What are the chances? Gamblers might ask that if they’re betting on a horse. Job-seekers might wonder about it when interviewing for a dream job. It’s also a question philosophers and everyday critical thinkers ponder about our universe. What are the chances that the universe is made up of elements and quantities that are just right for life to exist? As it turns out, the chances are infinitesimally small. This is what leads many to believe that the life-permitting circumstances must be by design. Christian philosopher William Lane Craig uses the analogy of a poker game. Every hand is equally improbable, but if the same dealer gets four aces every time he deals, that suggests design. Stars in the night sky are glorious. Sunshine warms us, inside and out. We appreciate the beauty of these, but physicists see beyond that to what underlies all of it, what keeps our universe life-permitting. A few such components are: These and more are finely-tuned to just the right numbers to permit life to exist. Just a minute degree more or less, and none of us would be here. Believers can easily see God’s handiwork in all this: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). But even unbelievers recognize how absurd it is to consider such life-permitting precision coincidental. Agnostic physicist Paul Davies has said, “Everyone agrees that the universe looks as if it was designed for life.” The late Steven Hawking, atheist theoretical physicist, has noted that our universe “appear[s] fine-tuned in the sense that if they were altered by only modest amounts, the universe would be . . . in many cases [be] unsuitable for the development of life.”Fundamental Constants and Quantities of Fine-Tuning
The Fine-Tuning Argument for God
Resources on the Fine-Tuning Argument for God
You don’t need a physics degree to share the fine-tuning argument for God. These resources make it understandable to the everyday critical thinker and apologist:
The Fine-Tuning of the Universe by drcraigvideos
Including Dr. William Lane Craig’s impressive library of easy-to-understand videos has become standard in our Lord’s Library recommendations. As with our past suggestions, this video is perfect for learning the basic outline of the argument. Within about six minutes, viewers will have the framework to make the other recommended sources more accessible.
What is the fine tuning argument for the existence of God? by GotQuestions.org
As usual, the folks at Got Questions have answers—and good ones. Got Questions describes themselves as a “ministry of dedicated and trained servants who have a desire to assist others in their understanding of God, Scripture, salvation, and other spiritual topics.” They are “theologically conservative,” which means that they are Biblically sound. Besides their well-explained responses to Bible questions, Got Question also has answers to some apologetic issues. Their fine tuning explanation gives a clear overview of the argument, including analogies that make it easier to understand.
Does the Fine Tuning of the Universe Demonstrate the Existence of God? from Coldcasechristianity.com
J. Warner Wallace, the founder of the Cold Case Christianity website, is a former cold case homicide detective turned Christian apologist. His work has been featured on Dateline. Among his books are God’s Crime Scene and Cold Case Christianity in which he brings his investigative skills into arguments for God’s existence and the truth of Christianity. True crime fans will appreciate how Wallace weaves anecdotes from his years working homicide cases into investigative skills for proving Christian beliefs. Wallace’s engaging presentation style and use of analogies makes this more detailed explanation of the fine-tuning argument seem simple.
The Fine-Tuning Design Argument by Robin Collins From Reason for the Hope Within (1999)
Robin Collins is a Philosophy Professor at Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania. This chapter from one of Collins’ books clearly explains the fine-tuning argument. Collins walks readers through the premises to the conclusion. Despite Collins’ impressive academic credentials, the chapter is an easy read.
Luke Barnes and Alex Malpass Discuss The Fine-Tuning Argument for God on Capturing Christianity
Cameron Bertuzzi’s YouTube channel is a trove of apologetics content. In this episode, he hosts a discussion between British Philosopher Alex Malpass and theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist Luke Barnes. This discussion is more scientific than some of the other resources on our list. Malpass and Barnes present scientific graphs and discuss how Bayesian probability makes an intelligent designer much more plausible than the naturalistic explanation for the universe.
The fine-tuning of the universe is sometimes likened to a radio dial that has been tuned just right. These resources make a convincing case that the dial has a hand behind it – God’s.
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