Every now and then, we should reflect on the awesomeness of God. For instance, the gravitational pull is set just right. A stronger pull would crush everything like pancakes. The nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, neon, and ethane mixture in the air is just the right amount to support life. Increase just the carbon dioxide and all of life would be obliterated. The sun’s heat at 10,000 Fahrenheit would incinerate the surface of the earth if it were just a few degrees closer. The molecular structure of the human body (the parts we can’t even see), are so complicated that any biologist who is humble and teachable will admit that there is a Creator. The 59 elements found in the human body are all found in the dirt of the earth. Coincidence? No…Creator.
Physicist Tony Rothman writes, “When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it’s very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it.”
Gary Turner, in an article entitled, Science and Religion—scientific proof that God created, said “In recent years, the scientific community has been stunned by the discovery of how complex and sensitive a set of conditions must prevail in order for the universe to permit the origin…of intelligent life on Earth. The universe appears, in fact, to have been incredibly fine-tuned from the moment of its inception for the production of intelligent life at this point in cosmic history.” He then offered many valid points. I will include just five from his article:
- “If the nuclear strong force were increased by 1%, almost all carbon would be burned into oxygen; an increase of 2% would prevent the formation of protons, yielding a universe without atoms. Decreasing it by 5% would have given us a universe composed only of hydrogen, without any stars. Had the nuclear weak force been slightly weaker, all the hydrogen in the universe would have been turned into helium (making water impossible, for example).
- The spectral energy range of starlight is very close to the molecular binding energies of organic molecules. If it was to…exceed this range, living organisms would be sterilized or destroyed; but if it was far below this range, then the photochemical reactions necessary to life would proceed too slowly for life to exist.
- The length of time that our Sun is able to continue to burn is constrained by both the strength of the gravitational force and by the ratio of the mass of the electron to that of the proton. A fine balance must exist between the gravitational and weak interactions. If the balance were upset in one direction, the universe would have been constituted by 100% helium in its early phase, which would have made it impossible for life to exist now. If the balance were tipped in the other direction, then it would not have been possible for neutrinos to blast the envelopes of supernovae into space and so distribute the heavy elements essential to life.
- Our Solar System has a large planet in its outer regions (Jupiter) which mops up many of the stray meteors, comets and asteroids which might otherwise impact the Earth and cause mass extinctions of life. We have a Moon that is so large and so close to us that it is able to moderate any excessively large shifts in the tilt of the Earth’s axis. Without this, the planet’s climate would fluctuate dramatically, making it very difficult for most living creatures to survive.
- The Earth lies in a zone of the Solar System where the temperatures are such that water exists mainly in a liquid form. This means: It had a medium in which life could get started. It has rain, which enables excess CO2 in the atmosphere to be mopped up and stored in rocks as carbonates. Without this, we could have a runaway greenhouse effect, as Venus does. It has plate tectonics (since the plates need water as a lubricant in order to move around). This enables those same carbonate rocks to be buried under the Earth’s crust and to be recycled in volcanic eruptions. Without this, there would be no CO2 left in the atmosphere at all, and plants would not be able to photosynthesise it.”
The denial of God is not because we lack “facts”; it’s because man suppresses the truth. Denial is an issue of the heart, and pride is the culprit. If this identifies you, don’t continue down this path. Turn to the only One who has the answers: “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad! Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth” (Psalm 97:1-9). How great is our God?