Section 01
A universe rather than nothing
Theism is more rational than naturalism on the available evidence.
The universe began. The Borde, Guth, Vilenkin theorem (2003) shows that any universe expanding on average has a finite past. Whatever begins to exist requires a cause that is not itself spatial, temporal, or material.
Beyond beginning, the universe is fine tuned. The cosmological constant is calibrated to one part in 10^122. The strong nuclear force has a tolerance of plus or minus two percent. Roger Penrose calculated the initial low entropy state at one in 10^10^123.
Naturalism’s available answers are brute necessity or the multiverse. Both are unfalsifiable. Theism is the simpler hypothesis: a transcendent mind that does not itself require an external cause.
I now believe there is a God. I now believe that the universe was brought into existence by an infinite Intelligence.
Antony Flew, formerly the leading philosophical atheist, There Is a God, 2007, p. 88.
By the numbers
- Cosmological constant
- 1 in 10^122
- Strong nuclear force
- ± 2 percent
- Penrose initial entropy
- 1 in 10^10^123
Strongest counter position
Sean Carroll, The Big Picture (2016), argues that physics is empirically complete and morality is constructed by minds. The site engages it directly in the knowledge base.
What this does not prove
These arguments make theism more rational, not certain. A committed naturalist can hold their position by accepting brute necessity or the multiverse.
Citations
- Borde, Guth, Vilenkin, Physical Review Letters, 2003.
- Roger Penrose, The Road to Reality, 2004.
- David Chalmers, The Conscious Mind, 1996.
Goes deeper