Today's Wisdom

Those who do not pass from the experience of the cross to the truth of the resurrection condemn themselves to despair! For we cannot encounter God without first crucifying our narrow notions of a god who reflects only our own understanding of omnipotence and power
Pope Francis

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Is there evidence for God in contemporary cosmology?

Very simply, contemporary scientific research in cosmology found that: - The universe was not there from eternity but has a beginning (which we call the Big Bang) - The universe was so fine-tuned that any slight change in its initial conditions or the constants in physical laws would have prevented life from appearing on Earth (this is referred to as the Anthropic Principle) How are these findings new? - Greek thought as well as Buddhist and Hindu traditions assumed that the universe always existed from eternity (beginningless). Science, however, appears to support the idea that the universe is created in the same way it is claimed in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (i.e. it begins to exist) - 3 possibilities could explain the cause of the fine-tuning of the universe: 1) The universe is necessarily the way it is and could be no other way. But this is illogical since the universe could have been different, and the basic laws and constants could have been different. 2) the universe is fine-tuned by chance. This would entail that the universe is one of trillions of universes, each with a different set of laws, and ours alone happens to have the set of laws that allow life. This is not only highly speculative and inefficient but even if other universes exist there is no way we could ever know since they would not be accessible to us according to the theory of General Relativity. 3) The universe was designed by a super intelligence. This is the most reasonable possibility. Logical consequences: Everything that begins to exist must be caused by something/someone else. Since the universe began to exist, it must have a cause. Since the universe is intricately fine-tuned, it is reasonable to believe that the cause behind it is a great mind i.e. a personal being (what Alfred Hoyle, an atheist physicist, called a super intellect). This super intellect personal being is who we call God. It follows then that modern cosmology points to evidence for the existence of God. Notes: 1. If you wish to delve into the Biblical account of creation, here is an interesting point from the Bible: In Genesis, the earth is described as formless void. Since nothing can exist without some form, absolute formlessness is nothing. The universe, and every existing thing, even empty space, is structured by dimensions, has form and so absolute formlessness is nothing. God creates the world from nothing. In creation, the whole substance of a thing is produced from nothing and not from pre-existing material (as in some polytheistic and pagan religions). The creature depends entirely for its being on a higher cause without which it would cease to exist. The ancient Hebrew authors could not express this conceptually because they lacked the philosophical expression, but the closest they could get is a poetic image of a formless void. 2. Here is a website that displays video clips on evidence for God from science: http://www.leestrobel.com/Creator.htm 3. Here is an in-depth article about the fine-tuning of the universe http://www.leaderu.com/offices/bradley/docs/universe.html

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Today's Quote

"Behold I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5)







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