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Evidence for God from Cosmology

Evidence for God from Cosmology. Richard Deem. Evidence for God. The Greatest Discovery (COBE, 1992). “unbelievably important... They have found the Holy Grail of cosmology” Michael Turner (University of Chicago) “It is the discovery of the century, if not all time”

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Evidence for God from Cosmology

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  1. Evidence for God from Cosmology Richard Deem Evidence for God

  2. The Greatest Discovery (COBE, 1992) • “unbelievably important... They have found the Holy Grail of cosmology” Michael Turner (University of Chicago) • “It is the discovery of the century, if not all time” Stephen Hawking (Cambridge University, UK) • “What we have found is evidence for the birth of the universe. It’s like looking at God.” George Smoot (UC Berkeley - COBE project leader)

  3. Relativity vs. The Newtonian Universe • Michelson and Morely (1887) Velocity of light • Einstein (1905) Special Relativity(E = mc2) • Einstein (1915) General Relativity

  4. General Relativity - Einstein Discovers God where: =density p=pressure G=constant of gravity c=speed of light

  5. Origins of the Big Bang Theory • Vesto Slipher (1914) “Nebulae” receding from the earth • Alexander Friedman (1922) Expansion of the universe • Hubble (1929) Law of Red-Shifts

  6. Hot Big Bang Model • George Gamow (1946) First hot big bang model • Bell Labs (1965) First background radiation measurement • Cosmic Background Explorer (1992) Ripples in background radiation

  7. Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) • Universe is a perfect radiator (to 1 part in 10,000)- background temperature of 2.726°K (1990) • Refined COBE measurements showed irregularities of 1 part in 100,000 (1992)

  8. COBE DMR

  9. Alternate Models • Infinite/eternal Universe • Steady State Universe • Oscillating Universe • The Hartle-Hawking Model • Quantum Cosmology

  10. Infinite/Eternal Universe Problems • Paradox of the Dark Night Sky • Light decreases 4-fold with doubling of distance • Volume (or number of stars) increases 8-fold with doubling of distance

  11. Steady State Universe • No stars greater than 16 billion years old • No newly formed galaxies (all formed at same time)

  12. Oscillating universe • Only 10-50% of matter needed for collapse (open universe) • A collapse would lead to “Big Crunch” instead of bounce

  13. The Universe as an Engine

  14. The Hartle-Hawking Model • Quantum physics invoked prior to 10-43 second, to eliminate the singularity • Requires use of imaginary time

  15. Problems in Quantum Cosmology • Observer based - who is the observer? • The universe represents a very long quantum "moment"

  16. Implications of Big Bang • Time, space, matter and energy all came into existence at once • Time is a created dimension

  17. Objections to the Big Bang • “philosophically unacceptable” (atheist John Maddox, “Down with the Big Bang”in Nature) • “smacks of divine intervention” (Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time ).

  18. Evidence for God’s Existence from Design • Divine Watchmaker (William Paley) • Refuted by: • David Hume • Charles Darwin • Recently by: • Stephen Jay Gould • Richard Dawkins

  19. New Watchmaker Argument • Based upon measurable parameters • Probabilities calculable from the observable universe • Tolerance for change (fine tuning) calculable from physical laws

  20. A “Just Right” Universe

  21. A “Just Right” Galaxy

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