I came across this commentary recently, “Does the size of the universe prove God doesn’t exist?” The writer goes on to say, “Scientists now know that the universe contains at least two trillion galaxies.” Really? That’s only a tenth of the national debt, that I am now beginning to believe got so big because we have been overpaying some guy to count those galaxies.
The article goes on to say, “Scientists estimate the observable universe, the part of it we can see, is around 93 billion light years across. The whole universe is at least 250 times as large as the observable universe.”
That statement is absurd. If the “observable universe” can be seen, why do we have to estimate its size? And how can scientists say the rest of the universe we can’t see is “at least 250 times” larger than the one we can see, when we can’t see it?
The gist of the writer’s point is that if God were so concerned with man, why would he create a universe so huge that man by comparison is relatively insignificant? A shepherd boy named David thought the same thing about three thousand years ago as he watched over his sheep on a starry night.
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” Psalm 8:3-4.
What David marveled at with his unaided eyes modern man assisted by the technology of the Hubble spacecraft questions. Maybe God did not create this vast universe to highlight the insignificance of man; maybe He created it to display the significance of His might.
Like everyone I enjoy the lifestyle afforded us by the technology that is a byproduct of scientific discoveries, so I appreciate the advances of science. But I am not blind to the fact that though scientists know a lot they do not know everything. Science has its limits.
For instance, we do not know if the universe is an open or closed system, that is, if it goes on forever or if it has boundaries, limits. We just do not know.
I believe the whole modern scientific method of investigation is predicated on the following syllogism: God created the heavens and the earth (i.e., the universe), God is a reasonable God, ergo, the universe can be understood on the basis of reason. If an intelligent Designer had not created an orderly universe scientific investigation predicated on the repeatability of experimentation would be impossible.
I believe the universe we observe is an effect that the only sufficient cause is an omniscient, omnipotent Designer. The vastness of the universe with its diversity and complexity does not cause me to question the existence of God, like David, it inspires me to declare it.
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