“The Cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be.” If you are between 35and 55 years of age you probably remember that quote from Carl Sagan very well and most likely spent much of high school science class watching his video series Cosmos. Implicit in that statement is the assumption of materialism – the belief that matter is all that exists. This same philosophy is echoed by current day scientists Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and Richard Dawkins. Is there a way to test this assumption? Is the data that nature is revealing to us indicating that matter is all there is, or is the data trending in the direction of much more?
If matter is all that exists, then as we do more science, we should be more and more convinced that we can describe everything in terms of blind forces and random motions of atoms. But if materialism is not true, and instead there is an intelligence that exists that created and designed the universe, then the data we find as we learn more about the universe should increase in support of a super intelligent mind who planned and created the universe for us.
There is consensus in the scientific community that the universe looks as if it was designed for life to exist. Entire books have been written on the things in the universe that are fine-tuned: The ratio of the electromagnetic force constant to the gravitational force constant must be fine-tuned to one part in 1040. The arrangement of matter and energy at the start of the universe must be fine-tuned to one part out of 10 to the 10th to the 123rd power! The list could go on for several pages and is so established that the question is not if the universe is fine-tuned, but instead has become who or what is responsible for the fine tuning. If materialism is true, then we should be able to explain all this fine tuning using only the existing matter in the universe. Instead, what we see as we do more science is increasing evidence that an intelligent mind planned and designed this universe for us. The deeper we look, the more fine-tuning we see; every time we invent a new instrument to probe nature at a deeper level the evidence increases in support of a designer.
According to Hugh Ross of Reason to Believe, the number of fine-tuned characteristics of the universe needed for the existence of life has grown from just two in 1961 to over 180 in 2011. The fine-tuning is not only observed in the constants, laws, and elementary particles in the universe; we also see fine-tuning at every time and at every level. For example, for life to exist on Earth we need the just right local group of galaxies, the just right galaxy, the just right star, the just right planetary neighbors, the just right moon, the just right atmosphere, and the just right plate tectonics. According to Dr. Ross, the number of fine-tuned characteristics of the galaxy, solar system, and Earth needed for life has grown from only three in the 1960’s to over one-thousand today.
The more thoroughly researchers investigate the history of our planet, the more astonishing the story of our existence becomes. The number and complexity of the astronomical, geological, chemical, and biological features recognized as essential to human existence have expanded explosively in the past decade.[1]
The moon forming impact event and the moon itself provides a dramatic set of evidence for super natural, super-intelligent design for the benefit of humanity. Here is a partial list of the evidence: The impact replaced the earth’s thick atmosphere with the perfect one for lung performance & photosynthesis, changed the composition of Earth’s atmosphere to the perfect chemical composition for life, changed the Earth’s mass & density so that it could retain the perfect amount of water vapor and raised the amount of iron in the Earth’s core to create a strong, enduring magnetic field. For life to exist, our exact moon was required to gradually slow the Earth’s rotation rate and stabilize the tilt of the Earth.
In the 1960’s and 70’s the moon’s existence was impossible. It was too big, it was too close to the earth, and the earth was too close to sun for the moon to have formed from a protoplanetary disk. In essence, the moon’s presence was a miracle. Over the past 15 years, astronomer Robin Canup has developed progressively more sophisticated and detailed models for the formation of the moon. Professor Canup is showing that the moon is just as scientists thought 50 years ago: “Current theories on the formation of the Moon owe too much to cosmic coincidences.”[2]This is confirmed by others who have studied the formation of the moon.
“In the new giant-impact models, lunar material is derived either from a range of depths in the proto-Earth’s mantle or equally from the entire mantles of the two colliding half-Earths.” “with the nested levels of dependency in a multi-stage model, is the probability of the required sequence of events vanishingly small?”[3]
“the sequence of conditions that currently seems necessary in these revised versions of lunar formation have led to philosophical disquiet.”[4]
The “philosophical disquiet” comes from materialists who see the evidence for a designer. Hugh Ross explains why uneasiness may exist among certain scientists: “… the measurable degree of fine-tuning design necessary to make long-lasting life possible increases by an average of more than a 1000 times per month.”
The more we study God’s creation, the more we see evidence for God. As we do more science, the more evidence we get in support of a creator who designed and planned the universe for our existence. Because the Bible is true, we should see design on all size scales (from strings to entire universe) and our detection of this design should be limited only by our ability to detect it! So far, everywhere and at every time we can currently test, we see design! If there has been fine-tuning and planning throughout the entire history of the universe so that we can exist right now on this planet at this time, think about how much the creator and designer must care for us!
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.[5]
[1]Hugh Ross,Improbable Planet, Reasons To Believe, 2016, pg 14
[2]Robin M. Canup, “Lunar Conspiracies.” Nature 504 (Dec. 5, 2013), 27.
[3]Sarah T. Stewart, “Weak Links Mar Lunar Model.” Nature 504 (Dec 5, 2013), 91.
[4]Tim Elliot, “A Chip Off the Old Block.” Nature 504 (Dec. 5, 2013), 90
[5]Psalm 19: 1-2
