In recent years, there have been discoveries in a branch of astrophysics called cosmology that indicate that the universe we live in requires some very precise parameters in order to exist. If, for example, the gravitational constant or the mass of electrons are even slightly different than what they are, the universe could not exist in its present condition.
The precision level of these constants forms an argument for design that has given atheists and anti-theists an unusually hard time as the factual basis for the argument is generally accepted by the mainstream scientific community. In response to this some atheists have backed a peculiar theory: our universe is just one of many universes that bubble out of a Multiverse. One version of this hypothesis, called the many worlds hypothesis, is that there exist an infinite number of universes. In this view, everything that can possibly happen has happened in at least one universe in the Multiverse of infinite worlds.
If our universe is just one out of an infinite number of universes in a Multiverse, then the fine-tuning argument, sometimes called the anthropic principle, would not be remarkable. If there are an infinite number* of universes, then it is inevitable that there would be at least one one universe with the cosomological constants with the same settings that they have in our universe. For this reason, many theistic apologist have been leery of the Multiverse Hypothesis as atheists have been salivating over it.
The Multiverse Hypothesis, however, is lethal to Philosophic Materialism, whether it be atheism or some other flavor of "secular religion:"
If the Multiverse Hypothesis is true, then our universe is not all there is; it is an open system that was formed and shaped, with natural laws and cosmological constants set, by causes outside of the system. If the definition of supernatural means that which is beyond the natural scope, then the Multiverse Hypothesis is a supernatural explanation of origins and ultimate reality.
If the Multiverse Hypothesis is true, then uniformitarianism is limited. There is a discontinuity between causes within the system of the universe and causes that lie outside the universe. There are other discontinuities via black hole and subatomic physics. The falsification of unlimited uniformitarianism calls into question inferences that rely the assumption of unlimited uniformitarianism, such as the meta-narrative inferences of evolutionary theory.
If the many-worlds hypothesis is true, then every event that is possible is inevitably true in at least one possible universe. The only limitation is the truths of logic and mathematics, which are necessarily true in every possible universe. Natural laws are the products of cosmological constants which very from universe to universe, so that events deemed impossible in this universe are possible in other universes. with this in mind.
The one version of the Multiverse Hypothesis that atheists love for its
ability to destroy the fine-tuning argument, the many-worlds hypothesis,
has implications that falsify an atheist or materialist
meta-narrative. The Materialistic meta-narrative is particularly
vulnerable because of its narrow and reductionist view of reality that
is absent from alternative wold-views. For example, an atheistic
universe does not falsify a theistic Multiverse, as God can choose one
universe to be heavily involved in while ignoring other universes. An
atheistic Multiverse, however, is not compatible with the existence of a
theistic universe. If the Many Worlds Hypothesis is true, then it
follows that in at least one universe, that Jesus Christ physically rose
from the dead, all of the Bible stories literally happened, and
Biblical Inerrancy is true. The Materialist meta-narrative simply cannot be sustained if the Multiverse Hypothesis is true.
As of the time of this writing, there is a plan to test for the Multiverse. This test involves searching for "for disk-like patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation." This test will determine whether our universe has had any collisions with objects outside of the universe. Thus, this test can provide proof that the material universe is not the only reality that exists and that it is an open system subject to outside influences This test will not, from a scientific perspective, tell us much meaningful information about the nature of what is outside the universe; it will only tell us that something else is there. It's just as likely that our universe could well be bouncing off pillars in the Temple of God as bouncing off of other universe. Because the natural laws of our universe do not operate outside of our universe, the use of both direct observations and the invalid inferences used to construct the evolutionary meta-narrative to draw conclusions about what is outside of our universe is out of the question.
As of the time of this writing, there is a plan to test for the Multiverse. This test involves searching for "for disk-like patterns in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation." This test will determine whether our universe has had any collisions with objects outside of the universe. Thus, this test can provide proof that the material universe is not the only reality that exists and that it is an open system subject to outside influences This test will not, from a scientific perspective, tell us much meaningful information about the nature of what is outside the universe; it will only tell us that something else is there. It's just as likely that our universe could well be bouncing off pillars in the Temple of God as bouncing off of other universe. Because the natural laws of our universe do not operate outside of our universe, the use of both direct observations and the invalid inferences used to construct the evolutionary meta-narrative to draw conclusions about what is outside of our universe is out of the question.
To quote Ken Ham, "There is a book..." (to be continued in a follow- up post. Hint: String Theory).
No comments:
Post a Comment