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Ponders Baptist Church - online |
ready always to give an answer to every man that asks |
Now you may know beyond doubt that God exists. You may gain this knowledge by applying simple logic to well established scientific laws and observations. The approach is strictly secular, so that any Atheist may accept the derivation without the emotional conflicts that arise when confronted with references to Scripture. The simplicity of the argument makes it accessible to anyone with an aptitude for secondary school subjects. It is not necessary to understand statistical physics to conclude that God exists. We will use some of the results of physics to aid in the discussion, but sceptics are always welcome to challenge any premise regarding a principle of physics. We will only apply results that are generally accepted as scientific laws. This derivation considers the measureable part of the universe. In any investigation, there must be a subject of the investigation. For our purposes, we will consider the known universe. The known universe is distinguished by its suitability for measurement. Consider uniqueness. If something material is very unique, we say it is one of a kind. If something is not unique, we say it is common, or like the rest of its kind. In physics, there is a characteristic of things called entropy. Entropy was defined about 150 years ago. In simple terms and without losing accuracy, entropy is a method of assigning a numerical value to uniqueness. If something is unique, its entropy is low. If something is common, its entropy is high. A noteworthy property of entropy is that its change is always associated with a probability. In other words, if a change in entropy may be measured, the odds of the change occurring spontaneously may be calculated . In general, an increase in entropy represents a spontaneous change that is likely to occur and a decrease in entropy represents an unlikely spontaneous change. Everyone knows that unlikely things can happen, but when a change exceeds expectations, we suspect that the change was not spontaneous. When a highly unlikely change occurs, we suspect the change was driven by an external event. Energy flow is one example of a possible external event. Changes in thermal energy may allow crystal formation. Changes in gravitational energy may allow galaxy formation. Statistical laws of spontaneous change are never broken. A common occurrence is always more likely than a unique occurrence. Next we consider the uniqueness of living things. In the known universe, nothing compares to the uniqueness of living things. Nothing comes close. In all of science there is not a firmer foundation of observation, nor has there ever been. Life on Earth represents the highest complexity, the highest order, and the greatest uniqueness in the known universe. Among all observations of science, nothing is more assured. There are many obvious examples. Here are two: Protein motors were discovered about 50 years ago, but few details were known at the time of discovery. In 1985, a biological machine called kinesin was discovered binding and transporting organelles along microtubules in eukaryotic cells. Now we have a greater knowledge of how these complex, microscopic machines perform their life-essential tasks. Now we have a clue how kinesin machines haul their organelle cargo up and down atomic tightropes every day in every living, breathing being. To witness even the animated simulations of kinesin activity is enough to take a thinking person's breath away. The synapse was discovered about 70 years ago. Planet Earth contains approximately 400 times more human synapses than the number of stars in the known universe. Each synapse streams, processes, and stores information in concert with a quadrillion other synapses in a single brain. Every brain may work independently or in concert with other brains swapping information. Nothing else in the universe compares in complexity and uniqueness in terms of signal processing. Taken together, nothing else in the universe conceives of the universe. Let us use our brains to answer these questions: When did the universe become aware of itself? Did that event represent a change in the universe? Did that event represent a common change or a unique change in the universe? Did the entropy of the universe rise or fall with the inception of life? Can anyone name another event in the known universe that represents a greater change in entropy than the inception of life? The above questions culminate with the final question (repeated for emphasis): Can anyone name another event in the known universe that represents a greater change in entropy than the inception of life? The complete answer is, no. Let's review: A change in entropy is related to the odds of that change occurring spontaneously. The largest change in entropy represents the largest change in probability. The greatest decrease in entropy represents that which is least likely to happen spontaneously. That means that all other events are more likely. The greatest decrease in entropy in the known universe is represented by the inception of life. To conclude: The notion that life appeared in the universe spontaneously is the least likely event in the known universe. All other events are more likely. Therefore, nothing can be more certain: life did not arise spontaneously. If life did not arise spontaneously, then life arose by an influence beyond the universe. Since the universe is material, that which created life is immaterial and beyond the universe. This we know as God. Therefore, God exists. Common arguments against God: 1. There are events in every environment. Some are likely and some are unlikely. That means that one event is expected to be the most unlikely, yet it occurs. This argument assumes that all events are spontaneous, especially the one considered most unlikely. If the environment has both spontaneous events and deliberate events, then the event considered most unlikely to occur spontaneously is properly expected to be deliberate. (Exercise: Given that railroad bridges exist in the known universe, determine whether they formed spontaneously. Compare the complexity of a railroad bridge to that of a grasshopper.) 2. The first appearance of time, space and energy could be a greater change in entropy if it could be proven that nothing existed, then something existed. For our purposes, this represents a transition from no universe to universe. That is a consideration that exceeds the bounds of scientific investigation. Here we are considering changes in entropy or uniqueness within the known universe. 3. The expansion of the universe allows for small pockets of low entropy. The total energy in a closed system is conserved. Remove a bit here and the same amount shows up there. The quantity doesn't change. Angular momentum is the same way. It is a conserved quantity. Entropy, however, is not conserved. It follows statistical rules and statistical rules do not conform to pockets. An event doesn't become likely in a corner of a room where it's unlikely everywhere else. Therefore, There is no longer an intellectual place to hide from God. |
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