Christian apologetics and evidence for the existence of God
Published 04/24/2014
The creation of the Universe and evidence of the existence of God. In our articles we use various evidence and do not try to deny any religion or belief. We are only trying to scientifically support the idea that there is “someone” behind the creation of our Universe, many call him God, and scientific evidence supports our conclusions.
At the beginning of the 21st century, a growing and aggressive campaign was launched to destroy religion. Most of what atheists like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Michael Shermer say is absolutely true, since all these religious wars, intolerance and persecution really came to us through many centuries. Atheism does not have the best track record, and in their books, authors such as Alistair McGrath, Paul Chamberlain and others have effectively countered most of the attacks directed by the atheist community against faith in the 21st century. Most of us may have little interest in these philosophical and theological debates, but on a practical level, our faith should not depend on the opinions of people and on who best voices their philosophical position.
Creation of the Universe: did everything have a beginning?
Before we begin, it is important to immediately agree on the meaning of the words. We have titled this article “Evidence for the Existence of God” and hope that most people will use the modern meaning of the words. Some atheist authors solve the problem by using unusual meanings of words, which completely changes the concept of the topic being discussed here. A classic example is the word “vacuum”. In the laboratory, a vacuum is a region of space from which absolutely everything has been removed. In the general understanding, vacuum is absolute emptiness. On a cosmological level, the vacuum may be even stronger.
In quantum mechanics, the term "vacuum fluctuations" has been used in various models, but these applications exist in theories about the particles that created the physical universe in which we exist and from which we are made. Stephen Hawking boldly proposed his own model based on these concepts, excluding the existence of God (see “The Supreme Design”, Stephen Hawking). Atheists have even tried to build on this idea, but the fact is that quantum mechanics simply has its own rules and its own vocabulary that describe the theory of behavior of particles such as quarks, bosons, leptons, etc.
In addition to this kind of speculation, we have several authors who talk about the existence of several parallel universes in other dimensions. These are wonderful and interesting assumptions, but unfortunately, they cannot be verified and they have neither direct nor indirect evidence. At any practical level, these are fantasies rather than serious scientific speculations. Scientists have written a number of books on this topic (see, for example, The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin and Hiding in the Mirror by Lawrence Krauss) . New discoveries will likely add a new tone to this debate, but we can only operate on the basis of the physical evidence we have, and not on the basis of assumptions or guesses that cannot even be verified in any way.
So, we return to the question that we had from the beginning - did the Universe in which you and I live have a beginning or not?
The first proof of the creation of the Universe: hydrogen
The hydrogen question. It is believed that hydrogen was used at the starting point to create all the matter that exists in the universe. From hydrogen comes helium and other products, finally giving us a picture of how each element of the periodic table can be formed. The big point here is that hydrogen is not a renewable source. There are no processes in the Universe that could reproduce hydrogen. We have models and experiments that show that under incredibly extreme conditions hydrogen can be produced from energy, but this is not happening today.
Thanks to space, we see that hydrogen is constantly being used to produce heavier elements, so that the total amount of hydrogen in the Universe is constantly decreasing. The universe cannot be infinite in nature, because in this case all the hydrogen would be used up, and we would not see massive clouds of hydrogen in space today. Thus, the amount of hydrogen proves the creation of the Universe - it had its beginning.
The second proof of the creation of the Universe: everything had its beginning
Every school graduate knows that the Universe is expanding. Many experiments confirm not only the fact that galaxies are moving away from each other, but also that the strength of this movement is increasing. The universe is accelerating in its expansion. The expansion of the Universe began from a single point, and various forms of evidence support the idea that the Universe began from an incredibly hot, incredibly small point in space/time called a “singularity.”
Most students of the evidence conclude that time, space and energy/matter had their beginning in this singularity, an event in the past called the Big Bang. What exploded and who caused this explosion is unknown, science cannot answer this question, but what it proves is that everything had a beginning.
Third Proof of the Creation of the Universe: The Second Law of Thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics proves the creation of the universe. One of the fundamental laws of science states that in any closed and left to itself system, everything tends to destruction and disorder. This law explains everything from diffusion to the refrigerator. In space we see many confirmations of this law. The term "heat death" is used for stars or galaxies in which disorder in the system has reached such a level that normal thermal processes can no longer occur.
Stephen Hawking, in his book A Brief History of Time, devoted an entire chapter to the second law of thermodynamics and the fact that everything had a beginning, and then even tried to refute this using the term “imaginary time” he created. Carl Sagan defined the cosmos as: “All this has either already happened or will happen.” This is a very good definition of a closed system in which no energy is added from outside. The Eternal Universe, which had no beginning, would suffer “heat death.”
Day 4: Appearance of the Sun, Moon and Stars in the Sky
“And G‑d said: “Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate the day from the night; and they will be for signs, and for seasons (appointed), and for days and years. And they will be lights in the vault of heaven to give light on the earth!’ And so it was. And God created two great lights: the great light to rule the day and the little light to rule the night, and the stars. And God placed them in the vault of heaven to give light on the earth, and to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning: the fourth day.”
The question of the root cause of existence of all things
If we agree that the cosmos had a beginning and that time, space and energy/matter also had a beginning, then we also need to answer another question - what caused it all to begin? One of the earliest atheistic documents was the so-called “Humanist Manifesto”, which asserted the idea of the “uncreatedness” of the Universe. In recent years, the tactics have changed a little, and now, trying to explain the fact that the Universe came from “nothing,” atheists are redefining this “nothing.” But their assumptions are still not supported by evidence. They didn't really answer the question. We should also remember the most important law of conservation of energy, which states that the energy of a closed system is conserved over time. You cannot destroy or create something without paying attention to this law of conservation of energy. If you agree that the Universe had a beginning, but at the same time you believe that this beginning had no reason for creation, then you will end up with a contradiction with one of the basic laws.
Day 3: Separating land from water. Grass and trees
“And God said: “Let the waters under the heavens flow together into one place, and the dry land become visible!” And it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and He called the flowing waters seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said: “Let the earth grow with shoots, with seed-bearing grass, with a fruit tree, yielding fruit according to its kind, in which its seed is in!” And so it was. And the earth brought forth shoots, seed-bearing grass according to its kind, and a tree that yields fruit in which is its seed, according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning: the third day.”
So, is there evidence that God created the universe?
We continue our discussion, the purpose of which is to show that the dominant reason for the creation of the Universe and everything in it is intelligent design (God). This is the opposite of the idea of the random occurrence of everything that exists. The reason for the appearance of everything in the Universe cannot be in the three-dimensional physical world in which you and I live, but must be outside of time in order to create time. This does not automatically imply that God is the creator of the Universe, because... Recent research in quantum mechanics shows that there are many things that appear to operate outside the three-dimensional world with which we are so familiar. We know different ways of proving the fact that everything that exists was created by intelligent design. We want to briefly present this overview to you, with the hope that any reader can then expand their knowledge on each of these topics on their own.
Intuitive design for everything in the universe
Intuitive design is a look at the world around us without scientific, philosophical or religious prejudices. It is difficult to watch the birth of a child and not be amazed at the amazing complexity of the process. It is difficult to observe the surrounding world and space from a mountain or from a spacecraft and not be amazed by the beautiful creations around. While snorkeling among coral reefs and watching the interactions of living creatures, it is very difficult to remain indifferent. It is simply amazing to watch the migration of birds, whales, turtles, fish and other living creatures. Everything we see around us is filled with evidence of incredible intelligent design, something that many poets and authors have tried to describe over the centuries. The authors of the Bible sing a lot about the beauty of these creations, here are just a few passages:
“The heavens proclaim the glory of the Lord, the vault of heaven proclaims His creations.” (Psalm 18:2)
“Go to the ant, slothful one, look at its actions, and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6)
“From the creation of the world, the invisible, eternal power and divinity of God has been clearly manifested, for all this is visible in what God has created...” (Romans 1:20)
Atheists and skeptics will say that there are natural ways to explain all these things, and we can partly agree with that. The problem is that with each new discovery we need to look for answers to an increasing number of new questions. All suggestions of a possible natural explanation are no more evidence than the assertion that God did it.
Architectural design
There are a huge number of artistic and architectural functions in creations that radiate incredible beauty, although there is no biological or physical need for this. Fibonacci numbers, for example, are visible in every aspect of creation, from the shape of galaxies to the spirals of DNA. This ratio and these spiral structures do not provide any functional advantage - they are no better than other structures and this does not lead to an increase in the likelihood of survival. We cannot find any reason for their existence and especially cannot understand why they exist in thousands and thousands of different varieties throughout all creation.
The Fibonacci numbers and various spiral structures are of incredible beauty. All creations are literally teeming with examples of such beauty, which in itself is not functional, but rather attracts attention, as if calling to comprehend and appreciate it. All attempts to attribute the origin of all this beauty to random processes soon end disastrously.
Mathematical design
In the past few years, we have seen the emergence of many new terms that purport to explain the mathematical probability of the random occurrence of what we see in space. The terms "Irresistible Complexity" and "Anthropic Principle" have been very much promoted by various scientists and philosophers since the beginning of the 21st century. The problem is that the more we study the processes occurring in nature, the more we come to understand the existence of a huge number of necessary parameters, only in the presence of which the existence of everything that we see in the Universe is possible. Chaos theory helped us understand that those things that we thought were chaotic only seemed so because of their very complex behavior, our lack of experience and the level of development of the tools to measure them. All this made it difficult to see the incredible design that exists in the Universe.
Creation History and Evolution
The description of this creation is described in the Book of Genesis. The statement of this fact is attributed to Moses. It is the first narrative that speaks about the creation of the world according to the Bible, day by day. This text occupies the first and second chapters of the book. The narration comes in the form of a description of the work week. A large number of us think that the last day is Sunday. But this is where many of us are mistaken. The text indicates Saturday as a day off.
Scientists note that the earth was initially unstructured and empty. It was covered in darkness and for life to appear on it, some more time had to pass.
But not all scientists were of the opinion that the creation of the world was the work of the Lord. Atheists who are quite skeptical about this issue. They compare the creation of the world according to the Bible and the theory of evolution and find great differences in them. A large number of studies have been conducted that tend to favor the view that life on earth appeared after some changes, but not God’s intervention.
The best article for you, go to: Protestants, how they differ from Orthodox Christians
They do not deny the possibility of something higher, but it is unlikely that it somehow influenced the development of life on earth. In the natural sciences, the origin of life on the planet had a slightly different development. It is in connection with great strides in the field of knowledge of the world that the discussion between these two warring camps has somewhat intensified.
Friction on this issue has been going on for decades and will continue for a long time. Scientists will defend their point of view, and believers will strongly affirm the hand of the Lord that he put into this matter.
How one feels about this fact is purely personal. But we should not forget that no matter what knowledge we have and no matter how far progress has gone, sometimes it is worth bowing before the greatness of the miracle of the Creator.
May the Lord protect you!
Day 6: Creation of Animals, Insects and Humans
“And God said: “Let the earth bring out every living thing according to its kind: cattle, and creeping things, and every living thing of the earth, according to its kind!” And it was so. And God created every animal of the earth according to its kind, and cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And G‑d said: “Let us create man in our image, after our likeness!” And they will have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crawls on the earth.” And G-d created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that crawls on the earth!” And to everyone. to every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that crawls on the earth, in which there is a living thing, every green herb is for food. And so it was. And God saw everything that He created, and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning: the sixth day.”
