A Finely-Tuned Universe

Airing on
Probe Radio

July
12-16

Heather Zeiger — Let’s pretend that you go outside to find your front yard full of trash and debris. The first question that probably comes to mind is, “Did someone do this on purpose, or was this an accident?” In hopes of determining a cause, you begin by looking at clues. Does the neighbor’s yard have debris in it? If so, then it’s possible the wind blew the trash and debris into both your yards. If not, then you become suspicious. Why are you suspicious? The probability that the wind would blow trash in your yard, but not your next door neighbor’s yard is low. But it is possible, so you look for more clues. Upon further examination you find that the debris stops right at the property line between your yard and your neighbor’s yard. This makes you even more suspicious because the probability of this happening by chance is now lower than it was before. Although you were not there to see the trash thrown in your yard, you are fairly certain someone did this on purpose. Although you may intuit the cause, the reason why you assume foul play is because with each clue comes a probability of its occurrence. With multiple clues, the probabilities multiply, so finding two clues that are improbable makes the entire event even more improbable.

Taking our scope beyond your backyard to the earth and to the universe, the question becomes, “Why are the universe and earth here after all?  Why is it the way it is?” When it comes down to it, just like with your front yard, we are left with two causal options: either life, the universe, and everything in between were put here on purpose, or it was an accident.

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MEET THE AUTHOR
Heather ZeigerHEATHER ZEIGER

"After one of my talks on Evidence for the Existence of God, a couple of students asked me about string theory and multiverse theory. Later that week I had received an email asking about string theory. Stephen Hawking’s book, A Brief History of Time, surprised publishers 12 years ago when a physics book sold so many copies. NOVA did a special on Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe, a book on string theory several years ago. People are very interested, and many Christians want to know how theories in cosmology relate to a Christian worldview on creation. So, I decided to write a radio program about it."

Heather is a Research Associate for Probe. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in chemistry from the University of Texas at Dallas. Her interests involve science and culture issues, including bioethics, origins, and the environment. She is currently working on a M.A. in bioethics from Trinity International.

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