The scientific explanation for the origin of the universe is that it began as a “singularity.” This means that prior to the commencement of the universe, there was nothing. No time, space, or matter. During the initial picoseconds of matter expanding, even the laws of physics did not exist. In spite of the absence of laws, extreme control was being exercised over how matter moved out from its initial expansion.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that disorder always increases with time. The universe must have had a beginning. If it were eternal, then the state of equilibrium between heat and cold would have already become equal, and complete disorder would exist.

According to Theoretical Physicist, Stephen Hawking, before the singularity of the universe, all the laws of physics break down and cease to exist. This requires that the universe, in its state immediately after it began, could not depend upon anything that happened before that moment. In essence, the laws of physics were non-existence prior to the universe, and did not determine how it began nor its initial process.

When the universe began, it doubled in size in one millionth of a second. This rate of expansion was nearly a trillion, trillion times faster than it is expanding today. This gives us an idea just how fast these processes were taking place.

We know that in these microseconds, the universe was not unguided, as the processes necessary to cause an extreme low state of entropy could not happen by chance. The balance between electromagnetism and gravity are set so precisely, and took place so quickly that extreme control was necessary.

By the time that one full second had transpired, the expansion rate of the universe had slowed to a trillionth of what it was at one microsecond. Gravitation was acting as a braking system to slow the expansion due to the remarkable state of compression for all the matter of the universe at that time.

Hawking said that this process, in the first seconds of the universe, was not guided by the laws of Physics but by something else that determined these processes and how it began. This tells us that these critically important events that had no natural guiding process were being directed by something greater than the power that existed in time, space, and matter.

This leaves us with only one explanation: The universe came into existence by an intelligence that is transcendent, infinite, and unlimited.

Gravity And Relativity

When the universe began, the ratio between gravity and electromagnetism were balanced precisely. In order to understand the importance of gravity during the commencement of the universe and how this ratio was set precisely to ensure a life-sustaining universe, we must investigate the circumstances that surrounded this event.

During the initial moments of the universe at 10−⁴³ seconds, had the ratio between gravity and electromagnetism increased by just 1:10⁴⁰, only very small stars would have formed. If this ratio was decreased by the same amount, only very large stars would have formed. Human beings were created from carbon. Carbon is produced by second generation stars.

Archimedes estimated that 1×10⁶³  grains of sand could fit into the entire cosmos.

In a universe that is 75 percent filled with grains of sand (1:10⁴⁰), which is the balance between gravity to electromagnetism, change this balance of gravity to electromagnetism by just one grain of sand, there would be no people on earth.

This illustration helps us understand how a small change in the ratio between gravity and electromagnetism, at the start of the universe, would have ended any chance that our universe could have produced stars that would later make life possible.

Since there were no physical laws in existence at that time, what controlled this ratio? There is no chance that this happened by accident. This leaves only one possibility—it happened on purpose. Purposeful engineering to exact outcomes is only possible by intelligent beings.

In order for the life on earth to be possible much later, at the beginning of the universe, this fine balance between electromagnetism and gravity must be set precisely so that both large and small stars will be present in the universe.

Large stars produce the elements needed for life; smaller stars burn at the precise rate required to sustain life on a planet like earth.

If gravity was any stronger at the early formation of the universe, all stellar matter would bind stronger and smaller stars would use their nuclear fuel at a drastically increased rate, eliminating small stars and making life impossible on earth later. If gravity was any weaker at the beginning, matter would not have clumped together to form much larger structures that would later become stars, and no life would exist on earth today.

The existence of this very narrow ratio between gravity and electromagnetism helps us understand how impossible this environment was at the beginning of the universe.

The fact that this precise ratio was dialed in exactly where it needed to be, for life to be possible on earth nearly 9 billion years later, demands that this ratio was purposely determined before the universe began.

God, knowing the correct ratio between gravity and electromagnetism, set this precisely where it needed to be. This extremely narrow margin that was established at the beginning of the universe makes it impossible that this precise ratio could have taken place by any natural or undirected process.

This is scientific and empirical evidence that allows us to confidently conclude that God was necessary for the universe to exist and human life to be present on earth today.

The universe exists by physical laws which allow us to understand how it exists. These laws do not, at their basic premise, tell us why it exists. Many people have the idea that science understands why the universe came into being in the first place; they do not.

There are several naturalistic explanations which the average person cannot understand, but sound quite intellectual. When we take time to try and understand what scientists are saying about the origin of the universe, we discover shocking realities.

First and most important, all theories for the origin of the universe by a natural process originate from hypothesis that exists only in the theoretical. Mathematical calculations have determined that other universes could exist, which have produced our universe.

The problem with these hypothesis is that they cannot be proven by observation because we cannot see beyond our present universe. All of the evidence that science does have shows that our universe came into existence suddenly, when nothing else existed.

These are the facts of science.

Using only the observable scientific evidence that we do have, and absent a natural cause; the universe came into existence because it was caused.

If it was caused, there must be a supernatural source that is transcendent time, space, and matter because these three did not exist prior to the commencement of the universe.

The physical laws which allow us to understand the universe and govern its function also did not exist before the universe began. As I have previously mentioned, the world’s leading Physicist, Stephen Hawking, said that in the first moments of the universe, there were no physical laws to govern its beginning. Although we can determine that the first microsecond of the universe was controlled to exact a specific outcome, it was not the laws of physics which controlled these processes.

What, then, was the governing power which allowed the universe to begin?

These actions of the universe at its inception and the laws which ensued afterwards stand as empirical evidence of intelligence that allows the universe to function and exist in an orderly fashion, and continue to permit life to exist on earth.

Thermodynamics

One of the baffling questions in the study of the initial moments of the Big Bang is why we have a universe which is clearly designed for life instead of one which would make life impossible. Given the parameters which were present during the first moments of the universe, a vastly different result would be expected. The fine-tuning of the universe, which existed at the beginning of the Big Bang, was so essential for life, that even the basic element of carbon—of which all human beings are made—would not exist had the universe began by any other process.

“It has been frequently argued that there are many curious coincidences in the relations between the constants of Nature upon which life on Earth seems to depend…One of the most striking of such apparent coincidences was revealed with William Fowler’s confirmation of Fred Hoyle’s remarkable prediction of the existence of a particular energy level of carbon which, had it not existed, would have meant that the production of heavy elements in stars would not have been able to proceed beyond carbon, leaving the planets devoid of nitrogen, oxygen, chlorine, sodium, sulphur, and numerous other elements.”  —Roger Penrose, mathematical physicist, mathematician and philosopher of science.

This indicates that all of the “coincidences” in the origin of the universe were actually designed, engineered, and constructed in the precise manner necessary for life on earth much later.

In concluding his estimation of how the universe began, Dr. Penrose moves towards the “miraculous” as the most reasonable explanation for the unique and precise early state of the Big Bang.

“If we do not assume the Second Law, or that the universe originated in some extraordinarily special initial state, or something else of this general nature, then we cannot use the ‘improbability’ of the existence of life as a premise for a derivation of a Second Law that is operative at times earlier than the present. No matter how curious and non-intuitive it may seem, the production of life would (if we do not make a prior assumption of the Second Law) be far less probable to come about by natural means—be it by natural selection or any by other seemingly ‘natural’ process—than by a ‘miraculous’ creation simply out of random collisions of the constituent particles!”

Since a state of extremely low entropy at the beginning of the Big Bang was a primary component in the formation of the early universe—this stands as empirical evidence for design. This initial low entropy most certainly did not happen by chance, as the natural state of the initial universe should have exhibited a very high degree of disorder. The fact that the universe began by a great deal of organization, controlled to exact a specific result that would permit life billions of years later, these details demand an intelligent source.

We should remember that the specific type of universe which developed during the hundred trillion-trillion-trillionth of a second of the initial expansion of the universe were critically controlled by forces unknown to scientists today. From this point and continuing throughout the expansion of the universe, this control has been continually ordered in such a way that life would be possible in one specific Galaxy, one Solar System, and one planet. At the formation of earth, this design continued in directing the absolute necessary constants of the Solar System and the earth, which would allow human life to dwell upon its surface, and prosper.

Why Extremely Low Entropy?

Entropy is the rate of heat loss associated with the specific degree of randomness or disorder within a system. In the beginning of the universe there was an unusually low level of disorder related to heat loss, intimating strict control being instituted, which permitted a specific outcome. The universe should not have come into being with a very low rate of entropy. Given the parameters that were present at the commencement of the universe, there was a great degree of certainty that it would have begun with a very high rate of degradation.

Penrose determined that the presence of an extremely low level of entropy at the Big Bang is indicative of engineering, rather than random fortuity. The probability that this condition would have been present during the initial expansion of the universe is 1 in 10 to 10¹²³.

In his book, “Cycles of Time, An Extraordinary New View of the Universe,” Dr. Penrose describes the existence of low entropy as an essential precursor to life—from the first moments the universe began.

“The entire fabric of life on Earth requires the maintaining of a profound and subtle organization, which undoubtedly involves entropy being kept at a low level.”

“Let us return to the basic question that we have been trying to address in this part, namely the issue of how our universe happened to come about with a Big Bang that was so extraordinarily special—yet special in what appears to have been a very peculiar way where, with regard to gravity, its entropy was enormously low in comparison with what it might have been, but the entropy was close to maximum in every other respect.”

Dr. Penrose illustrates the high degree of impossibility in which the universe was likely to begin with extremely low entropy, by calculating the results of the present universe in reverse, back to the moment the Big Bang began, revealing that the actual level of entropy should have been very high.

“We can get some appreciation of this if we imagine the time-reversed context of a collapsing universe, since this collapse, if taken in accordance with the Second Law, ought to lead us to a singular state of genuinely high entropy.”

In fact, the chance that the precise universe we observe—which began with extremely low entropy—was so astronomically remote, it could not have occurred by chance. In the words of Dr. Penrose, the existence of this condition requires a completely new theoretical explanation.

“The probability of finding ourselves in a universe of such a degree of specialness, if it had come about just by chance, has the utterly absurdly tiny value of around is 1 in 10 to 10¹²⁴, irrespective of inflation. This is the kind of figure that needs some completely different kind of theoretical explanation!”

The way in which the early universe began, under such a low level of entropy, is one of the most puzzling and important questions of science and mathematics today. Described as “aimed with incredible precision,” this defines the origin of the universe as having a supernatural beginning rather than by natural phenomenon.

“That picture would have our collapsing pre-Big-Bang phase somehow ‘aimed’ with incredible precision at such a very special ultimate state, of the same extraordinary degree of specialness that we appear to find in our actual Big Bang.”

Electromagnetism

At −430 (seconds) planck time, an event described as the “Grand Unification Epoch” took place. Electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and the weak interaction were unified as the electronuclear force; while gravity was separated from the electronuclear force.⁠

Theoretical Physicist, Alan Guth, at the Massachusetts Institute of  Technology, put forth the idea in the 80’s, that if during the initial moments of the Big Bang (Moment of Creation), the massive expansion of material was not uniform or controlled, the resulting universe would have been quite disorderly.

Instead, as if by design, a microsecond later, the entire universe jumped in size by ten trillion trillion (1025). It was then that the entire expansion stopped, and a normal rate of expansion began. This rapid and sudden expansion would have “stretched out” the irregularities of the initial disorderly explosion. Once the rapid expansion ceased and a normal rate of expansion started again, the material of the universe could expand into an orderly and even universe.⁠18

What caused the initial sudden expansion, and what force made it cease and stop, only to resume in an orderly fashion?

Guth’s proposal was that antigravity caused the initial sudden and uneven expansion of matter to be quickly diminished, and cease. In the universe’s initial inflation, the expansion of gases was far too fast to form galaxies later in the universe. This problem was solved by the force exerted by antigravity suddenly halting the initial rapid expansion. Amazingly, this all happened in 10-32 seconds (a hundred trillion-trillion-trillionth of a second).⁠

If Not Controlled—A Drastically Different Universe

One of the most startling discoveries in the search for evidence of God in the universe was made by Mathematical Physicist, Sir Roger Penrose. Since the Cosmos has a beginning, we understand today that it is winding itself down to a certain heat death in the distant future, when all the available energy in the universe will be used up in about 10100 years.⁠

“Try to imagine the phase space… of the entire universe. Each point in this phase space represents a different possible way that the universe might have started off. We are to picture the Creator, armed with a ‘pin’–which is to be placed at some point in the phase space… Each different positioning of the pin provides a different universe. Now the accuracy that is needed for the Creator’s aim depends on the entropy of the universe that is thereby created.

It would be relatively ‘easy’ to produce a high entropy universe, since then there would be a large volume of the phase space available for the pin to hit. But in order to start off the universe in a state of low entropy – so that there will indeed be a second law of thermodynamics – the Creator must aim for a much tinier volume of the phase space. How tiny would this region be, in order that a universe closely resembling the one in which we actually live would be the result?’

The calculations of Dr. Penrose determined that when God created the universe, the preciseness required to establish a universe balanced for life would be 1 part in 10 to 10¹²³ power. This is a 1 followed by 10¹²³ zeros. A number that is so large, it is greater than all of the estimated atomic particles of the entire universe.⁠

Dr. Penrose is saying that the likelihood that a vastly different universe would have occurred from the one that we have was an absolute certainty. Why then do we have a universe that has developed in such a way that it allows for life?

Many people are under the impression when they hear the term “fine-tuned,” that we are speaking of the earth or our solar system, which was engineered in such a way to make life possible. Not at all. The fine-tuning began in the initial moments of the Big Bang (creation) when at −430 seconds, (Planck time), electromagnetism, the strong interaction, and the weak interaction were unified as the electronuclear force, while gravity separated from the electronuclear force.⁠

If God had not engineered the precise manner in which the initial expansion of energy unfolded at the beginning of the universe, no stars, galaxies, or planets would have formed. God was working in the moments of one trillion trillion, trillionth of a second to bless our lives—14 billion years into the future. Since He has this capacity to move and work in the trillionth of seconds, it is certain that He is working in all of our lives right now. We can trust Him.

The fine-tuning of the universe began in the first moment of the universe.

God Created a Finely-Tuned Universe Perfect for Life.⁠

The Rate Of Expansion For The early Universe Was Just Right:⁠

If the energy expansion in that first second was slightly larger, then the gravitational forces necessary to form stars and planets would not have taken place. If the expansion of energy was slightly smaller, the universe would have collapsed back onto itself.

If the initial expansion of energy was greater than the capacity of gravitational forces to pull all of this matter back together and eventually form galaxies and stars, life, many billions of years later, would not have been possible. Mathematical physicists have calculated that during the first second of the universe, the expansion of energy and gravitational forces differed by less than 1 part in a million, billion, or 10¹⁵.⁠

The Amount Of Weak Nuclear Force Was Just Right

The ratio of protons and neutrons was perfect to allow helium to form that would be needed to form stars later.

The Amount Of strong Nuclear Force Was Just Right

This allowed helium to burn precisely, slow enough that elements could form.

The Ratio Of Gravity To Electromagnetism Are Balanced Precisely

If the ratio between gravity and electromagnetism was increased by only 1 in 1040, only very small stars would have formed. If the ratio were decreased by the same amount, only very large stars would have formed.

In order for life to be possible, there must be both large and small stars present in the universe. Large stars produce the elements needed for life; small stars burn at the precise rate required to sustain life on planets like earth.

Physicist and cosmologist, Paul Davies, calculated that the chance this balance could have happened by accident is 1-in-1040.

Try to imagine shooting, from earth, at a coin located at the far side of the universe. The odds that you could hit this coin from a distance of 45 billion light years is equal to  1-in-10⁴⁰.

Despite the impossibility that this could have happened, unless this balance between electromagnetism and gravity had occurred when the universe began, earth would never have been able to support human life.

We live in an impossible universe that never could have occurred without God. There is no natural process that could ever cause these constants to exist by chance all at once.

Balance Of Electron And Proton

One important example of a fine-tuned universe that is understood by a critical requirement for life is the ratio between the electron and a proton of every atom in the universe.

The ratio of mass between an electron and a proton is 1:1836, meaning that a proton is 1,836 times larger than an electron. Although there is a great degree of difference between the size of these two parts of an atom, both the electron and proton maintain the exact same electrical charge. With this massive difference in size, how is it possible that both still have the same electrical charge? It’s as if someone knew the precise size difference that was necessary before the first atom existed.

If the electrical charge of the electron is altered by just one part in 100 billion, the body of every human being on earth would explode.

There are no naturalistic explanations for how these precise events could be produced by random acts or by any evolutionary process. The scientific evidence which exists and is observable today, proves that all of the precise processes were controlled, requiring intelligence and extreme power.

For this first piece of evidence alone, we can scientifically prove the existence of God. No amount of refutation can ever change the scientific facts of the universes inception by processes which cannot be explained naturally.

The preceding is from the new book: “A Universe From God: The True Source Of The Cosmos” by Robert Clifton Robinson

Categories: Common errors of Atheists, Empirical Evidence for God, Origin of the Universe, Science and the Bible, The Creation of the Universe, The earth is the Lord's, The Sovereignty of God

Tags: Bill Maher and evolution, Evidence for God from the universe, Evolution as theory, Evolution from apes to men, Extinction event, Fractals, How the universe began, Second law of thermodynamics, The Cosmos designed for life, Universe and low entropy