Usually, I advise Christians to turn the tables on the atheist and ask, “What evidence do you have that God doesn’t exist?” However, there are some proofs that are just so succinct, beautiful, and elegant, that you should have some of them in your tool box. Take the formula for the gravitational attraction between two bodies:
Gravitational Attraction = 1/ (distance separation between two bodies)²
Here’s how it works. Let’s say that we weigh 100 pounds here on the surface of the earth (4,000 miles from the center of the earth). If instead we were twice as far from the center (2x²), we would weigh 25 pounds! About this, Donald DeYoung wrote:
“Scientist have long wondered about the factor of [superscript] 2 in this expression. It simply looks “too neat.” In an evolved universe, one would not expect such a simple relationship. For example, why isn’t the distance factor 1.99 or 2.001? The gravity force has been repeatedly tested with sensitive torsion balances, showing that the factor is indeed precisely 2…Any value other than 2 would lead to an eventual catastrophic decay of orbits and of the entire universe” (Astronomy and the Bible, 137-38)
Such precision can’t be the product of chance, and this formula isn’t unusual in its beauty and elegance. The whole world of physics is constructed to point to a Designer. Take for example our most famous formula—-E = MC² (Energy = Mass x Speed of Light x Speed of Light)—which enables you to calculate how much energy you have in your very impressive body:
Here too, we find the same elegance and precision—the speed of light must be precisely squared. These formulas also demonstrate the amazing interconnectedness of various physical elements—energy, mass and the speed of light. Such harmony defies the idea of a random creation by a explosion we call the “Big Bang,” and also has long prompted scientist to find that one unifying force or factor that unifies all the otherwise disparate elements. (For many of us, God is the only possible hub for all the spokes, but He’s also the very hub that others have rejected!) Furthermore, as DeYoung pointed out, these forces are calibrated just right for the continuation of an orderly universe.
Big explosions and tornadoes tearing up junkyards can’t produce this type of order as astronomer, Fred Hoyle, had reasoned:
“The chance that higher life forms arose by evolutionary processes is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the material therein.”
Nevertheless, intelligent people continue to believe in the “junkyard to Boeing” theory? Why? Paul has a perfectly reasonable explanation for this:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse“ (Romans 1:18-20).
The problem isn’t a lack of evidence; but a matter of preference.
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