(Part 1)
. . .God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
Any rational and unbiased person must conclude that there is a God, that God created the universe, and that the same God reigns over his creation. Furthermore, an unbiased person must conclude that this God is loving and benevolent, providing for his creatures in may remarkable ways.
Why? Let me illustrate:
The universe is made up of matter floating in space. This matter exists. Of the two possible explanations for its existence -- one, that it always existed of itself without a cause; or two, that it was created -- which is more likely?
The spontaneous existence of something without a cause is a phenomenon unknown to man. Everything we know of, everything we have ever observed, has had a cause. Something or someone made it happen.
True, we also have never observed, in our experience, the creation of something out of nothing, either. That would require a miracle. But let us presume for a moment the existence of an almighty God. Given that there is an almighty God, then the creation of matter out of nothing, or any other miracle, should be no surprise at all. In fact, one might say that such things are implied.
On the other hand, the existence of matter without a cause cannot be explained. Ironically, it is the "pat" answers of secular science which must be received with blind faith. Great faith is require to believe that this world and the entire universe happened by accident and without cause.
If matter was formed spontaneously, there are at least two results one would expect: first, uniformity. According to secular theories, everything we know once existed as one great blob of matter. Then came the Big Bang. The great blob exploded, sending bits and pieces out into the void of space. The bits and pieces formed what we know as stars, planets, moons, etc.
Among these various heavenly bodies, it is to be expected that widely varying natural forces -- gravity, magnetism, heat, etc. -- would affect them in diverse ways and yield diverse results. However, a certain "sameness" in the substances themselves should be evident. After all, they came from the same source.
The "accidental" existence of matter would more logically yield only a single substance or type of substance, albeit in various forms. For instance, water takes the form of liquid, ice, or vapor depending on the conditions acting upon it. But it is still water.
It is incredible that matter exists in the first place. It is far more incredible that more than one hundred different types of matter, or "elements" (that we know of), sprang spontaneously into existence -- not to mentions isotopes or compounds of these elements. Instead of uniformity, however, we get diversity.
The second thing one would expect from an "accidental" universe is disorder or randomness, i.e., everything occurring in an entirely haphazard manner: no constant forces and natural laws which make things work; no gravity or inertia to hold planets together and cause them to orbit around a benevolent sun; no seasons caused by the earth's fluctuations, nor orbits by which we account the passage of time; indeed, nothing so organized that it would sustain life, much less spawn it.
Instead of disorder, the universe works in what has often been described as clockwork fashion. The earth is perfectly poised in relation to the sun in order to sustain life, as it has remained for thousands of years.
The earth's orbit and the tilt of its axis provide for seasions, facilitating the endless cycle of life -- plants growing, blooming, then dropping seed to spawn the next generation, and animals mating and giving birth in relation to the seasons.
The moon causes the tides, and affects both plant and animal behavior. All the forces of nature, the natural laws -- gravity, the regulation of temperatures, the production of rain, the sun's light by day and the moon and stars by night, and so on -- serve to make the earth work just as it was intended, for the good of all life.
Actually, describing the universe as clockwork pales in comparison to its true vastness and complexity. Man can make a clock. Only God could form the worlds and make them work together.
The universe can best be described by a new way of scientific thinking called "Chaos Theory." The term "chaos," is unfortunately misleading, since it implies disorder. According to Chaos Theory, however, highly complex and interactive systems are just too intricate and enigmatic to be understood in terms of something as predictable as clockwork.
A concrete example might best serve to explain this concept. A human heart does not beat at a constant rate, like a clock. Instead, the timing of the beat is constantly changing. The human body is an interactive system in which all the parts work together and affect one another.
The heart is constantly receiving signals from all parts of the body -- relaying information about activity level, temperature, blood pressure, and so on -- and adjusting itself accordingly. The heart rate can change, literally in a heartbeat. If you become frightened or upset, your heart will pound or "skip." If you have been running and suddenly lie down, your heart rate will begin to slow.
These adjustments of the heart rate have been found to be so complicated that even the best computers can predict the exact timing only a few beats ahead. In other words, the human nervous system, which controls the heartbeat, is far too complex and interactive to explain in simple terms, and ultimately beyond full human understanding.
The universe is like that, only more so. Clearly only an infinitely creative and omnipotent God, the genius of geniuses, could create such a universe, set it in motion, and make allowances for an almost infinte number of variables.
We should all find comfort, not only that we have an all-powerful God, but in knowing that in spite of all the vicissitudes of life, and allowing for freedom of the will, God is able to make all things proceed to ultimately fulfill his divine Plan.
Part 2 will focus on the evidence of God's creation found in the creatures He has created.