Determining the Attributes of God from Science

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans that we can perceive the invisible attributes of God from the “things that have been made.”[1]  In other words, we can engage in the process of “Natural Theology” and discover what God is like by doing science!  Four of the most common arguments for God are the Cosmological Argument, The Argument from Fine-Tuning, The Argument from Reason & Logic, and the fact that mathematics can be applied to what we can discover about the universe. The science behind each of these arguments can tell us about the nature of God.

All Space, Time, Matter, and Energy Had A Beginning (The Cosmological Argument)

Here is a summary of the Cosmological Argument from J. Warner Wallace: 

(1) The Universe Began to Exist
(Confirmed by the scientific evidence)

(2) Anything That Has a Beginning Must Be Caused By Something Else
(Affirmed by the Principal of Causality)

(3) Therefore, the Universe Must Have a Cause
(Inferred from the Principal of Causality)

(4) The First Cause Must Be Eternal and Uncaused
(Declared by definition)

(5) The Cause is God
(Offered as the most reasonable uncaused first cause)[2]

If you would like to read about the science behind this, here is the link to my blog about Big Bang Cosmology:  http://natureandscripture.blogspot.com/2014/02/big-bang-cosmology-christian-creation.html

The cause of the universe must be uncaused, otherwise you enter in to an infinite number of causes in the attempt to get to the original first cause; this also requires the cause to be changeless to again avoid the infinite regress.  The First Cause is also beginningless, since it does not begin to exist.  The cause must also be immaterial, timeless, and spaceless since the cause created matter, energy, time, and space; this would also require the attribute of powerful.

So, from studying the beginning of the universe, we can conclude that the cause of the universe is uncaused, beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless, and really powerful.[3]

Rational Thought & The Existence of Logic

This argument is stated one way by Charles Darwin:

“With me the horrid doubt always arises whether the convictions of man’s mind, which has been developed from the mind of lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy.  Would any one trust in the convictions of a monkey’s mind, if there were any convictions in such a mind?”

The Argument from the Existence of Logic is laid out nicely by J. Warner Wallace:  http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/is-god-real-evidence-from-the-laws-of-logic/

If our mental processes are just chemical reactions and interactions between molecules, then we have no reason to believe that any of our thoughts are true.  If our thoughts and beliefs have evolved through survival enhancing behavior, then there is no reason to take these naturally selected beliefs as any important truth.  Materialism is not compatible with knowledge or reason.  If we believe that we can know truths and think rational thoughts, then we must ascribe to something beyond our physical brains.  For us to have a logical and rational mind would require a creator to be personal; the first cause must have a rational and logical mind.

Fine Tuning

If the ratio of the nuclear strong force compared to the electromagnetic force had been different by one part in 10¹⁶, no stars could have formed.  The ratio of the electromagnetic force constant compared to the gravitational force constant must not vary more than 1 part in 10⁴⁰ for life to have been possible in the universe. The total mass density of the universe could not have varied by 1 part in 10⁶⁰.  This means that if the entire mass of the universe had been heavier by about the mass of 1 dime, the universe “would have expanded too slowly, resulting in unstable orbits and too much radiation.”[4] Had the mass of the universe been 1 dime lighter, it would have expanded too quickly for any stars like our sun to form.  In fact, there are so many parameters that have to be perfect for life to exist that physicist Hugh Ross has calculated that the chance of even one planet like ours existing in our universe is less than 1 in 10¹⁴⁴.[5]  This would be equivalent to winning the Powerball lottery jackpot 18 times in row, purchasing just one ticket each time.

If you would like to learn more about this, here is a 6 minute video from Reasonable Faith:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3jvfvho3CE

The more we study the universe, the Milky Way galaxy, our solar system, and our planet, from plate tectonics all the way down to the building blocks of life, the more it appears as if someone or something designed and perfectly arranged everything for life to exist on Earth.  It is a reasonable conclusion from all this fine-tuning to conclude that something designed it all.  The incredible care that was taken to design everything from the beginning leads us to conclude that the designer is very careful, creative, and precise. The first cause must care deeply about their creation and love what they are creating to have arranged such intricate precision into the entire universe from the first moment of creation.

Physical Laws & Mathematics

“The important point is not merely that there are regularities in nature, but that these regularities are mathematically precise, universal, and “tied together.”  Einstein spoke of them as “reason incarnate.”  The question we should ask is how nature came packaged in this fashion.  This is certainly the question that scientists from Newton to Einstein to Heisenberg have asked – and answered.  Their answer was the Mind of God.”[6]

Patterns are everywhere:  Periodic Table, Electronic Structure, Kepler’s Laws, Newton’s Laws, Einstein’s Equations, Maxwell’s Equations, The Gravity Equation, Coulomb’s Law.  If we are simply the product of mindless, purposeless forces, then there is no reason that these patterns should even exist.  It is even more amazing that the mathematics could describe these patterns.  It is inconceivable that something humans invent should match and be able to describe the universe.  The fact that we can even do science, that there are even patterns for us to find, is support for a mind designing an orderly and discoverable universe.  This shows that the first cause cares about us and wants us to use our minds! 

Here is another link if you are interested in reading more about the connection between science and Christianity:  http://natureandscripture.blogspot.com/2014/01/science-christianity-no-conflict.html

Summary

From the fact that the universe had a beginning, we can reasonably conclude that the creator is uncaused, beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless, and really powerful.[7]  From the fact that we can reason and think rationally tells us that the creator must also be personal and rational; the creator must have a mind.  Fine tuning shows us that the creator is creative, precise, powerful, loving, and caring.  Because we can decipher the universe and its patterns tells us that the creator wants us to use our minds!  While it would be difficult to determine all of the attributes of God from Natural Theology, this list of characteristics comes very close to describing the God of the Bible.  We can determine the invisible attributes of God by looking at creation.

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[1] Romans 1:20

[2] http://coldcasechristianity.com/2014/science-agrees-with-the-bible-the-universe-began-to-exist/

[3] William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland, editors, The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology 2009

[4] Hugh Ross, The Creator and Cosmos, NavPress, 2001.

[5] Hugh Ross, The Creator and Cosmos, NavPress, 2001.

[6] Anthony Flew, There Is A God, page 96, HarperOne, 2007

[7] William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland, editors, The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology 2009