Our universe is highly ordered with galaxies, solar systems, planets and moons, all rotating with perfect symmetry and in harmony. In fact the Greek word for universe is cosmos which means order. Life is incomprehensively complex and every member inter-dependant on other forms of life and its environment in a delicate balance that enables each to survive. For example, if there was no carbon dioxide in our atmosphere there would be no life, if the earth’s orbit around the sun was not close to circular, there would be no life, if our solar system was closer to our galactic centre or further out, no life would exist. There are many such parameters, which, if one was varied only slightly, there would be no life on earth.

There are only two possibilities for the universe and life’s existence, these are:

• They were created by a supernatural being

OR

• They were created by nothing

The second is illogical and there is no third.[1]

However, atheists cannot accept the first possibility so they are forced to try and substantiate the second: Cosmologist and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Alan Guth had this to say:

The universe burst into something from absolutely nothing—zero, nada. As it got bigger, it became filled with even more stuff that came from absolutely nothing.[2]

As well, popular theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking mad the following statement: [3]

…. because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing.

Professor John Lennox [4] responded with:

Unfortunately, while Hawking’s argument is being hailed as controversial and ground-breaking, it is hardly new. For years, other scientists have made similar claims, maintaining that the awesome, sophisticated creativity of the world around us can be interpreted solely by reference to physical laws such as gravity. It is a simplistic approach, yet in our secular age it is one that seems to have resonance with a sceptical public. 

But, as both a scientist and a Christian, I would say that Hawking’s claim is misguided. He asks us to choose between God and the laws of physics, as if they were necessarily in mutual conflict. But contrary to what Hawking claims, physical laws can never provide a complete explanation of the universe. Laws themselves do not create anything; they are merely a description of what happens under certain conditions. 

What Hawking appears to have done is to confuse law with agency. His call on us to choose between God and physics is a bit like someone demanding that we choose between aeronautical engineer Sir Frank Whittle and the laws of physics to explain the jet engine.

That is a confusion of category. The laws of physics can explain how the jet engine works, but someone had to build the thing, put in the fuel and start it up. The jet could not have been created without the laws of physics on their own  –  but the task of development and creation needed the genius of Whittle as its agent. 

Similarly, the laws of physics could never have actually built the universe. Some agency must have been involved.[5]

George Wald, a 1967 Nobel Prize winner and an evolutionist, states:

When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities–creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance![6]

Interestingly, a Supernatural Being has contacted us and told us that it was He who created everything. Also, He told us how and in what order He did it; we can read about it in the Bible; Genesis chapters 1& 2. The reason He did it, was because it pleased Him.[7]
[1] The idea that the universe has always existed is not tenable because its amount of usable energy is decreasing in accordance with the Second Law of Thermodynamics and it will eventually end with no motion within it and a uniform temperature throughout it. It was created wound up and it is now winding down.

[2] Discover, April 2002. DISCOVER, April 2002

[3] Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design,

[4] Professor Lennox has impeccable qualifications to discuss the subject. He holds multiple higher degrees, including an MA, PhD and DSc; he is a Reader in Mathematics at the University of Oxford, and a fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science at Green College.

[5] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1308599/Stephen-Hawking-wrong-You-explain-universe-God.html.

[6] G. Wald, The Origin of Life, Scientific American, 191:48, May 1954.

[7] Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11.