IS EVIDENCE OF GOD’S EXISTENCE ALL AROUND US?
Chapter Two
ORDER IN THE UNIVERSE
Does the universe give us any clues about the existence of a supreme being? This question has long been debated. One of the most basic questions revolves around whether the universe is eternal – without beginning or end. If it had a beginning it raises the obvious questions regarding how it began and if and when it might end. In his book The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel mentions the kalam cosmological argument and quotes William Lane Craig, PHD, THD:
As formulated by al-Ghazali, the argument has three simple steps: 'Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause.' Then you can do a conceptual analysis of what it means to be a cause of the universe, and a striking number of divine attributes can be identified. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 120.
That the universe did have a beginning is evident from the mathematical absurdity of infinity.
If A had an infinite number of pennies and gave every other penny to B they would each wind up with an infinite number of pennies, in fact they would each have just as many as A started with, that is, an infinite amount.
However, if A kept only 100 pennies for himself and gave the rest to B, then B would have an infinite amount and A would have only 100.
Then again, if A gave all of the pennies to B then B would end up with and infinite number of pennies while A would have none at all.
It might seem on the face of it that all of these scenarios are valid but that is only because most of us have a problem with the concept of infinity. For example, if I truly have and infinite supply of pennies how could I give them all away? No matter how many I give away I still have as many as I started with, that is, I still have an infinite amount!
Since all three scenarios cannot be true, we can see from this argument, that the idea of infinity, in our current existence, is an absurdity. Therefore, our universe and time cannot be infinite and must have had a beginning and therefore will have an end.
If we accept our existence it would be utterly foolish to say we came from absolute nothingness, through no intelligence or power, for absolutely no purpose. How can nothing produce anything?
It would be foolish enough to walk into a mine shaft and look at raw iron ore and conclude that somehow, over millions of years, with no intelligent intervention automobiles would somehow evolve from the ore. Even that, however, makes more sense than the idea that from an empty void of absolute nothingness an entire orderly universe filled with solar systems, stars, planets, and living intelligent beings could somehow magically evolve without a plan and outside influence of some kind.
This is all the more true as we consider the incredibly complex design of our universe and our earth that is necessary for life to exist.
It might surprise you to know that many of the greatest scientific minds of the last several centuries were Bible-believing Christians who totally accepted the scientific accuracy of the Word of God. For example, Issac Newton, perhaps the greatest scientific mind in history, firmly accepted the Word of God and creation.
Other strong believers in God who changed the face of scientific knowledge included: Lord Kelvin, the creator of the science of thermodynamics; Luis Pasteur, the discoverer of pasteurization, Johann Kepler, the brilliant astronomer who created modern astronomy; and Robert Boyle, the greatest chemist of his age. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998 p. 128.
As late as 1915, astronomers believed that our galaxy composed the entire universe. Then in 1925, the great astronomer Edwin Hubble...proved that the universe contained as many galaxies outside our galaxy as there were stars inside our home galaxy, the Milky Way. During the past century very powerful telescopes of astronomers revealed that the known universe contains over ten billion galaxies like our Milky Way. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998 p. 130.
Lee Strobel again quotes Dr. Craig:
You see, the Big Bang was not a chaotic, disorderly event. Instead, it appears to have, been fine-tuned for the existence of intelligent life with a complexity and precision that literally defies human comprehension. In other words, the universe we see today -- and our very existence -- depends upon a set of highly specialized initial conditions. This phenomenon is strong evidence that the Big Bang was not an accident, but that it was designed. --. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 130.
In Lee Strobel's research for his book he interviewed Robin Collins, PhD. Mr. Collins is quoted:
I like to use the analogy of astronauts landing on Mars and finding an enclosed biosphere, sort of like the domed structure that was built in Arizona a few years ago. At the control panel they find that all the dials for its environment are set just right for life. The oxygen ratio is perfect; the temperature is seventy degrees; the humidity is fifty-percent; there's a system for replenishing the air; there are systems for producing food, generating energy, disposing of wastes. Each dial has a large range of possible settings, and you can see that if you were to adjust one or more of them just a little bit, the environment would go out of whack and life would be impossible. What conclusion would you draw from that? The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 160.
Set aside the issue of how the biosphere got there in the first place. Let's say when you found it, there were twelve dials that controlled the conditions in the dome. Each had an incredibly large range of possible settings. When you departed, you left the dials at random and as a result no life was possible in the biosphere.
Then you come back a year later. When you look at the dials, you're amazed to find that each one of them has been carefully calibrated to just the right setting so that life is flourishing in the dome. Twelve dials, twelve different factors -- all optimally set for life.
Do you know what the headline would be in the newspapers the next day? It would say: EXTRA TERRESTIAL LIFE EXISTS. We would take that as proof that an intelligent being had landed and set those dials precisely where they needed to be for life.
And I'm saying that the dials for the fundamental properties of the universe have been set like that. In fact the precision is far greater.--The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p.166.
This analogy simplifies and makes understandable, in a general way, the very complex factors necessary for the existence of life on earth. We tend to take things like air, water and food for granted but these are only the most obvious and basic necessities for life. Yet even these are the result of a very complex system. For oxygen to exist on earth, the earth had to be just the right size and density so that gravity would be strong enough to retain the oxygen - yet not too strong. Vegetation was required to produce the oxygen, etc. It is difficult to comprehend how anyone can seriously examine the complexities of our world and universe, the intricate systems and balance necessary for life, the amazing biological structures of its creatures and the incredible degree of interdependence for life to continue, and still deny that it was planned.
Green grass, trees, and other plants were necessary for production of oxygen. These depended upon the existence of rich soil, water, temperate seasons and carbon dioxide. Water (H2O), cannot exist without the existence of hydrogen and oxygen. Earth's temperature had to be within a narrow range and an ozone layer was required to protect us from the harmful rays of the sun.
For the rains to fall and growing seasons to come at the proper times, the earth must be tilted exactly right on its axis; a moon of the correct size was critical and its orbit around earth must be at a precise distance and follow the correct path. The orbit of the earth around the sun must be at the right distance and follow a precise path. The earth must rotate at just the right speed. Even the size and intensity of the sun is critical. If it were more intense the earth would be scorched. If less intense, earth would be a frozen wasteland. If the sun were larger the earth could be drawn into it -- smaller and the earth could spin out of its orbit into oblivion.
Even the position of our own galaxy and our position within our galaxy is important because the universe contains many hazards such as; meteor fields, radiation belts, and the extreme gravitational pull of large stars, black holes, etc. all of which could destroy us.
If the earth were much closer to the sun then we would be burned up....If the magnetic forces within our planet were stronger or weaker, life could not exist. If our earth did not revolve every twenty-four hours, then one-half of the planet would be in permanent darkness without vegetation. Meanwhile, if the earth did not revolve, the other side of the planet would be an uninhabitable desert as it suffered from the overwhelming heat of permanent exposure to the sun. If our earth were not tilted at twenty-three degrees, we would not have the seasonal variation that produces the incredible abundance of crops....The moon produces the tides that continually replenish the oceans with oxygen allowing the fish to breath. If the earth were significantly smaller, the lessened gravity would be incapable of holding the atmosphere that is essential for breathing. A much thinner atmosphere would provide no protection from the 25,000 meteors that burn up in the atmosphere over the earth every day. In addition, a thinner atmosphere would be incapable of retaining the higher temperatures required for human and animal life to exist. If our planet earth were twice as large, the effect of increased gravity would make everything on the planet's surface weigh eight times what it weighs today. This increased weight would destroy many forms of animal and human life. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998 p.141-142.
There are so many factors in our complex universe that affect living organisms on our earth that it is impossible to even mention a small portion of them in a chapter. Even a book on the subject could not adequately cover them all.
However, in 2007 one example occurred that brought this point home to me as nothing had previously. I live in the San Joaquin Valley in California and temperatures here rose to 113 degrees four consecutive days (in the 90's at night). The electrical grid was overtaxed causing power outages, blackouts and loss of A/C and other cooling. This resulted in 52 deaths. One can only imagine what would have occurred had the temperatures reached 120 degrees or more over a longer period.
This hot spell occurred because of an atmospheric pressure change over the valley. Events like this one, droughts, flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes are examples of just how critical the balance of the structure of our planet and our universe are to the sustaining of life on our planet. Atmospheric pressure changes, a shift in oceanic currents, very slight temperature changes in earth's seas and oceans can bring disastrous consequences.
The brief summary given here doesn't even scratch the surface. There are far too many components in the structure of our universe that hold keys to the existence of life cover more than a very few of them here. Nevertheless, those covered here are of such significance and complexity that they show clearly the improbability that these things could have occurred by pure chance.
Consider Mr. Collins comment quoted in Lee Strobel's book:
-- if I bet you a thousand dollars that I could flip a coin and get heads fifty times in a row, and then I proceeded to do it, you wouldn't accept that. You'd know that the odds against that are so improbable -- about one in a million billion -- that it's extraordinarily unlikely to happen. The fact that I was able to do it against such monumental odds would be strong evidence to you that the game had been rigged. And the same is true for the fine-tuning of the universe --. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 166.
Mr. Collins makes an important point. It is strange, indeed, that virtually everyone would question the possibility of flipping heads with a coin fifty times in a row and yet many of those same people accept, without question, the idea of our universe (including our world), with all of its intricate complexity, coming into existence from nothing. Clearly, the universe speaks volumes about the existence of God. For more on the evidence of God in science see the chapter Can Science Find God below.
ORDER IN LIFE
There is evidence of God in the order of life. In every species of life from the very smallest single cell forms to the exquisite complexity of plants, fish, birds and animals the careful observer will find evidence of order and intelligent design. To examine the accuracy of this statement let's look first at the very small building blocks of life. In his book The Case for a Creator, Lee Strobel quotes Michael J. Behe, PhD.
Now we've probed to the bottom of life, so to speak -- we're at the level of molecules -- and there's complexity all the way down. We've learned the cell is horrendously complicated, and that it's actually run by micro machines of the right shape, the right strength, and the right interactions. The existence of these machines challenges a test that Darwin himself provided.
Darwin said in his Origin of the Species, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." And that was the basis for my concept of irreducible complexity.
You see, a system or device is irreducibly complex if it has a number of different components that all work together to accomplish the task of the system, and if you were to remove one of the components, the system would no longer function. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 244.
Life is based on molecular machines. --. They haul cargo from one place in the cell to another; they turn cellular switches on and off; they act as pulleys and cables; electrical machines let current flow through nerves; manufacturing machines build other machines; solar powered-machines capture the energy from light and store it in chemicals. Molecular machinery lets cells move, reproduce, and process food. In fact, every part of the cell's function is controlled by complex, highly calibrated machines. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 246.
In molecular machines, components have portions of their shape that are complementary to each other, so they connect with each other in the right way. A positive charge can attract a negative charge, and an oily region can attract another oily region. So if we use the mousetrap as an analogy, one end of the spring would have to have a certain shape or magnetism that just happened to attract and fit with another component of the trap. They'd all have to fit together that way until you had the whole trap assembled by itself.
In other words, if you just had the components themselves, without the ability to bring the other pieces into position, you'd be far from having a functioning mousetrap. Nobody ever addresses this problem in the evolutionary literature. If you do any calculations about how likely this could occur by itself, you find it's very improbable. Even with small machines, you wouldn't expect them to self-assemble during the entire lifetime of the earth. That's a severe problem that evolutionists don't like to address. The Case for a Creator Lee Strobel, 2004, Zondervan, p. 249. (Emphasis mine).
These tiny molecular machines number in the millions within a single living organism with many variations. Each tiny machine within the cell has a distinct function; motors, switches, sensors, shuttles, gates, etc. If any one part of one these tiny machines were missing the machine would not function. How is it that these tiny, microscopic molecular machines are able to assemble themselves correctly and then know what to do as well as when and how to do it? How could this occur by chance?
Consider what Grant Jeffrey writes about the sequence of amino acids in a protein.
Scientists found that over twenty amino acids are required to produce the proteins that exist in the smallest living cell. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p.150.
- the smallest living thing contains more than five hundred amino acids. All amino acids have side groups of atoms....When biologists examined proteins within living cells they discovered that all proteins are "left handed." In other words, living cells contain amino acids with their side group of atoms on the left side only....To calculate the likelihood of life occurring by chance, the scientists calculated the probability that amino acids would form chains of atoms solely on the "left hand." The odds against this happening by chance are one chance in 10123. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p.151.
For those who are not mathematicians 10123 is 10x10=100 x10 =1,000 x 10 =10,000 x 10 =100,000 x 10 = 1,000,000 and so on or put another way the odds are one chance in ten followed by one hundred twenty three zeros. But the creation of life is not even that simple. To create a living protein the five hundred plus amino acids must be aligned in a precise sequence.
Mathematicians have calculated that the odds against these five hundred amino acids lining up in the correct order to produce one single living cell are equal to one chance in 10200, which is ten followed by two hundred zeros. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p. 152.
However, the formation of life requires far more complex structures than simple amino acids and proteins. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) creates the genetic code that commands the various elements in the cell to form the building blocks of life itself. Mathematicians have calculated that the odds against a single DNA gene forming by chance are equal to one chance in ten followed by one hundred and fifty-five zeros, a number that staggers the mind. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, p. 152.
Fred Hoyle, one of the greatest biologists in this century, wrote: "Precious little in the way of biochemical evolution could have happened on the earth. If one counts the number of trial assemblies of amino acids that are needed to give rise to the enzymes, the probability of their discovery by random shuffling’s turn out to be less than one in 10400000" (Fred Hoyle, "Where Microbes Boldly Went," New Scientist, pp.412-415). As a result of his findings, Hoyle eventually abandoned his agnosticism and became a believer in a special creation of life. The Signature of God Grant Jeffrey, World Publishing, 1998, P.153.
This only addresses the issue of the complexity of, and odds of, the chance production of a single living cell and doesn't begin to address the multitude of other issues regarding the complex structures, systems, and life cycles of insects, plants, fish, birds, mammals and animals that provide for nourishment, waste elimination, growth, self- defense, reproduction, etc.
If science, absent God, cannot even explain how these tiny molecular machines could have come into existence from nothing and build a single living cell, what real hope do they have of giving an adequate explanation for the incredibly complex living plants and creatures around us?
In addition to all the complexities necessary for a species to develop, there is the very complex issue of the interdependence of the species, since many require the existence of others in order to survive. Such examples as the yucca plant and yucca moth, the acacia and acacia ants, the fig tree and fig wasp, in fact animals, including humans, have tiny living creatures in their intestinal tracts that aid in the digestion of food. These tiny microbes aid in food digestion and synthesize vitamins by producing enzymes our bodies cannot.
These microbes vary from one species of animal to another but are quite necessary to health and survival. How did a species that depends on another for its existence survive until the species it depends on came into existence? What are the odds that all of this just popped out of nowhere for no reason at the right time and in the correct order?
Text copyright © 2013 Vernon E. Gillispie
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