Evidence for God in Physical Design Archives - Page 5 of 59

December 28, 2023December 27, 2023

Major Factors for Rejecting Faith in God

Polls show that belief in God among Americans has declined over the past few years, and most dramatically among Gen-Zers. Generation Z is the term used to describe those born between the late 1990s and early 2000s (approximately 1997 to 2012). This generation grew up with access to the internet and portable digital technology. What are some major factors for rejecting faith in God?

Stephen C. Meyer said that the Discovery Institute surveyed people if they agreed with this statement: “The findings of science make the existence of God less probable.” Among self-proclaimed atheists, 65% agreed, and 43% of agnostics agreed. What these people perceive about science has influenced their belief in God. However, as we have said before, science supports faith in God.

In recent years, scientific discoveries have given us more reasons to believe in God. One significant discovery is that the material universe had a beginning. Evidence for that appeared in the 1920s, was confirmed in the 1960s, and further reinforced in the 21st century. The Bible tells us that in verse 1, but it took scientists years to accept the evidence. Anything that begins to exist must have a cause. The cause of the material universe must be outside of time and space and, therefore, immaterial. Science recognizes that time, space, matter, and energy all had a beginning, but they could not have created themselves.

A second discovery that points to an intelligent Creator is that the universe was fine-tuned for life from the beginning. Many physical constants must be precisely as they are for life to exist. More than that, without precision fine-tuning of the physical laws and constants, the universe itself would not exist. Chance cannot explain the precision because so many precise factors must work together.

A third discovery that came into a fuller understanding in the 21st century is the design of the digital code in the DNA molecule that makes life possible. This design has been there since the emergence of the first living cell. We have no examples of information being created without a mind to create it. Information does not happen by chance.

In those three recent discoveries, science rediscovers God. Then what are the major factors for rejecting faith in God? More on that tomorrow.

Reference: Stephen C. Meyer on “Has Humanity Forgotten God” on YouTube

December 21, 2023December 19, 2023

Natural Science Cannot Answer these Questions

Natural science cannot answer these questions we examined yesterday:
1- ”Why does the universe exist?”
2- ”How did something come from nothing?”
Science is very good at answering “how” questions but not as good with “why” questions. Let’s look at two more “why” questions.

3- ”Why are the physical constants precisely tuned to support conscious life?”
Science has determined that the universe’s physical constants are fine-tuned to support our existence. They are fine-tuned with such precision that it could not be merely accidental, and this precision makes scientists who don’t want to believe in God very uncomfortable.

If you eliminate an intelligent Creator, there seems to be only one possible explanation for the apparent fine-tuning. It’s the “multiverse” idea. This proposal suggests that an almost limitless number of universes exist with various physical constants. We are lucky enough to be in the one universe with precise constants to support conscious observers like us. Therefore, it is merely an accident that we see the physical constants as being fine-tuned; otherwise, we wouldn’t be here to observe them.

The multiverse concept is not scientific since it cannot be proven or disproven. It lies outside of the limits of science. Furthermore, if you can’t explain the emergence of one universe from nothing, how can you explain an infinite number of universes from nothing?

Since science has set limitations on itself, it also can’t answer this question:
4- “Why do I exist?”
It’s a question that probably everyone thinks about at some time in life. “Why am I here?” “What is my purpose?” Regardless of how you ask the question, the answer is what gives meaning to life. Science can’t answer the question, but without an answer, many people give up on life. The lack of an answer is perhaps the biggest problem in today’s world, especially among young people.

Natural science cannot answer these questions because the answer is supernatural. God loves you and designed you for a purpose. He came into our world in a physical form we know as Jesus Christ. (See John 1:1-14.) From a humble birth to a perfect life, He showed us how to live. By His sacrifice on the cross, He demonstrated God’s love. If you take time to ponder this, you will realize that the questions natural science can’t answer are the most important ones.

December 20, 2023December 19, 2023

Questions Science Can’t Answer

There are some things science can’t explain – some questions science can’t answer. Furthermore, science will probably never explain them because science cannot answer these questions by natural explanations. The unanswerable questions include:

1-“Why does the universe exist?”
You could also say, “Why is there something instead of nothing?”

2-“How did something come from nothing?”
The first question leads us to ask this second one. If there was nothing before everything came into existence, “How can everything come from nothing?” In fact, “How can anything come from nothing?” Science proposes that the “Big Bang” was when time, space, matter, and energy all came into existence. If nothing existed before, how can something come from nothing with no cause?

These are questions science can’t answer. Therefore, scientists look for ways to redefine “nothing” to mean something other than absolutely nothing. But how can it be nothing if it is something, and what was the something? The problem science has with these questions is that they don’t have natural explanations. Modern science has limited itself to natural explanations, placing the supernatural outside of the scope of science. To say that anything is outside of nature’s realm goes against the scientific dogma.

Many of today’s scientists insist that nothing exists beyond the natural things they can measure. Astronomer Carl Sagan famously said, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be.” Since the supernatural is beyond science’s limited boundaries, science can never answer these two questions. But those are not the only questions science can’t answer. We will look at two more tomorrow.

December 19, 2023December 18, 2023

The Design of Dirt

Most of us take dirt for granted and perhaps even have a negative attitude toward what lies beneath our lawns and gardens. We may not realize that soil is a complex structure designed for life and that many life forms live in it. We should take a moment to consider the design of dirt.

There are many kinds of soil, and the amount varies widely in different environments. In deserts or polar areas, we find very little soil. For example, in Alaska, the soil is very thin, but life there is supported by the yearly migration of salmon. In desert areas, we may have only sand and no soil. Also, volcanic regions may have no soil since soil takes time to develop. Volcanic rock coming out of the lava flow is usually very sterile.

Because of the design of dirt, it is home to 59% of Earth’s species. Scientists have identified twelve families of living organisms that survive in the soil. Some of these are more familiar, such as mollusks, arthropods, fungi, protozoans, bacteria, viruses, plants, and even mammals. Less well-known are nematodes, oligochaets, enchytraeids, and archaes.

Humans depend on all of these life forms for food, fiber, and the survival of the animals humans use for food. Life on land could not exist without the organisms living in the soil beneath our feet. Using chemicals on soil threatens its ability to provide what we need to survive. Agriculture is moving toward more efficient and effective methods of growing our food. Efforts to duplicate the design built into Earth’s soil are proving to be a challenge.

In the Garden of Eden, everything humans needed to eat was already growing. God had designed soil that produced the plants; all the first humans had to do was gather it. When God expelled them from the garden, they were forced to deal with an Earth that was out of balance. They had to control the soil and what grew in it. We can try to copy God’s design of soil, but we are only beginning to understand how complex it is and what it takes to maintain a working environment. God’s wisdom is seen everywhere we look, even down to the design of dirt.

Reference: “The Soil Contains Multitudes” in the January/February issue of American Scientist, page 8.

December 15, 2023December 12, 2023

The Magnitude of the Creator and His Love

Dr. James C. Peterson, writing in the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, gave some astounding numbers to help us comprehend the magnitude of the Creator. These facts should cause amazement that God could care about us as individuals.

Peterson writes, “There are 12 times as many stars in our galaxy as there are people on our planet.” It is hard to comprehend that God knows about me at all when you realize that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and there are two trillion galaxies that we know of. Peterson points out we are on a dot (planet Earth) compared to the size of the Sun, which is a dot compared to the size of our galaxy.

Despite those facts, God knows my name and how many hairs are on my head (Luke 12:6-7). The Creator of the cosmos “knows within me my thirty trillion cells, and the three billion base pairs of my personal DNA copied in a complete set, inside each of my nucleated cells.” It has been said that the more we know about the creation, the more we comprehend the magnitude of the Creator.

The psalmist David seemed to comprehend the magnitude of the Creator as he looked at the stars without telescopes and marveled at their creation. In Psalms 19:1, David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” In Psalms 139:13-15 David writes, “…you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret…”

Today, as we look outward with our telescopes and inward with our microscopes, we have more reason to be amazed than David ever did. David wrote in Psalms 8:3-4, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

There is more to fill us with awe than just the magnitude of the Creator. We also marvel at the magnitude of His love. Jesus spoke of the “agape” form of love, which considers every human to be of incredible worth no matter who they are or their station in life. Earth would be at peace if all humans could grasp that concept. Perhaps someday, enough of us will realize that our concept of the Creator is too small and the value we place on the creation and on our fellow humans is too limited to allow war to continue.

Reference: Dr James C. Peterson writing in the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, December 2023 issue, page 153.

December 8, 2023December 5, 2023

Climate Change Is Controversial, but Not Rosalynn Carter

Climate change is controversial in America today. We can’t factually deny that the climate is changing and that the world’s climate has changed in the past in very dramatic ways. The dinosaurs lived in a very different climate than we have today. It is a fact that there has been climate change in the past five years, causing changes in ocean temperatures and precipitation, melting glaciers, and changing the behavior of hurricanes. Those facts can be easily documented. The debate is over whether human activity has caused these changes or is one factor in them.

Politicians have actively denied or supported the belief that the climate is changing. In Texas, climate change politics has created a war over what school textbooks should say about it. The Texas State Board of Education decides which textbooks the 1000+ school districts can use. Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, has said that some textbooks were removed from the approved list “because of their personal and ideological beliefs regarding evolution and climate change.” Politician Wayne Christian has urged the board “to choose books that promote the importance of fossil fuels for energy production.”

Economic issues are involved in the political wrangling about climate change. Many of the complaints about textbooks come from people who worry about how climate change hysteria will affect their incomes. Texas is “the oil-rich state,” and curtailing the use of fossil fuels would hit them in the pocketbook.

For Christians, this debate distracts from the spiritual message Christ has called us to bring to humanity. Words spoken by Tony Lowden at the recent funeral of Rosalynn Carter reminded me of the difference between the Christian message and divisive politics. The pastor said, “There’s no place on this earth that you can find anyone that has anything bad to say about Rosalynn Carter. Not one word. Not a news article. Not even one person on the left or anybody on the right. I believe … the reason why is because she did not worship the donkey or the elephant. She worshipped the lamb.”

Climate change is controversial, but wherever we stand, let us bring the love and caring of Christ to humanity while avoiding the politics of division.

Reference: Rosalynn Carter tributes on cnn.com

December 7, 2023December 5, 2023

Earth Is Designed to Sustain Humans

Nearly every day brings an announcement of discoveries by various space agencies showing that our unique planet Earth is designed to sustain humans.

The Webb space telescope found a planet as large as Jupiter but much less dense, and researchers have dubbed it the “cotton candy planet.” It has winds up to 10,000 mph and large amounts of sulfur dioxide in an atmosphere of sand that acts like rain. Another discovery from the Webb space telescope is that there are free-floating planet-sized objects similar in size to Jupiter but not in orbit around any star. No model of planet and star formation explains these strange objects.

Discoveries of the Webb telescope show the complexity of the cosmos, complicating travel in space. Additionally, NASA has released data showing that humans suffer significant body changes in weightlessness for an extended time. Astronaut Scott Kelly was in space for roughly a year, and his heart diminished in size by nearly a third and became rounder. Astronauts have had bone density changes of up to 2% a month, and radiation significantly affects their DNA. Reported psychological issues called “detachment phenomena” make astronauts unreceptive to instructions from mission control.

Humans were created to live on planet Earth, and Earth is designed to sustain humans. Simply transporting humans to a space environment doesn’t work easily. Creating an environment similar to what God gave us will require massive scientific work and may be impossible. The idea that people can survive on other planets going around other stars in the near future makes good science fiction but is not practical. We must learn to get along and solve our problems here on Earth. The belief that we are here by chance becomes harder and harder to accept as we learn more about both space and ourselves.

Reference: The Week for December 8, 2023, pages 11 and 22, and October 20, 2023, page 22.

December 4, 2023December 3, 2023

The Treasury of the Snow

“Have you entered the treasury of the snow…?” (Job 38:22”. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater…” (Isaiah 55:10). “He gives snow like wool …” Psalms 147:16).

That is just a sampling of the Old Testament understanding of the importance of snow. Many of us don’t view snow as a treasure, not realizing how snow does things that rain cannot do. The fact is that snow is essential to humans as well as many forms of animal and plant life. We couldn’t live without the treasury of the snow.

Snow on the mountains locks up water during winter and releases it gradually during the summer. Rain comes all at once and is quickly gone, as many of us have experienced flooding in the past year. If that moisture came as snow, there would be no flooding, and melting snow would gradually provide water for plants and animals. Falling snow also has a cleaning effect, as Job 9:20 suggests.

In the winter, snow allows small animals like vols, moles, chipmunks, and field mice to feed on plants and insects they would not have access to in summer. They can even raise their young under the protection of snow. When the snow melts, larger animals can feed on these smaller ones, preserving the balance of the food chain. Even in winter, the larger animals can catch some of them because the snow does not block the sound of their scurrying. The whole food chain is affected by the treasury of the snow.

Snow formation is due to the water molecule’s design and not some accident. The polarity of the water molecule means it has positive and negative ends. That creates the beautiful snowflake shapes. As water freezes, the molecules latch onto each other, and the volume of the water expands. This allows lakes to freeze on the surface since the density of ice is lower than that of liquid water. Non-polar materials do not expand as they freeze.

Romans 1:20 tells us we can know there is a God through the things He has made. The treasury of the snow is an essential part of God’s design to allow life to survive.

November 17, 2023November 14, 2023

The Purpose for the Cosmos

Scientists and philosophers speculate on the question, “Why Is There Something Instead of Nothing?” The question is why our solar system exists and why there should be countless galaxies other than our Milky Way. Part of this question no one can answer, at least not at the present time. What is the purpose for the cosmos?

Is there intelligent life in any of the other solar systems? We can’t answer that question yet. However, if God’s purpose in creating the physical world in which we live is to advance the battle between good and evil, would He also do that in other places? Isaiah 55:8-9 challenges us to understand that God is not limited to our capacity to think and understand. In that passage, God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways … For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Science fiction writers have created a whole industry on the assumption that the war between good and evil is ongoing and not limited to the planet on which we live.

A theologian may object to the possibility of other planets with intelligent life, saying, “So you think that Jesus died more than once and experienced more than one resurrection?” The answer to that is “no.” The biblical account is limited to planet Earth. However, many years ago, on a Larry King talk show with an atheist, a caller asked the atheist, “What would you do if a spaceship landed on the White House lawn and a little green man jumped out with a Bible in his hand and said, ‘Has Jesus been here yet?'” My atheist opponent smiled and said, “Punt.”

God may provide a different means for the battle between good and evil than what we see on planet Earth. The point is that there is a purpose for our existence and a purpose for the cosmos. God may use other places and methods to carry out that battle. On a cosmic level, the atheist has no purpose for existing.

Another point we must consider about why the universe exists is that all we see in the cosmos may simply be the result of the creation of time, space, and energy in the beginning. We now understand that the “big bang” singularity was not just a physical process. God created time and space, and matter-energy was engrained in the fabric of space. For us humans, limited to our five senses and able only to comprehend the changes in our physical world, the purpose for the cosmos is beyond our current understanding.

Recent advances in quantum mechanics have shown that time did have a beginning and that the fabric of space contains all the residual matter produced by the creation process. God was not just concerned about the scientifically ignorant population of the days of Moses and Christ. God knew that humans would eventually come to understand the creation process to such an extent that we could see evidence of God’s hand in the cosmos. As God’s ultimate creation, it makes sense that humans would seek to know the purpose for the cosmos.

We suggest that what makes humans unique and special is our spiritual makeup, being created in the image of God. Our physical qualities are of secondary importance. The whole message of the cosmos is that God is a God of incredible power, wisdom, and purpose. The universe radiates that, and the more we see of the creation, the more we understand of its Creator.

November 8, 2023November 7, 2023

How the Mpemba Effect Works

Yesterday, I warned of the danger of trying to solve an argument using the scientific method when people want to stick to their preconceived ideas. The argument I referred to was between my family members about whether hot or cold water freezes faster. The truth is that the phenomenon where hot water freezes faster is called the Mpemba effect after an African secondary school student who brought it to the attention of a British physicist. Even though it had been observed since Aristotle’s time, most people didn’t believe it, and nobody seriously attempted to explain how the Mpemba effect works.

Perhaps the reason science ignored the Mpemba effect is because it seems illogical and unreasonable. In 2013, Xi Zhang and colleagues at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore presented a possible solution to how the Mpemba effect works. Water molecules contain one atom of oxygen bonded to two atoms of hydrogen (H₂O). The oxygen atom shares an electron with each hydrogen atom in what is known as covalent bonding.

In addition to the covalent bonding within the water molecules, the separate molecules are held together by hydrogen bonds. Water molecules are polarized, and since water is a liquid, the molecules move around. When a hydrogen atom in one molecule is close to the oxygen atom in another molecule, hydrogen bonds loosely hold them together. Hydrogen bonds explain the surface tension of water, its relatively high boiling point, and how the Mpemba effect works.

As water is heated, the molecules move faster, stretching the hydrogen bonds, causing them to store energy, and allowing the covalent bonds to relax and give up some energy. Covalent bonds giving up energy is equivalent to cooling, allowing the heated water to freeze faster. In a 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation, Yunwen Tao and co-authors described using vibrational spectroscopy and modeling to show that hydrogen bonds can explain how the Mpemba effect works.

Other factors can be involved in water freezing to counter the Mpemba effect. Dissolved gases or other impurities, convection currents, evaporation, and even the container can influence the time it takes for water to freeze. The relative initial temperatures and consistency of the water samples are also critical factors.

The bottom line is that the design of water is an essential factor that makes life possible. We have said that before: HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. The fact that hot water can freeze faster than cold is hard to believe, but true. Even harder to believe is that the design of water, the universe, our planet, and life could be accidental, but atheists still argue that those designs all happened by chance. I challenge you to carefully consider where you stand on the existence of a creator God.

References: Gizmodo.com and wikipedia.org