We find ourselves in a remote corner of our universe in a beautiful yet mediocre galaxy. Perched atop a rocky sphere, with two other pebbles in orbit between us and a violent ball of gas, we tenuously enjoy our existence. We occupy the only form of primate body that can possibly wish to know what it all means and why it has worked out reasonably well for us. Considering our isolation and how “lucky” we appear to be, the monkey masses developed a hypothesis: All of this was done just for us.
With the laws of physics perfectly in place to form the elements, the Big Bang gave us the fuel that would later accrete by the God-given gravity. Stars were formed. Their death by explosion created our heavier elements and scattered them across the “heavens”, only to be once again accreted for the purpose of our occupance. This is the story of the manufacture of our home. Or is it? If God created the universe and our habitable planet, it took him a hell of a lot longer than 6 days.
The argument of divine design is a basal product of the credulous mind sloshing in the skull of the ignorant. Superstition, as history has borne out, is the fallback answer to any question to which an answer cannot be immediately settled by our reason. In the infancy of civilization, the answers were few and the invocation of the supernatural to fill the gaps held by stupidity or ignorance was rife. This is why we have so many religions and myths, originating simultaneously in virtually every culture.
The simple truth is that just because we appear to be alone, it doesn’t mean that we are. In fact, it seems highly unlikely. Considering the estimated 14 trillion billion star systems, even if one were to postulate that a planet sitting just the correct distance from it’s star with just the correct orbit to produce an average temperature that would not destroy organic life was a 1 in 1 trillion chance, there should still be about 14 billion planets with some form of life. Some of these might harbor life forms more advanced than humans. Perhaps they are so advanced that they don’t even have religion. Sounds like a great star system on which to retire!
What if the above odds actually turn out to be 1 in 14 trillion billion? What if we are alone? Even then, God is simply not the answer. We can do better than just giving up, which is what constitutes a supernatural answer to a question that can, should, and does have natural answers. Even in the case that we find ourselves to be the only life in the universe, it may then be asserted, and dismissed, that it was all a grand design. It’s always tempting to point to the supernatural explanation when a seemingly rare, nigh impossible event occurs. An example offered by Richard Dawkins in his book, “The Magic of Reality”:
Take a deck of cards, shuffle them, and deal them out to your self and 3 others. Did each of you receive 13 cards of all the same suit? If you did, you have encountered an extremely rare event. In fact, your odds of dealing this hand would be in the octillions (10 to the 27th power). The simple truth is that dealing out four hands of completely suited cards has the same odds of dealing out any other particular combination of cards. What makes this example stand out is that we are pattern seeking creatures, and patterns are incorporated in many card games. If you’re playing spades, and you get 13 spades, it’s the best hand you could have. If you’re playing 5 card draw and you get 13 spades, then the dealer is piss drunk and it’s time to call it a night.
The earliest period of our planet, in which many scientists believe organic replicating molecules were formed (perhaps descended from inorganic replicating crystals), was not a hospitable place for the aerobic life that now constitutes higher life forms. In fact, it would be Hell on Earth. There was most likely little or no oxygen. Oxygen became more prevalent as photosynthesis evolved because it was a byproduct (waste). From that time forward, life evolved as conditions on the planet changed, and it evolved to thrive in them via natural selection. Life made the planet habitable for other life, and so nature keeps rolling forward. Life will continue to evolve as conditions change, as long as the planet does not get too hot or cold (or irradiated, or destroyed by asteroids, etc) and life-critical proteins aren’t denatured by the extremes.
Any conscious creature that finds itself in the appropriate environment for its existence and ability to ponder its origins would be tempted to draw the conclusion that the universe was designed with them in mind. However, it’s a fallacy. If you’re reading this, you by definition must be encapsulated in one of the aforementioned environments, regardless of the rarity of this occurrence. One could never disprove that the universe was not designed for you and your windbag Christian neighbor, but reality works without that assumption.
Just because something seems implausible, doesn’t mean that turning to a solution involving some form of un-natural intervention (ie divine design in this case) is illogical.
If I found a turtle on a fence I may not be able to explain how it got there, but I know for a fact that it didn’t get there by itself. Just as I would assert that we didn’t end up in this perfect universe (which as you say is rather unlikely, right?) by ourselves.
Making an assertion on how a turtle was put on a fence and an assertion on how a whole universe came to be is two distinct things… Trying to compare a turtles misfortune and the existence of a whole universe is unimaginably different. You can discuss with children about a turtle, but for child like theories to come into play, look toward religion. For real theories, we look towards science and its facts and theories that are related to facts.
If you make the comparison you just did, then we can say, If Jesus and his teachings are real, then so are Abraham’s. So… I guess if that shall be your factual evidence, we should all be in hell within a few decades… Right?
Making a comparison between two things in the form of an analogy is common logical device, as you used at the end of your response.
In engineering, complicated systems can be broken down into a simpler, more easy-to-explain form , often using assumptions called a model. In Thermodynamics for example, a complex diesel engine may be broken down into several or even a couple of basic steps.
So in my model for the universe, I don’t have the complete answers to how it got there. But there is no fallacy in saying that it did not get there by itself. Honestly, can you describe how our universe and world came to be?
As far as what reality is concerned, the experimental method of science has its place for drawing conclusions about the world around us, but it doesn’t give us every answer. It can’t tell us what the meaning of life is, or speak on issues of moral living.
Can I ask you something? Does fear exist? According to the experimental method, I can not see, hear, smell taste, or touch it. Can you scientifically quantify fear? So how do I know it’s real? Or based on your own experience, do you have faith that it is something real?
I have a lot of respect for you. You have a lot more faith than I do. You have faith the universe came to be over an EXTREMELY long time, through a series of occurrences, which may have been random. And that somehow life suddenly emerged out of the elements, and was able to shape itself over a LONG time into something more and more complicated. Which seems to be in contrast to the statement of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics that a system left to itself will go from a state of order to disorder (entropy) in an irreversible process.
And you seem to have a TON OF FAITH that you are right. You can use logic to reach all sorts of theories, but it doesn’t equate to correctness, as in people convinced that we never landed on the moon.
I know I could be wrong, but am willing to accept that as possibility.
Thanks for responding, and I sincerely hope my response did not come across as snarky.
Bryce
Bryce,
The thing is this…. We are getting into word play here… You say I have faith in Atheism, you trying to assert that it is a religion of sorts. Faith is a word that you use when you trust in something with absolutely no evidence supporting said theory. I Believe in science and its Facts and Theories! You have Faith in your religion and silenced god. By natural responsibilities to my fellow human and Atheists, I DO NOT have Faith in anything. I Believe in scientific proofs and evidence pointing to the empirical evidence of the non-existence of deities.
Now that we have confirmed your faith and my belief, we shall move on from here.
I will admit that science does not give the answers for everything, and quite frankly, I am glad of that fact. What a boring world it would be if we knew everything? It would be a world full of prepubescent girls in a locker room bitching about their parents and I do not like the Housewives of Orange County…
You are much too willing to throw what you do not know into the God of the Gaps argument. What science cannot prove, it must prove the existence of a god… But the thing is, the more science proves, the more gaps there are to fill, smaller, but more of them. I am not willing to play this game.
You say that science cannot tell us the meaning of life or give us the moral necessities in life… I beg to differ! I think that psychology has came a long way the past 40 to 50 years and I think by way of psychology and the study of genetics we are finding more and more ways to help our moral ways and mental incompatibilities and sicknesses. How you can think that we get our moral value from a book that supports rape, murder, incest and genocide, is beyond my moral code and comprehension. All of these things and more are throughout your holy book….
To answer your questions… Emotions exist. Fear, happiness, sadness… It all exists. Those emotions exist within our conscience and moral capability. It is tangible through physical expression.
Through science we are also realizing that life isn’t so rare after all. The only thing holding us back is the actual proof. Our society is so distant from other possible life, it is unprovable due to technology not being able to reach that far into the cosmos as of yet.
Let me ask you, what can the bible assert that science cannot prove?
That’s important to “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
We certainly do not need a holy book or a mythical being to make us realize that. Although we disagree on the subject of a god, I wish you the best in life. I hope that something we have spoken about here will make you realize your nature on this Earth and stop living your life around an outdated fable. The bible is folklore, it has a place in society and our history, but it is in no way a moral guideline.
Thanks for the good wishes, and likewise for yourself. I am always willing to listen and try to understand how “the other side” thinks.
While I am certainly open for debate, I am not the type of Christian that likes to beat people over the head with the Bible, and agree that this casts a negative light on Christianity. Hence why I generally avoided bringing up Scripture.
In a similar manner, I can only hope that my interactions, dealings, and debates with others, including yourself, sheds light. If I am convinced of my Faith and Salvation, wouldn’t I be a horrible person not to want to share it with others? But again, I don’t believe it should be done by forcing it down other people’s throats.
On a completely different note: I highly recommend my blog (fieldofburch.com) on travel, miles and points; as I am always looking to increase readership. Fret not, I stray from religious matters as to attract a broader audience.
Again, take care.
Bryce
(In response to entry below, “fieldof burch”)
I do not mind people bringing scripture in to any religious argument. If I am willing to throw it in your face as a bad connotation, then you should make an attempt to show me something worth while in the bible. Something moral. I read the bible, and many different translations also. Know thine enemy. As you, Bryce, make an attempt to point out scientific ways to prove the existence of a creator. But as many have stated before you or I, you do the bible a great disservice, by trying to turn it into a scientific document. Perhaps that is due to the ignorance that wrote it?
I also asked your input in one of my entries to give me something that science cannot prove that the bible asserts. You gave nothing. I again, ask. What?
If you were to make an attempt at beating me over the head with the bible, I would just use it right back against you. I think the book is great for fairy tales and folklore. Not to be taken seriously. A lot of Christians today are using most stories from the bible as stories to try and conjure up reasons for their innate morality. People such as yourself take what you want from the bible and leave the rest for Pat Robertson to twist into BS to blame the non-believers for the natural events occurring in our world today.
You believe that book, you support that book. So you have to accept that books atrocities. Personally, if your God came down on a cloud with Jesus, (Jesus’ skin color would have been black or brown by the way. Just a little fact for you National Socialists and Nascar fans out there) If your God came down with Jesus and Peter and said to all of us, I am your God! I created your ancestors 6,000 years ago and all dinosaurs were herbivores, even T-rex, and I let all of the atrocities occur on Earth because of freewill and I ordered people to murder in my name, rape in my name, pillage in my name, commit incestuousness relations resulting in children in my name, the murder of your own children in my name, the subjugation of women in my name, I detest all gay relations, outside of marriage sexual relations, I detest pigs and shellfish (God’s perfect creations by the way)… The words could not fly out of my mouth fast and loud enough! The devil and Christopher Hitchens on my shoulders as we scream, FUCK YOU! I would absolutely refuse to follow and kneel before a celestial dictator who would allow infants to be thrown in the air and bludgeoned by bayonets, but will allow Romney and Santorum to live in luxury. NO thanks! I will take my fucked up morals, according to you Christians and I will burn forever in your fictitious hell! You can enjoy your dream world of streets of gold and leaven with that immoral piece of shit. If I was Lucifer, I would have packed my shit and left too! You may think of Lucifer as evil or whatever magical theory you have, but at least he is consistent!
You can come to my blog also, I do discuss religion and philosophy there,
(atheismbyfire.blogspot.com)