One of the primary evidences for a designer, or Creator, of the universe is what is called “fine tuning”. What most astronomers and physicists point to as evidence for design is the incomprehensible level of fine tuning as it applies to the fundamental constants and quantities of the universe.
The very structure and existence of the universe is determined by these numbers. Examples of these constants include the strong and weak nuclear force, gravity, and electromagnetism. Scientists have discovered that each of these numbers, and several others, have been precisely set at an incredibly narrow life permitting range. If any of these numbers were altered by even a hair’s breadth, life would not be possible anywhere in the universe.
It is admitted by many atheists that this fine-tuning represents the strongest argument for the existence of God. Freeman Dyson, the brilliant theoretical physicists, said “The more I examine the universe and the details of its architecture, the more evidence I find that the universe in some sense must have known we were coming.”
Steven Hawking said, “The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been very finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.” This begins to sound very much like Genesis chapter 1 doesn’t it?
You see, these constants and quantities are very difficult to explain by naturalism or randomness. Why? How precisely fine-tuned is the universe? Let me try this example. There are about 10^20 grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth. If I removed one grain of sand from any one beach anywhere on the planet, life would not be possible. Our universe is that precisely fine-tuned.
Think about this, the universe would not have been able to sustain life if the expansion rate of the universe less than one second after creation had been one billionth of one percent larger or smaller. If the rate of expansion would have been even slightly greater, then no stars or galaxies would have formed. But if slightly less, then gravity would have caused the universe to collapse in on itself, and there would be nothing but neutron stars and black holes.
A couple of examples closer to home? Our Sun is 93,000,000 miles from Earth. If the Earth were only one percent closer to the Sun, the oceans would vaporize, preventing the existence of life. On the other hand, if our planet were just two percent farther from the Sun, the oceans would freeze and the rain that enables life would be nonexistent. Another example of fine tuning in our solar system is Jupiter. Jupiter is at the precise distance from Earth, and is just the required size, to act as a shield and protect Earth from a bombardment of asteroids and other cosmic debris.
There are hundreds of other examples of this fine-tuning, such as the size of our moon relative to the size of the Earth, the 23 ½ degree tilt of Earth’s axis, the thickness of the Earth’s crust, the rotation speed of the earth, etc. If any of these were slightly different, life would not be possible.
So Christians, in summary, be reassured and encouraged that modern astronomy and astrophysics have clearly demonstrated the overwhelming evidence for design, as well as the incomprehensible degree of fine-tuning of the universe that makes life possible. And it lines up perfectly with the very first verse in the Bible, as well as Psalm 19:1, which tells us that, indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God.
To learn more about the Bible, consider listening to my verse by verse Bible study podcast.
