The Laws of Nature
The universe is more than merely matter. It includes the laws of nature which govern the way that the universe behaves. These laws are known to be amazingly concise and elegant. They are also very finely adjusted to allow the existence of life.
It is a fairly obvious statement that the laws of nature in our universe permit life to exist. What is less obvious, but equally true, is that even the tiniest of changes to the laws of nature would result in a universe that was incapable of supporting life.
For example, the charge on the electron is exactly the opposite of the charge on a proton, even though the two are produced by completely different mechanisms independent from one another. This means that the total charge on an atom is zero. If the two charges did not balance, then atoms would be charged and would repel one another electrically. If the difference in charges was more than one part in 10 (this means one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000) then the repulsive electrostatic force would overcome gravity and no planets would be possible. Without planets to live on it would be impossible to have life. Thus the existence of life would be impossible if there was an almost unimaginably small change in the charge of either the proton or the electron.
As a second example, consider the strength of the force that holds atomic nuclei together. If this was a little bit stronger then the nuclear reactions in stars like the sun would proceed many times faster than they do and no star would last for any significant length of time without either exploding or burning out. If the force was a little bit weaker then the nuclear reactions which produce energy in stars would no longer work and there would be no heat from stars. Life on any planets near the stars would be impossible in either case. A change of only a few percent in the strength of this nuclear force (known as the strong interaction) would mean that life was impossible.
The fact that the laws of nature are exactly what is required to allow life to exist, and that they need to be like this to extremely fine tolerances is known as 'Fine Tuning'. The fact of fine tuning indicates that God did not simply create the universe in a random or haphazard manner, but that he did so with the intention of making life within the universe.
Not only that but the creator of the universe is able to predict the consequences of the laws of nature, which requires a knowledge and intellect far superior to that of any human scientist.
Again, this fits in with what we are told in the Bible. The Bible tells us that God made the world with a purpose:
"For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!): 'I am the LORD, and there is no other.'" (Isaiah 45:18) "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14)
These two passages alone show that God has a purpose with the world. Science and the Bible agree that God has a such a purpose, but to know completely what that purpose is we need to read the Bible.
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