Great News: God Exists

Why be depressed? Atheism lacks foundation so cheer up! There’s no reason to believe God is dead and the universe is cold, chaotic, and meaningless.

There are many arguments proving the existence of God. In this article I will focus on two of my favorites.

Fine-tuning

The universe is designed with great specificity to produce life. A universe designed with such precision for such a noble purpose must be the work of God.

Common objections: 1) Much of the universe is empty or hostile to life. Reply: God needn’t create a universe crammed with life. God needn’t create an easy existence for life (comfy pillows, snacks, reruns). He may prefer a universe that provides a challenge for His more adventurous creations. He may prefer a vast universe that manifests His glory. 2) The universe isn’t fine-tuned for life. Life has become fine-tuned to the universe via evolution. Reply: Philosopher Alistair McGrath has noted that such adaptation can occur only “if the primordial constituents of the universe are such that an evolutionary process can be initiated.” 3) The universe is only one of a huge assembly of universes known as the multiverse. Out of all these universes it’s only natural at least one would be life-friendly. Reply: Who fine-tuned the multiverse?

Another reply: “Penrose’s objection to this multiverse or World Ensemble hypothesis is that if we were just a member of a World Ensemble randomly ordered then it is vastly more probable and comprehensively more probable that we should be observing a much different universe than we do.” 4) We shouldn't be surprised to see a fine-tuned universe because if it weren't fine-tuned we wouldn't be here to see it. Reply: Philosopher John Leslie “imagines your being dragged in front of a firing squad of one hundred trained marksman all with rifles aimed at your heart to be executed. You hear the command given: ready, aim, fire! And you hear the deafening roar of the guns. Then you observe that you're still alive – that all of the one hundred marksmen missed! While you would be perfectly justified in saying, I shouldn't be surprised that I don't observe that I'm dead, because after all, if you were dead you couldn't observe it; you should nevertheless be extremely surprised that you do observe that you are alive”.

God is not a mere “god of the gaps”. He’s baked right in to the universe.

Elegant Equations

The universe is governed by mathematical laws which are elegant and precise and beautiful. These laws appear to be true throughout space and throughout time. How can this be? If there were no God you’d expect only chaos.

Common objections: 1) Of course mathematics describes the universe, mathematics was invented for this very purpose. Reply: Even if mathematics was invented rather than discovered, this objection does not explain why the scientific laws are elegant and uniform. 2) Scientific laws do not describe the natural world with certainty nor do they describe most of the natural world.

Mostly spheres revolving around other spheres

Reply: Science has enjoyed considerable success in describing the natural world. 3) Theists say everything needs a designer, but who designed God? Reply: Theists actually defend statements like: everything contingent and designed needs a designer. Someone might suggest the universe designed itself, but a designer has a mind. Does the universe have a mind?

See also: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics

Conclusion

The simplicity of God’s ways relates to the means he adopts, while their variety, richness or abundance relate to ends or effects. ~Discourse on Metaphysics Section 5 by Leibniz

The figures that arouse the ideas of beauty in us seem to be the ones that have uniformity amidst variety. ~The origin of our ideas of beauty, order, harmony, design by Francis Hutcheson

The universe is neither sterile like a jar of formaldehyde nor disorganized like a garbage dump.

A few cling to belief in astrology or the Loch Ness Monster and a few persist in their bleak atheist faith. The corporate media indoctrinates and dictators terrorize some into atheism, but many resist.

There are other problems for atheist philosophers. For example, how can science proceed in a radically disordered, godless universe?

See also: Materialism and Relativism