testing of Christianity.

What if Jesus rose from the dead? Either Jesus did rise from the dead or he didn't. If Jesus rose from the dead, it validates the religion of Christianity and the testimony of Jesus. Some have offered reasons against the resurrection such as the stolen body theory, the swoon theory, the wrong grave theory, the legendary Jesus theory, hallucination theory and the idea that the resurrection was not a material resurrection. All of these theories came about many years after the resurrection event and can be discounted with a lack of evidence.

There is great evidence to show that the resurrection actually took place. First, the resurrection story is early. 1 Corinthians 15 is an early creedal passage that goes back to the resurrection itself. Second, there are multiple independent attestations of the resurrection. Third, non-Christian sources support the resurrection story. Fourth, women are mentioned as discovers of the empty tomb and the first to see the resurrected Jesus. If a woman's testimony was considered invalid in the first century, then why would all the gospel writers mention this? The mentioning of the women as the discoverers of the empty tomb and the first to see Jesus points to the truthfulness of the resurrection story. Fifth, Christianity was birthed in Jerusalem, which is the central location of Judaism. If Christianity is an invented religion then why would anyone want to claim that Jesus was the resurrected Messiah of Judaism in the hostile environment of Jerusalem? Sixth, the changed lives of those who encountered the resurrected Jesus counts as evidence for the resurrection.

What if the universe had no beginning, happened by accident, and exists without a moral law? What if Jesus is not the exclusive way, because he did not rise from the dead? If all these "What Ifs" are true then life has no ultimate purpose, meaning, or hope - we are simply one big directionless accident.

What if, however, the universe began to exist? If it did - the universe had a cause, and a cause means there must be a Causer. What if the universe was designed? If the universe was designed, then a Designer exists. What if the universe has a moral law? If a moral law exists, a moral Law-Giver exists? What if Jesus is the only way? If Jesus is the only way, then all other religious beliefs, including atheism are false. What if Jesus rose from the dead? If Jesus rose from the dead, then he and he alone offers the only true purpose, meaning, and hope that can be obtained in one's lifetime.

The important "What If" questions of life are framed by the law of the excluded middle. These questions are in the form of an either - or question. The direction that one chooses can make all the difference in the world. When considering the "What If" question, evidence overwhelmingly tips in the favor of the Christian worldview. As Pascal proposed so many years ago, the "What If" question is one that cannot be avoided if Christianity is the one true worldview.

[1] Dawkins, Richard, The Blind Watchmaker, p. 1
[2] Heeren, F., Show Me God, p. 200
[3] Ruse, Michael, Evolutionary Theory and Christian Ethics, p. 262-269

Big Bang + fine-tuning = God

One of the arguments often given against the existence of God is called, the "god-of-the-gaps" inference. When the term "god-of-the-gaps" is applied to the theist by the skeptic, what they mean is, the theist will automatically infer the existence of God when science has not yet come up with a sufficient explanation . Philosopher and Mathematician, William Dembski explains god-of-the-gaps this way, "Design substitutes extraordinary explanations where ordinary explanations will do and thereby commits a god-of-the-gaps fallacy."[1] For example, what if you were diagnosed with an incurable disease one week and you started to pray thereafter. The following week you return to the doctor and discover that your disease was completely eradicated. You explain to everyone how God healed your body, but the skeptic would accuse you of a god-of-the-gaps explanation. The skeptic might say, "You were mis-diagnosed" or possibly it was "Just a coincidence."

Today there exists powerful evidence that the universe not only came into existence from nothing (Big Bang), which supports the Genesis 1:1 passage, but that the universe was designed for life to exist or it was fine-tuned for life. These two aspects of the universe (Big Bang and fine-tuning) point directly toward a Divine Being that created the spacial-temporal universe. The fine tuning has been hailed by many leading scientist as powerful evidence for the existence of God. Astrophysicists Paul Davies states, "There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all...It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature's numbers to make the Universe...The impression of design is overwhelming." [2]

What is fine-tuning and how does it point to the existence of God? Fine-tuning involves constants of nature that are so delicately balanced that if just one of these constants were slightly off, the universe as we know it could not exist. Each of these constants are crucial to life. Each of these constants was in place from the beginning so that life could surface. The universe is like a car that needed all the parts put together just perfectly (including a filled gas tank) down to the last screw in order for the car to operate properly. If the universe is not fine-tuned from the get go, life has no chance whatsoever.

I will list two constants of the universe that are fine-tuned in order to explain what fine-tuning is all about. First is the expansion rate of the universe. The universe is expanding in size at a specific rate. The number assigned concerning the expansion rate of the universe is 1 in 10 to the 55th power. This is an incredibly large number. Simply put, if the expansion rate of the universe is just a hair slower or faster, life cannot exist anywhere. A second fine-tuned constant is the ratio of protons to electron. The number given here is 1 in 10 to the 37th power. Again, if this ratio of protons to electrons varies ever so slightly, no universe for life can exist. Astronomer, Hugh Ross, has listed some 34 constants that each have to be fine-tuned in order for life to exist. [3] To get an example of how precise the ratio of protons to electrons (1 in 10 to the 37th power) is, consider this analogy. If you piled dimes on one billion North American sized continents from here to the moon and painted one dime red for your friend to pick blindfolded on the first guess, then you have succeeded in just one of the finely-tuned numbers. This is just one constant that would have to be fulfilled and it is not even the most precise (largest constant) number. All 34 constants have to be considered together. If just one of the constants is slightly off, the universe has no chance to produce life. Philosopher, William Lane Craig has stated, "It's as if the universe knew we were coming."

The fine-tuning for the universe gives such powerful evidence for God's existence that the skeptical community has responded in one of two ways, either, they appeal to a science-of-the-gaps explanation or they posit that there are literally millions of universes that exist (Multi-universe hypothesis). Realize that the skeptic in order to deny the existence of God has to defer to either of these two responses. The science-of-of-the-gaps response would go like this, "Someone had to win the lottery, we were just the lucky ones" or they might say, "You can't appeal to God because this is the way it just happened." Many who are skeptical believe that science will one day answer all questions. This view is called scientism (science answers all and only science can give us true knowledge). There is only one problem with this view, "What caused the Big Bang?" Science will never be able to answer this question, because the entirety of matter in the universe came from nothing. Something never comes from nothing according to the laws of science. Similarly, the multi-verse hypothesis has no answers and absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up. It is purely a statement given to try and dodge the fact of fine-tuning. Those who hold to this outlandish explanation do so in order to try and boost the chances of life happening by a random chance process. There is another big problem here and that is, you still have to explain where the first universe (from which all else sprang) or the first part of matter came from. Again, you cannot get something from nothing. Science will never be able to answer this question.

This brings us directly to God and a definition of who He is. If the universe came from nothing, then whatever created the universe must be non-material. Whatever created the universe must be all-powerful. Being that the universe is fine-tuned, whatever created the universe must have planned it that way. All of these attributes or descriptions are what we think of when we think of God. The Big Bang + fine-tuning of the universe gives powerful evidence for the existence of God. The skeptic who appeals to god-of-the-gaps or multi-universe explanations is making a philosophical leap of faith that has absolutely no foundation to stand on. The best explanation for the beginning of the universe and its' fine-tuning is that an all-powerful, transcendent God exists.

[1] Dembski, William, Intelligent Design, p. 238
[2] Scientific quotes for fine-tuning evidence of God's existence
[3] Fine tuning constants

• A good video explaining what is meant by god-of-the-gaps