A Scientists Asks—Why Believe in God ? COM Special Talk November 2, 2013

1. John K. Lee, Ph.D International Undergraduate Student Ministry Gracepoint Minneapolis A Scientists Asks—Why Believe in God?COM Special TalkNovember 2, 2013

2. 1. The Big Bang

3. 1929 • What happened? • Edwin Hubble discovers all galaxies are moving away from each other, which means the universe is expanding • If that’s true, then it means the universe started!

4. In the Beginning… • In the beginning…. • No atoms • No space • No time • No physical laws • Enormous burst • What caused it? • ?? • Must be something outside of the universe

5. History of the Big Bang • Before the Big Bang Theory (1929), everyone thought… • Matter exists forever (Conservation of Matter) • Universe existed forever, at the same size… • Q: Then how come gravity doesn’t make the universe collapse? • Theologians who said that universe didn’t exist before were seen as unscientific

6. Smoot The big bang, the most cataclysmic event we can imagine, on closer inspection appears finely orchestrated…Until the late 1910's, humans were as ignorant of cosmic origins as they had ever been. Those who didn't take Genesis literally had no reason to believe there had been a beginning George Smoot (Physicist)

7. Penzias "[Wilson], like most physicists, would rather attempt to describe the universe in ways which require no explanation; there's the economy of physics. And since science can't explain anything--it can only describe things--that's perfectly sensible." Arno Penzias (American physicist)

8. Beginning and Causality • Everything that has a beginning has a cause. • The universe has a beginning • Therefore, the universe has a cause

9. 2. Order and Design& The Anthropic Principle

10. Order and Design… …demands a designer

11. Constants? = 3.141593 E = m c = 2.998 x 108

12. Something Strange with the Constants... • Fine-Tuning • Constants are “fine-tuned” to allow for the existence of the universe and complex life

13. Physics Governed by Constants • Gravitational Force G = 6.673 x 10-11 m3kg-1s-2 • Planck constant h = 6.626 x 10-34 J s

14. Wide Acknowledgment: Penzias “Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life, and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural’) plan.” Arno Penzias (American physicist)

15. Wide Acknowledgment: Dawkins “The closest is the idea that the fundamental constants of the universe are too good to be true. And that does seem to need some kind of an explanation.” Richard Dawkins (British evolutionist, during the interview in Four Horsemen)

16. Wide Acknowledgment: Hawking “The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life… Most sets of values would give rise to universes that, although they might be very beautiful, would contain no one able to wonder at that beauty.” Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time, 1996) “Our universe and its laws appear to have a design that both is tailor-made to support us and, if we are to exist, leaves little room for alteration. That is not easily explained, and raises the natural question of why it is that way.” Stephen Hawking (The Grand Design, 2010)

17. Examples of Fine-Tuning Gravitational Constant (6.673 x 10-11 m3kg-1s-2) • Too Weak: • no planets, no stars • Too Strong: • Big Crunch

18. Examples of Fine-Tuning Strong Nuclear Force Constant (the force that holds the nucleus of an atom together) • 2% Weaker: • No molecules • 0.3% Stronger: • No suns, no carbon

19. Examples of Fine-Tuning Electromagnetic Force Constant (force that binds electrons to protons in an atom) Coulomb’s constant ke= 8.98755 x 109 Nm2C-2 • Weaker or stronger just by “a little little bit”: • No molecules • How much is “little little bit”? • 1 / 1040 = 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001%

20. Examples of Fine-Tuning • Time: 10-34 second • Temperature: 1027 K • Fine-Tuning of the 4 Forces (Gravity, Electromagnetic, Strong Nuclear, Weak Nuclear)

21. Examples of Fine-Tuning “If the rate of expansion one second after the big bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have recollapsed before it ever reached its present size.” Stephen Hawking (A Brief History of Time, 1996) • Time: 10-10 second • Temperature: 1015 K • Fine-Tuning in Speed • Too slow • Universe collapses • Too fast • No galaxy formation • Perfect speed! Fine-Tuning Range = 1/1055 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%

22. The Amazing Universe • Constants & incidental values of our universe seem very FINE-TUNED, to make complex life (like us) possible • Who / What designed the universe? • Bibliography • The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by Barrow & Tipler (1986) • Nature’s Destiny by Michael Denton (1998) • Overview • Fine-Tuned Universe, paper by Hugh Ross

23. Penzias The Bible talks of purposeful creation. What we have, however, is an amazing amount of order; and when we see order, in our experience it normally reflects purpose…if we read the Bible as a whole we would expect order in the world. Purpose would imply order, and what we actually find is order. This world is most consistent with purposeful creation.” Arno Penzias (American physicist)

24. Clues to the Purpose of This Design? • The Universe is fine-tuned for life • And if life-sustaining planets are extremely rare (perhaps Earth is the only one?) • It suggests • we are more lucky than ever imagined • OR the fine-tuner had human beings in mind

25. 3. DNA of a single cell

26. DNA is densely packed information

28. John Loves Eunice

29. 4. Your drive for :MEANING & PURPOSE Life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stageAnd then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and furySignifying nothing. Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5)

30. Luke 12: the parable of rich fool 16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

31. Luke 12: the parable of rich fool 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

32. Proper Priorities • Why did God call the rich man a fool? • Pursuit of $ … … distracted him from most importantpurpose of his life • Mankind’s purpose  Personal relationship with God

33. Rich towards God? • Rich in relationship • With God, it entails: • Knowing God • Relating to God • Spending time with God • Life  A journey with God

34. Discussion Questions 1. Do you see reasons for believing in God based on our observation of nature? 2. What conclusions can you make based on the fine-tuned nature of the universe and the fact that the world around is full of intentional information? 3. Where does your sense of purpose and desire for meaning come from?  What standard can you use to live a meaningful life?  

35. Creation Hypothesis, ed. J.P. Moreland Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence, Henry Schaefer The Privileged Planet by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards Rare Earth: Why Complex Life is Uncommon in the Universe by Peter D. Ward Resources