The Evidence of Fine Tuning

There are four basic evidences of God's existence: 1) Creation, 2) Design, 3) Morality and 4) Fine Tuning. In this post we'll look at the evidence of fine tuning.

You may not know this, but it’s actually extremely difficult for life to exist. Scientists have discovered about fifty parameters and constants that must be “just so” (or “finely tuned”) in order for life to be possible anywhere in the universe. 

Have you ever used a radio tuner? Everything’s digital now but people used to use a tuner to find the station they wanted to listen to. They would turn a dial until it landed exactly on the station they wanted to listen to. If you went too far you’d hear nothing but static or the next station. If you didn’t go far enough - same thing. It had to be tuned just right for you to get the station you wanted. Well this is something like how the universe works. Things need to be tuned just right. But there’s not one dial that has to be exactly in place. There’s about 50. And even if 49 of these 50 constants are in place, without all 50 life would be impossible.

Let me give you a couple examples of these parameters and constants...

• If the force of gravity were to change by one part in ten thousand billion billion billion, conscious life would be virtually impossible anywhere in the universe. 
• The human body is made up of a ridiculously large number of atoms. And inside those atoms are neutrons, protons an electrons. Did you know that if the neutron inside the atom were not exactly as it is - 1.001 times larger than the proton, life would not be possible? 
• If the expansion rate of the earth was a little stronger or a little weaker when the universe was set in motion - if the strength differed by as little as one part in a trillion trillion trillion trillion trillion, the universe would’ve either collapsed back in on itself or expanded too swiftly for stars to form. Either way, life would be impossible. 
• The list goes on!!! Again - there are about 50 of these parameters and constants that must be “just so” in order for life to be possible!!!

This is why Paul Davies, one of the leading physicists and cosmologists of our day, makes the following claim: “I cannot believe that our existence in this universe is a mere quirk of fate...We are truly meant to be here.” What a statement from someone who doesn’t even claim to believe in a personal God!

Now, in addition to the parameters and constants that need to be in place for life to be possible in the universe, there are also at least 24 parameters and constants that need to be in place for life to be possible on a planet. It’s not just our universe that needs parameters and constants, our planet does too! Let me give you a couple examples...For life to be possible on a planet...
The planet has to have the correct mass

• It has to be orbited by a large moon 
• It has to have a magnetic field 
• It has to have an oxygen-rich atmosphere 
• It has to be in the correct location in the galactic habitable zone. Life can’t exist anywhere in the universe. For life to exist you have to be in just the right spot in the universe. And that’s exactly where earth is. 
• The list goes on!!! Again - there are at least 24 of these parameters and constants that must be “just so” in order for life to be possible on a planet!!! 

Now the probability of these factors converging is so ridiculously small that many cosmologists and astro-physicists now admit that it’s more reasonable to believe that a divine designer was involved than to assume it all happened by chance. They might not concede that the divine designer is the God of the Bible, but at least they’re starting to admit the foolishness of saying the universe came about by chance or as a result of some cosmic storm (i.e. from chaos).

You see - the fact that our universe and our planet have been precision tuned so that life can exist, powerfully points to the existence of God. I mean - we have to ask ourselves - WHO TURNED ALL 50 KNOBS TO JUST THE RIGHT PLACE? These incredible examples of fine-tuning in the universe - each independently set to the precise measure necessary to support life - points powerfully to the existence of an incredibly intelligent designer who made it all “just so”...for us!