Is there a God?

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Do you know the world does not have to be like it is? For example, it could be nonexistent!

  Astrophysicists discover numerous evidences of design in our world. 

Since the later half of the 20th century, scientists has discovered that the world has a beginning. It happened roughly 15 billion years ago when matter, energy, space and time were created. It is called Big Bang. 

Most recent scientific discoveries also affirm that not only does the universe has a beginning, it is also "running away". As a result of the Big Bang, the universe is expanding and this expansion is accelerating. That means there is only one beginning, and the universe is neither oscillating nor a self-caused event. The world was indeed created. 

"In the Beginning, God created heavens and earth." Genesis 1:1 

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But a Big Bang does not necessarily result in a world like ours! If subatomic particles created at the Big Bang do not stick together, there will only be gas in the universe, thus no stars or galaxies and no Earth. If such nuclear force is too strong, all matter created at the Big Bang will be compressed, consumed and become black holes, and there will be no chance for life. 

Scientists discovered that for the world as we know it to exist, many parameters have to fall into very narrow range. Just like listening to a radio station, you must turn the dial to a specific frequency. Not just any arbitrary numbers will do. In fact, there are more than 70 such parameters. Scientists call our universe a fine-tuned universe.  The astronomic and cosmological evidences overwhelmingly point to the design of the universe. 

The world is not an accident. It was created and fine-tuned to exist.

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The following are some examples of more than 70 parameters, which enable our world to exist today...

Fine-tuned Parameter What happens if larger.... What happens if smaller...
strong nuclear force constant if larger: no hydrogen; nuclei essential for life would be unstable if smaller: no elements other than hydrogen
weak nuclear force constant if larger: too much hydrogen converted to helium in big bang, hence too much heavy element material made by star burning; no expulsion of heavy elements from stars if smaller: too little helium produced from big bang, hence too little heavy element material made by star burning; no expulsion of heavy elements from stars
gravitational force constant
 if larger: stars would be too hot and would burn up quickly and unevenly if smaller: stars would be so cool that nuclear fusion would not ignite, thus no heavy element production
electromagnetic force constant
 if larger: insufficient chemical bonding; elements more massive than boron would be unstable to fission if smaller: insufficient chemical bonding
ratio of electron to proton mass if larger: insufficient chemical bonding if smaller: insufficient chemical bonding
ratio of number of protons to number of electrons if larger: electromagnetism dominates gravity preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation if smaller: electromagnetism dominates gravity preventing galaxy, star, and planet formation
expansion rate of the universe if larger: no galaxy formation if smaller: universe collapses prior to star formation
age of the universe
 if older: no solar-type stars in a stable burning phase in the right part of the galaxy if younger: solar-type stars in a stable burning phase would not yet have formed
initial uniformity of radiation if smoother: stars, star clusters, and galaxies would not have formed if coarser: universe by now would be mostly black holes and empty space
12C to 16O nuclear energy level ratio if larger: insufficient oxygen
 if smaller: insufficient carbon
ground state energy level for 4He if larger: insufficient carbon and oxygen if smaller: insufficient carbon and oxygen
mass excess of the neutron over the proton if greater: neutron decay would leave too few neutrons to form the heavy elements essential for life if smaller: proton decay would cause all stars to rapidly collapse into neutron stars or black holes

 
For complete list of characteristics of fine-tuned universe, visit www.reasons.org 

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With billions of stars and galaxies in the Universe, it makes one wonder if there is complex life like us on other planets? What conditions would allow for and sustain life? Scientists have defined a galactic "habitable zone". Although there are countless of galaxies and stars, each galaxy has only a narrow ring where the physical properties would allow life to form and that they are habitable for life as we know it. Scientists have uncovered more than 150 parameters that any planet, which is a candidate for sustaining life, must meet in order for life to have any chance of success. These parameters, which describe the planet itself, its planetary companions, moon, mother star, and the galaxy it resides in, must have values that fall within narrowly defined ranges for physical life of any kind to exist.

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The following are some examples of more than 150  parameters, which enable any kind of life to exist...

Fine-tuned Parameter What happens if .... What happens if ...
galaxy cluster type if too rich: galaxy collisions and mergers would disrupt solar orbit if too sparse: insufficient infusion of gas to sustain star formation for a long enough time
galaxy size if too large: infusion of gas and stars would disturb sun's orbit and ignite too many galactic eruptions if too small: insufficient infusion of gas to sustain star formation for long enough time
galaxy type if too elliptical: star formation would cease before sufficient heavy element build-up for life chemistry if too irregular: radiation exposure on occasion would be too severe and heavy elements for life chemistry would not be available
galaxy mass distribution if too much in the central bulge: life-supportable planet will be exposed to too much radiation if too much in the spiral arms: life-supportable planet will be destabilized by the gravity and radiation from adjacent spiral arms
parent star distance from center of galaxy if farther: quantity of heavy elements would be insufficient to make rocky planets; wrong abundances of silicon, sulfur, and magnesium relative to iron for appropriate planet core characteristics if closer: galactic radiation would be too great; stellar density would disturb planetary orbits; wrong abundances of silicon, sulfur, and magnesium relative to iron for appropriate planet core characteristics
magnetic field if stronger: electromagnetic storms would be too severe; too few cosmic ray protons would reach planetˇ¦s troposphere which would inhibit adequate cloud formation if weaker: ozone shield would be inadequately protected from hard stellar and solar radiation
surface gravity (escape velocity) if stronger: planet's atmosphere would retain too much ammonia and methane if weaker: planet's atmosphere would lose too much water

 
For complete list of characteristics of fine-tuned universe, visit www.reasons.org 

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Scientists also discover unique attributes of Earth that allow life to exist...
  • Proper distance from the star. If a planet orbits its sun too closely or too far away, liquid water would not exist. There isn't much margin for error here: a change of 5 to 15 percent in Earth's distance from the Sun would lead to the freezing, or boiling, of all water on Earth.
  • Proper distance from the center of the galaxy. The density of stars near the center of the galaxy is so high, that the amount of cosmic radiation in that area would prevent the development of life.

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  • A star of a proper mass. A too-massive star would emit too much ultra-violet energy, preventing the development of life. A star that is too small would require the planet to be closer to it (in order to maintain liquid water). But such a close distance would result in tidal locking . In this case one side becomes too hot, the other too cold, and the planet's atmosphere escapes.

  • A proper mass. A planet that is too small will not be able to maintain any atmosphere. A planet that is too massive would attract a larger number of asteroids, increasing the chances of life-destroying cataclysms.

  • Oceans. The ability to maintain liquid water does not automatically imply that there will be any on the planet's surface. Too much water (i.e., a planet with little or no land) will lead to an unstable atmosphere, unfit for maintaining life.

  • A constant energy output from the star. If the star's energy output suddenly decreases, even for a relatively short while, all the water on the planet would freeze. This situation is irreversible, since when the star resumes its normal energy output, the planet's now-white surface will reflect most of this energy, and the ice will never melt. Conversely, if the stars energy output increases for a short while, all the oceans will evaporate and the result would be an irreversible greenhouse-effect, preventing the oceans from reforming.

  • Avoiding disasters. Any number of disasters can lead to the complete extinction of all life on a planet. This include the supernova of a nearby star; a massive asteroid impact ; drastic changes of climate; and so on.

  • The existence of a Jupiter-like planet in the system. Apparently, Jupiter's large mass attracted many of the asteroids that would have otherwise hit Earth. But if Jupiter is too large, it could lead to a non-stable solar system, sending the smaller planets into the central sun or ejecting them into the cold of space.

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  The existence of a large, nearby moon. Earth's moon, is atypically large and close. Both of Mars's moons, for example, are minor rocks by comparison. The Moon  kept (and still keeps) Earth's tilt stable. Without our right size Moon, the tilt would have changed drastically over time, and no stable climate could exist. If the tilt would have stabilized on a too-large or too-small value, the results could also be disastrous; Earth's tilt is "just right".

  • Plate tectonics. Plate tectonics are required for maintaining a stable atmosphere. Plate tectonics play an important role in a complex feedback system  that prevents too many greenhouse gases from existing in the atmosphere. No other planet (except maybe for Jupiter's moon Europa) is known to have plate tectonics. 
What does this mean?   We come face to face with the fact that the Earth is an extremely unique environment in that it can supports life. Scientists discovered that less than 1 chance in 10282(million trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion) exists that even one such life-support body would occur anywhere in the universe without invoking divine miracles. And here it is: the Earth. Earth is not an accident, nor are we.

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What is more? Recently, scientists noticed even Earth's position  in the universe is not an accident. Earth is precisely positioned in the Milky Way-not only for life, but also to allow us to find answers to the greatest mysteries of the universe.

For example, we have total solar eclipses on earth, and this made it possible for us to learn a great deal about the sun because just the very outer layer of the sun shows around the moon during an eclipse. It's not ordinarily possibly to observe this layer because the sun is too bright, but, when we can observe this layer, we can determine the composition of the sun. Additionally, because these total eclipses happen, we can easily conform Einstein's theory of General Relativity. What if the moon were slightly larger? Then we wouldn't be able to see even this outer layer of the sun during an eclipse, and so would not be able to determine its composition (at least in this way). And if the moon were slightly smaller? Enough of the sun would show that the bright light from the main body of the sun would still swamp out observations of the outer layer. Thus, this sort of observation is only possible because the sun and the moon appear almost exactly the same size in the sky; the ratio is exactly 1:1. which happens only because their sizes and distances happen to be just right. The earth is the only planet in the solar system where such eclipses happen.

Another example, the atmosphere admits visible light, which, of all the possible frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, is the most informative about what's going on elsewhere. Also, our planet happens to be situated in a spot in our galaxy where there is remarkably little "dust", making it possible to see a great deal in outer space. And, we are able to see out of the plane of our galaxy because we're in a ring region, making it possible to easily see other galaxies and other objects very far away. If we were elsewhere in our galaxy, this would likely be very difficult.

Why is it that the conditions for the possibility of life and the conditions for scientific discovery happen to coincide so exactly? Why are we able to see into the stars, or see anything even outside their own solar system, or even determine the composition of their own sun, or confirm General Relativity?

We live in a universe where a designer -- an intelligent agent -- wanted us to be able to make scientific discoveries about His creation, and so He created a planet ideal for both life and scientific discovery.

                                                                                                          More on this subject: www.privilegedplanet.com 

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"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars you have set in place, what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us? For you made us only a little lower than angels,  and you crowned us with glory and honor." (Psalm 8:3-5 NLT)

Human experience reveals supernatural realm. Read the scientific report.