“Facts are stubborn things. When people have seen an event with their own eyes, and they record what they saw and tell people what happened, this becomes evidence that people were willing to die rather than deny what they knew was certain.” ~New Testament Apologetics
If we could travel back to the moment when our universe began—journey to the beginning of time, space, and matter, we could learn a great deal. Using only science to examine the events that began the universe, we would discover that what took place during this singularity, was not possible by a natural process.
The essence of an evolutionary, natural process, is the reality of billions of fortuitous events taking place one after another. Nothing happens in an evolutionary process of any consequence in the first event. Nothing of significance happens in millions of subsequent events. It is only after billions of years that things start to get interesting. This is the hypothesis of evolution and natural processes.
When we examine the beginning of our universe using pure science, we find that the speed at which events took place in the first second of time, was so great and of such consequence, that scientists had to divide that first second into extremely small slices of time. We call these tiny slices of time, Planck Time. There are more slices of Planck Time in one second, than there are seconds in 14 billion years.
In the first slice of Planck Time, -430th of a second, gravity and electromagnetism were created—along with the Laws of Physics. If gravity and electromagnetism did not come into existence at that precise moment, the universe would have collapsed back upon itself and quickly ended. There are 209 of these precise events that were calibrated exactly where they needed to be—at the precise moment they were needed—to make human life on Earth a reality.(1)
This scientific evidence proves that the beginning of the universe was not a natural process. No natural or evolutionary process is capable of producing an event—precisely when it is required, on the first try, to ensure the creation of all subsequent events.
The Premise of Increasing Complexity And A Natural Process
According to evolutionists, the beginning of life on Earth is called: “abiogenesis,” defined as: “The prevailing scientific hypothesis is that the transition from non-living to living entities on Earth was not a single event, but a process of increasing complexity involving the formation of a habitable planet, the prebiotic synthesis of organic molecules, molecular self-replication, self-assembly, autocatalysis, and the emergence of cell membranes.”1 The problem with this idea is that it is scientifically untenable.
Notice that science defines a natural process as, “not a single event…but a process of increasing complexity.” This is precisely what the Bible describes. At the beginning of the universe, one event was necessary—at a singular moment in time. This reality of science eliminates the possibility that these events were natural. To achieve an event at a specific moment—the beginning of a process, and do so the first time—this event must have been produced by a living being. Only a mind is capable of planning, executing, and controlling—to direct events toward a purposeful and useful result.
The Balance between Gravity and Electromagnetism
The creation of gravity and electromagnetism at -430th of a second—during the commencement of the universe—could not have been accidental. Before the universe began, it had to be known in advance—the precise moment when gravity and electromagnetism were required, to ensure the correct expansion of matter throughout the universe. The universe presents us with material evidence that this event was purposeful. This is to say, it was on purpose—at a precise moment.
Only thinking beings plan things in advance and control their process so that they achieve the outcome desired. Natural processes happen by accident, without any prior knowledge, with no engineering, and without any control over the end result.
If we observe anything that requires forethought to achieve a result, and a specifically engineered process, as intelligent beings, we recognize this immediately as caused by another being, not accidental.
When an automobile manufacturer wants to build a car or truck, first they must know what they want the result to be. They plan, engineer, and direct the process to achieve the production of a useful vehicle.
The production of our universe took place by a similar process that is used to manufacture a car or truck—except the universe is infinitely more complex. The universe took significantly longer and occurred over a massive expanse of space, to achieve the production of Earth, so that humans could live on this planet.
In just the first -430th of a second, the production of gravity and electromagnetism took place in the precise ratio required. This fact of our universe proves that the universe we live in, could not have happened by accident.
The chance that gravity and electromagnetism were created by happenstance, is zero. If the ratio between gravity and electromagnetism was increased by only 1 in 10^40, only very small stars would have formed. If the ratio were decreased by the same amount, only very large stars would have formed. The fact that a precise balance between gravity and electromagnetism took place at the precise moment required and the ratio between these two essential constants was precisely calibrated in an instant—eliminates chance or randomness as a cause.
The knowledge that this ratio between gravity and electromagnetism had to be set precisely within this extremely narrow boundary, is scientific evidence that this requirement was known before the universe began, and set by an intelligent Being that is without limits
For human life to be possible on Earth, 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.(2)
Physicist and cosmologist, Paul Davies, calculated that the chance this balance could have happened by accident is 1-in-10^40.(3)
Try to imagine shooting an arrow from earth, at a coin located on 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-10^40.(4) This is the same odds that gravity and electromagnetism could have come into existence and precisely balanced themselves, the first time—at the commencement of our universe.
Despite the impossibility that the universe could have begun, unless this precise balance between electromagnetism and gravity had occurred, it did happen. This becomes for us—scientific evidence that the entire process of creation was masterfully orchestrated by a Being, not happenstance. Order, purpose, engineering, and useful outcome—point us to a Living Being as the source of our universe.(5)
Balance Of Electron And Proton
One important example of a fine-tuned event that was a critical requirement for life on earth, is the correct ratio between the electrons and protons that comprise every atom in the universe.
When the universe began the mass of the electron needed to be exactly 1,836, times greater than the mass of a proton, to have the same electrical charge. If the mass of the electron had been just one part in 100 billion larger or smaller, a slight difference in their electrical charge would cause every human being on Earth to explode.(6) For humans to exist much later when the earth was ready for human habitation, the mass and balance between the electron and proton had to be perfect when the universe began.
This incredible fact of the first moments of our universe—preceding up to the present day—is one of the compelling reasons that our universe could not have happened by chance. Someone knew before they began creating the universe, that the electron and proton had to be set precisely at this balance.
No natural process could ever achieve this precise ratio between the mass of the electron and the proton on the first try. In natural evolutionary processes, billions of destructive mutations are necessary for a single creative mutation to take place.
Concerning our universe, every fine-tuned balance that was necessary to ensure our universe began and kept expanding, required the creation of gravity and electromagnetism at a precise moment when the universe began, they calibrated precisely—with the electron and proton of every atom—precisely balanced to permit atoms to exist and make the universe, earth, and human beings a reality.
A Being of unlimited intelligence and engineering power had to know before creation, when, and what was required to build our universe. If random acts took place to begin the universe, the chaos of this first moment would have caused the universe to collapse back upon itself, before it ever began.
A universe that began by accident could not know that gravity and electromagnetism were required before an expansion would be possible. A chaotic universe would not know the proper ratio of size between the electron and proton in every atom of creation. An accidental universe would not comprehend that just three minutes into the universe, the correct balance between hydrogen and helium was essential for the future production of stars and planets.
These are events, products, and timing that only a thinking Being is capable of. The facts of these realities inform us that our universe was created for us by a great God who loved us and wanted all human beings to be blessed and to thrive on earth.
There are 209 physical constants that are necessary for our universe to begin, expand, and develop first and second-generation stars, that would produce Earth, a planet that is perfect for human beings.
All 209 of these precise events that took place during the history of the universe—before man existed on Earth, were precisely controlled and fine-tuned to exact a specific outcome; human life.
The fact that human beings are living on earth in the year 2024, means that all of these essential fine-tuned events were masterfully orchestrated by a Being, not random acts of chance.
We live in an impossible universe that could never have occurred without an infinite Being. There is no natural process that could cause a physical constant to fine-tune itself on the first try. Anything that exists by fine-tuning, is scientific evidence of intelligent forethought, engineering, and superintelligence.
To support advanced life on Earth, the laws of physics must operate with great precision. The law of gravity is so finely balanced that it can hold planets in their orbit, but not so powerful that we cannot walk on earth.
In contrast to gravity, the laws that regulate the atom, produce incredibly strong forces. Change the ratio of the proton to the electron in the atom by just 1 part in 10^40 and every atom in the universe self-destructs. How did these laws which regulate the forces that make the universe possible, know how to precisely set themselves where they must be? This becomes an insurmountable obstacle in a naturalistic cause for the universe.
Extreme intelligence and engineering ability were required to commence and build the universe we live in. The idea promoted by atheists and critics of a purposeful universe is that we just happen to find ourselves living on a planet that just happened to experience all of the precise events necessary to produce earth and human life.
Our answer is too many coincidences. When the number of events that are considered accidental is so large, chance no longer is the logical answer. Purposeful, intended, forethought, and masterful engineering were required to produce the universe and earth we live in. If we add up the number of coincidences that are alleged in the creation of our universe, chance becomes impossible.
Ask someone who has never built a house, to build a house. In just the first few steps, this person, and all who watch them, will realize that they don’t know what they are doing. Imagine trying to make a universe without any prior knowledge of what will be required. The idea that these complex events and the precise timing of these events could have radomly occured and achieved perfection—is preposterous. It could not happen!
Even scientists who don’t believe that God exists, admit that had gravity and electromagnetism been off by a tiny fraction, the universe would have rapidly collapsed back upon itself when it began. What accident can produce the result we observe in the first second of our universe? None.
Despite these facts of science that require a Creator for our universe, there are still a large number of people who insist that there is no evidence for God. In every study I have participated in during the last 49 years, there is one enduring fact that I have observed regarding atheists: A lack of evidence is not the reason that a majority of atheists reject God.
Evidence from the science of the universe; evidence from the historical record; and evidence from the eyewitness accounts of the historical person known as Christ—all provide us with tremendous and sufficient evidence to believe that the God of the Bible must exist.
Science and Atheism
Throughout nearly five decades of debates with atheists, one fundamental fact has emerged: the choice to designate oneself as an atheist is simply a matter of choice. Atheists do not have a barrier due to a lack of evidence for God. There is no logical reason that any person cannot know God. People simply determine how they will live their lives, and some choose to do so without God.
I was an atheist 49 years ago. It was not a lack of evidence that made me deny the existence of God. I just didn’t care if God existed, and I didn’t want to live as though He did. It was only after I reached a point in my life where things in this world didn’t satisfy me, that my life changed.
I had heard about Jesus. I knew that the New Testament had a record of His life. I wondered if it was true. It was by reading the Gospel of John that my heart and mind opened to the possibility that Jesus could be real. I began an honest, sincere search for facts, and it didn’t take very long before these facts were found.
Today I know that there is more evidence to prove the historical Jesus than any other person from antiquity. The New Testament was written as an eyewitness, historical narrative, of true events. These men state that they saw Jesus with their own eyes; heard Him with their ears, walked with Him for three and one-half years, and saw Him alive three days after being brutally crucified. These men say that Jesus repeatedly said He is the Eternal God and then proved it by more than 40 miracles only possible by God.
The New Testament proves the existence of God, and Jesus is the God it reveals. The first verse in the Bible states that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” The New Testament states that Jesus is the One described in the first verse of the Bible—He created the universe.
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
John 1:1-3: “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.”
Hebrews 1:5-12: “For God never said to any angel what he said to Jesus: “You are my Son…He also says to the Son, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundation of the earth and made the heavens with your hands.”
Colossians 1:15-17: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.”
The God who created the universe promised that He would send the descendants of Adam a Savior who would die for the sins of the world, defeat satan, and restore human life to God’s intended purpose. Beginning in Genesis 3:15, God told Adam and Eve that a woman in the future would give birth to the Savior by her “Seed,” and this human instrument would be God living in the body of a man.
The book of Philippians describes Jesus as God who came from heaven, lived in the body of a man, and died for the sins of the world:
Philippians 2:6-8: “Jesus, though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
When Jesus arrived on earth He fulfilled over 400 Messianic Prophecies, which are the key to understanding the entire Bible.
Luke 24:44: “Then Jesus said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The testimony about Jesus in the New Testament is not alleged or hearsay. The men who penned these texts and sent them out to the world, state that they personally saw Jesus with their own eyes, and they are telling us the truth about what they saw and heard.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:1: “Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes?
Peter in 1 Peter 1:16: “We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes.”
John in 1 John 1:1: “We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands.”
John 19:34-36: “This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe. These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures.”
The Standards For Historical Events
Every event of history that we hold true and credible, achieved acceptance as truth, by people who recorded what they saw and heard. From the beginning, the Christian church has known that the testimony about Jesus in the New Testament is true. No, later assertion by an atheist or progressive scholar can impeach what the men who saw and heard Jesus recorded. When you hear or read that men who never saw Jesus, wrote the Synoptic Gospels late in the first century, demand evidence to prove this claim. It doesn’t exist! Everything written about Jesus in the New Testament is true. We trust what these men wrote because they were there when Jesus began His public ministry and they walked with Him until He was crucified, risen, and returned to heaven.
Just as the universe presents us with scientific evidence that proves that all creation is the result of a Being not happenstance, the testimony about Jesus is the result of people who saw Him, not the fabricated assertions of modern critics.
The testimony about Jesus found in the New Testament; documentary evidence; personal letters, and eyewitness statements by persons who participated in the events, are precisely the same kind of evidence that we accept for all other events of history. The New Testament was written by men who saw Jesus because He told them to write what they saw so that the whole world could know this wonderful truth.
- God promised a Savior
- God fulfilled His promise by Jesus
- Men saw and heard Jesus
- Jesus told them to write a testimony
- They wrote 27 letters about Jesus
- We have their preserved testimony today
- We are saved forever if we trust in Jesus
- Nonbiblical sources confirm Jesus (7)
Today we have the largest repository of extant manuscript evidence for any one person. The records of the New Testament, the Roman archives, and the writings of the Jews, all describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
No one must remain unbelieving today unless they choose to. The evidence that exists in this book, taken from the records of history, is more than sufficient to allow any intelligent person to make an informed decision to trust in Jesus for their eternal salvation.
The Preceding Is From Rob’s New Book: “New Testament Apologetics.”
NOTES:
1 See the essay by the same author: “Evidence For Fine-Tuning Of The Universe: 209 Physical Constants That Make Life On Earth Possible,” at this link: https://robertcliftonrobinson.com/evidence-for-fine-tuning-of-the-universe/
2 Davies, Paul. 1983. God and the New Physics. London, J M Dent & Sons
3 Davies, Paul. 1983. God and the New Physics. London, J M Dent & Sons
4 Davies, Paul. 1983. God and the New Physics. London, J M Dent & Sons
5 Davies, Paul. 1983. God and the New Physics. London, J M Dent & Sons
6 Davies, Paul. 1983. God and the New Physics. London, J M Dent & Sons
7 Secondary corroborating sources for the validity of the New Testament, are found in the Annals of the Romans, and the texts preserved in the Hebrew
For many years a great number of people have maintained that there is no record of Jesus, outside of the Bible. For this reason, some have concluded that He is merely a myth or legend.
From the non-biblical record of history, we can reconstruct the entire life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The majority of these texts speak of Jesus in derogatory or non-complementary terms. None of these texts is seeking to prove the existence of Jesus nor validate Him as a genuine person of history. In fact, by their non-complementary and often scathing remarks, these writers of antiquity have preserved for us a substantial and conclusive chronicle of the same events that are a part of the New Testament narrative.
“Yeshu: The Historical Jesus,” by Robert Clifton Robinson, chapter 11: “122 Secular Sources For Jesus.” Teach The Word Publishing, Inc. 2013
Categories: Apologetics, Archeological Confirmation, Atheists, Agnostics and Skeptics, Eyewitnesses, Forgiveness of Sin, God knows all things, Historical Validity of the New Testament, How The NT Writers Remembered, Jesus is God, New Testament Apologetics, New Testament Apologetics, New Testament Criticism, New Testament Manuscripts, Origin of the four Gospels, Origin of the Universe, Physical Constants, Reasons For Unbelief, Reliability of the Bible, Reliability of the New Testament, Religion vs. Relationship, Repentance Necessary, Robert Clifton Robinson, Salvation is a free gift, Salvation through Jesus, Science and the Bible, Scientists Who Believe in God, Secular Sources for Jesus, The Creation of the Universe, The Existence of God, The failure of religion, The Sovereignty of God
Robert Clifton Robinson 
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