At a macrocosmic scale, the universe is far more ordered that we would expect if it were an accident. I could talk, for example, about cosmological constants, the repeated geometric patterns found in nature, and the unique suitability of the earth for human life. The apparently designed nature of the universe is a common (and powerful) argument for the existence of God.
On the other hand, at a microcosmic scale, quantum physics has discovered that the universe is fundamentally random, in stark contrast to its macro-level orderliness. I wonder if, ironically, this also constitutes evidence for the existence of God. My reasoning here stems from a distinction between ontological randomness and epistemological randomness.
When we think about randomness, we are usually envisioning epistemological randomness. For example, we consider the outcome of a dice-roll to be random because we lack the means of foreseeing it. Nevertheless, the outcome is not ontologically random, since it is determined by physical forces such as gravity, inertia, and friction. If it were possible to measure and calculate how these forces were acting on the die while it was being rolled, we would in fact be able to foresee the outcome.
Ontological randomness, by contrast, refers to a situation in which the outcome is not mechanistically determined. This sort of randomness is more or less impossible to imagine, or at least intuit; and yet quantum physics tells us that it holds the universe together. My modest suggestion is that it is actually God who is holding the universe together (Colossians 1:17) - that what appears to be ontologically random is actually determined by God.
I am not sufficiently educated in science, let alone quantum physics, to be able to flesh-out or even sense-check this idea; but I suppose the beauty of the internet is that I don't have to be.
On the other hand, at a microcosmic scale, quantum physics has discovered that the universe is fundamentally random, in stark contrast to its macro-level orderliness. I wonder if, ironically, this also constitutes evidence for the existence of God. My reasoning here stems from a distinction between ontological randomness and epistemological randomness.
When we think about randomness, we are usually envisioning epistemological randomness. For example, we consider the outcome of a dice-roll to be random because we lack the means of foreseeing it. Nevertheless, the outcome is not ontologically random, since it is determined by physical forces such as gravity, inertia, and friction. If it were possible to measure and calculate how these forces were acting on the die while it was being rolled, we would in fact be able to foresee the outcome.
Ontological randomness, by contrast, refers to a situation in which the outcome is not mechanistically determined. This sort of randomness is more or less impossible to imagine, or at least intuit; and yet quantum physics tells us that it holds the universe together. My modest suggestion is that it is actually God who is holding the universe together (Colossians 1:17) - that what appears to be ontologically random is actually determined by God.
I am not sufficiently educated in science, let alone quantum physics, to be able to flesh-out or even sense-check this idea; but I suppose the beauty of the internet is that I don't have to be.
