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Does Science Prove the Existence of God?

by

Gordon Rowlinson

Throughout history, there have been many examples of science and religion being in conflict. In ancient Babylon, priests thought that lunar eclipses were evil omens that were directed against their king and meant that the king would die soon. A conflict arose when astronomers eventually calculated the 18 year, 11.3 day interval between lunar eclipses. However the scientific discovery did not impress the priests. When the next lunar eclipse was due, a temporary king was installed. After the priests killed the temporary king, the real king was put back in power.

During the Middle Ages, church authorities played a highly negative role in suppressing early scientific thought. In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published his model of the universe that placed the Sun, not the Earth, at the center of the universe. The Roman Inquisition declared the the idea as “formally heretical” and placed the book on the Index of forbidden books. When Galileo took up Copernicus's ideas, the Roman Catholic Inquisition found Galileo guilty of heresy and condemned the idea of the Earth revolving around the sun.

However, when there is no paranoid fear from the religious authorities, there is no tension between the two realms and, in recent years, science supports the idea of an existence of a God. Issac Newton is widely considered on of the greatest minds in history. During the 17 century, he labored trying to find a mathematical solution that would predict the workings of the solar system. His solution was the law of gravity. Newton thought it odd that distant objects in the solar system were drawn to one another, acting to a consistent mathematical law of gravity. After making efforts over his lifetime to find a natural explanation, he concluded “it is the will of God.”

In 1929 after Edwin Hubble proved that galaxies are expanding away from one another, Albert Einstein came to the conclusion of “the necessity for a beginning” and “the presence of a superior reasoning power.” Einstein thought that something was keeping the laws of the universe constant. “ Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”

Of course the Bible states that God was responsible for the beginning.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3

Einstein's view of God and “superior reasoning power” was not the God of the Bible. He did not view God as a personal God that would hand out rewards and punishment and judgment. “If this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human though, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty Being?”

In 1960, Nobel Prize winner, Eugene Wigner raised a question similar to Newton and Einstein: Why does the natural world always obey laws of mathematics? What is holding things together. In 2017, Robert Nelson answered this question in an article in Newsweek: “It takes the existence of some kind of a God to make the mathematical underpinnings of the universe comprehensible.”

Similar to the laws of mathematics, human consciousness is also a miraculous phenomenon. Like mathematics, consciousness has no physical presence in the world and the images and thoughts in our consciousness have no measurable dimensions. Yet, our nonphysical thoughts somehow guide the actions of our physical human bodies. As Nelson notes: “This is no more scientifically explicable than the mysterious ability of nonphysical mathematical constructions to determine the workings of a separate physical world.”

In 1993, Hugh Ross in “The Creator and the Cosmos” presents scientific proof of the levels of irregularity in the background radiation (as measured by the COBE Cosmic Background Explorer satellite) and the ratio of exotic matter to ordinary matter (as measured by the Keck and Hubble telescopes) as proof that the Big Bang theory was the start of the universe and time. He then makes the logical argument that God was the one who started the Big Bang and created the universe and that this God operates independent of the cosmos and it's four space-time dimensions of length, width, height and time. Logically if God created the universe and the four dimensions of time, length width and depth, then logically God exists outside of our dimensions and God existed before time started. This is what the Bible tells us:

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. (1 Corinthians 2:7)

This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time (2 Timothy 1:9)

Ross then demonstrates how the big bang was not too hot or too cold but just right for the dispersion of materials needed to build the universe. In addition, he maintains that our solar system and our planet are uniquely designed to support life. It takes a certain kind of star with a planet located at just the right distance from that star to provide the minimal conditions for life. Less that 0.001% of all stars could have a planet capable of supporting advanced life. Ross argues that the galaxy, the sun, our solar system are part of divine design and are proof of a personal and caring God. “The recent measuring of the cosmos have revealed not only the existence of God but also His transcendence, His personality, and even His care and love for human beings.”

In addition, given how unique and rare our planet is, there may not be any extraterrestrial intelligence elsewhere in the universe or there is something out there, it is very rare. This is certainly bad news for science fiction fans and for the people who work and search for alien life at SETI. Alas, all our efforts to search for extraterrestrial intelligence may never find anything. What? No Vulcans or Klingons? Unfortunately the late Senator Proxmire may have said it best when he said, “We would be far wiser to spend money looking for intelligent life in Washington.”

It appears that science and religion do not have to be in conflict. Why should they be? Theology is about the creation of heaven and Earth. Science is the systematic study of that creation. Religious beliefs are a very personal thing. One person can see the elegant architecture of the universe, the galaxy, the sun and the planets, the Earth, the odd, diverse creatures that inhabit the Earth, as wisdom of a caring Creator. Others will see it all as an amazing coincidence. However one must admit that something started the big bang and created the universe. All the mass and the energy in the universe did not magically self-create from nothing into existence.

This article covers a lot of ground in a short space. If you would like to add to the discussion, your comments below are welcome.

Behold! The Quantum Muse presents this month's thought-provoking, inspirational Science Fiction stories that our brilliant writers have diligently labored over. Feel free to plunge in and enjoy these stories.

Appears that any care and tending has hit the shit can.

btw did my last extended comment get censored?

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