“When you realize that the laws of nature must be incredibly finely tuned to produce the universe we see, that conspires to plant the idea that the universe did not just happen, but that there must be a purpose behind it.”
. John Polkinghorne, (Physicist).
https://unsplash.com/@bmowinkel
There are thoughts that shimmer in our heads and hearts in our silent moments. Arising unexpectedly like the Northern Lights. Awe-inspiring in their scope. They reach the deepest parts.
Why are we here? Why is there something rather
than nothing? Why does our solar system work? Why is the earth filled with a
bountiful array of fruit and vegetation. Why do we love? Why is the earth so pretty. Who made all this?
As a child I had an ache to know who created the wonderful planet we live on. Afterall, this didn't just happen, it all seemed so purposeful.
One profound fact that confirmed this as I got older, was the fine-tuning of the cosmos. Four of those fundamental physical forces are electromagnetism, gravity, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force. The minutest tweak with any of these constants would send humans into oblivion.
I would ask questions like "What prompts the electron to spin round the atom?" "What compels the photon, when you cut it down the middle, and put one half in Australia and the other in UK, that it still behaves as one in this dance of molecular entanglement ?" I could only see a wise and purposeful designer behind all this?
Some may argue that with all the possible universes that exist, by the law of averages, one solar system would have accidently produced the goods for life. Really? We are dealing with figures that are infinitely unlikely and beyond the laws of averages. Besides, even if that were true, there is still the matter of where matter came from.
But that is not all. What about DNA? Look at the image above, what do you see? Would you say that these crude images just appeared on the rock by accident? No. The truth is some intelligent mind formed it on the landscape. Now look at the image below. It is far more complex than the Mount Rushmore images of former presidents of the USA. And yet, many acquiesce to the irrationality of it all.
The Occam's Razor concept proposes that we go for the simplest explanation
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20 (BSB).
DNA image by https://unsplash.com/@3dparadise