• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

A finely tuned universe that points to a God.

Archaeopteryx

Wanderer
Jul 1, 2007
22,229
2,608
✟78,240.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
Yeah, obviously you learned nothing from the interaction.
From memory you used this as an example for nature being able to make design or complexity.
No, not exactly. It's not "design." But it is complex.
If it is not from a random process then what is it from. If it is pre determined then what makes it that. How doe this example support your case and why did you use it.
Go back and re-read, as you said you would.
But as I said natural can also incorporate random processes.
But it's not equivalent to randomness. You are assuming that natural processes are necessarily random, sporadic, chaotic, etc, and therefore incapable of producing complex structures.
No, not after I had already dispelled the misconceptions underlying your disagreement - on multiple occasions. At what point does it become wilful ignorance, steve?
What you "believed the evidence was showing" was based on a number of misconceptions, which were addressed several times.
 
Upvote 0

KCfromNC

Regular Member
Apr 18, 2007
30,256
17,181
✟545,630.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private

OK. What does this have to do with anything? Remember that your job is to come up with a model describing how universes are formed to back up your claim that the particular configuration we see is impossible without your god. The fact that people can put rocks in a line really doesn't do anything to help you out here.

Doesn't science say that the universe started with random fluctuations in a quantum vacuum.

You tell us. You're the one certain that you know how the whole process works and that the process requires a god to fine tune things.

Then the big bang happened and as we see with the background radiation from the big bang it dispersed energy all over the place. I understand it was an expansion but that is still a random dispersion

If it is an expansion, that's not a random dispersion. That's quite directed. And also quite naturalistic with no evidence of design. Seems like a bad example for you to use to confuse directed with guided with created.

So from this random event we ended up with very precise parameters which allow life.

In basically none of the universe.

If the event was random doesn't that say that there could have been more than one possibility. Not 3 possibilities or 10 possibilities but many.

No. If you believe this, you'd have to say that coin flips aren't random since they can only have 2 outcomes instead of many. Luckily that's not what the word means.


You'll need to provide evidence that there's a cause and effect relationship at work here.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Yeah, obviously you learned nothing from the interaction.
Ok if thats what you think. But thats a big assumption from me saying I cant remember exactly what we talked about in detail. Besides who is the teacher for me to learn something. Is that teacher being independent and unbiased in their views.

No, not exactly. It's not "design." But it is complex.
Well yeah you said that nature can produce complexity. I cant help but refer to it as design as well.

Go back and re-read, as you said you would.
I'm not sure its worth it from the way you are coming across at the moment. But if it will ignite a good debate I am always up for that.

But it's not equivalent to randomness. You are assuming that natural processes are necessarily random, sporadic, chaotic, etc, and therefore incapable of producing complex structures.
I never said it was equivalent to randomness.You came in on a discussion about how the universe came into existence. Scientists have acknowledged that it began as a random event. I am questioning what you interpret a natural process is. What you determine that nature can create without the evidence to back it up. And you may also be assuming that natural process also doesn't have randomness, sporadic and chaotic aspects as well. I have acknowledged that both aspects of randomness and patterns can be involved in nature. Its not as simple as saying nature can do this or that. There needs to be thorough investigation as to what is random and what is pre determined and how design works in all of this.

No, not after I had already dispelled the misconceptions underlying your disagreement - on multiple occasions. At what point does it become wilful ignorance, steve?
OK I am not going to go into it just now. I will go back and revise what you said exactly and what I posted. You are obviously not posting anything to verify what was said so who knows. I will come back to this so and answer this with support later.
 
Upvote 0

KCfromNC

Regular Member
Apr 18, 2007
30,256
17,181
✟545,630.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
havnt you been reading the links I have posted. If scientists say that if we change the current ratio of our physical constants

I was asking how you know these constants could be different, not what would happen if they were different, so all of the stuff you posted is irrelevant.

Yes but the laws that make that book fall to the floor, where did they come from.

I have no idea. Neither do you. The difference is that I'm not telling everyone that god fine tuned them so that humans could exist here on earth.

I am trying to understand what you are saying. Are you saying that the fine tuning of the universe was deterministic.

No. I'm saying you have no idea why they are what they are. Pretending that gods must be responsible is just one random baseless guess out an infinite number of possibilities.
 
Upvote 0

KCfromNC

Regular Member
Apr 18, 2007
30,256
17,181
✟545,630.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
Well yeah you said that nature can produce complexity. I cant help but refer to it as design as well.

If that is the definition you're going to use for the word then the design you think is apparent in the universe could doesn't require any sort of intelligence.

Scientists have acknowledged that it began as a random event.

Citation needed.
 
Upvote 0

Archaeopteryx

Wanderer
Jul 1, 2007
22,229
2,608
✟78,240.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
Ok if thats what you think. But thats a big assumption from me saying I cant remember exactly what we talked about in detail. Besides who is the teacher for me to learn something. Is that teacher being independent and unbiased in their views.
I've repeatedly suggested that you seek out courses on this topic. You declined.
Well yeah you said that nature can produce complexity. I cant help but refer to it as design as well.
Then you can't help but conflate complexity with design, which obviously creates problems when one speaks of complex structures that weren't designed.
I never said it was equivalent to randomness.
Oh please... everyone can see how you've been conflating 'natural' with 'random'. Don't back-peddle.
Oh, for goodness sake...
 
Upvote 0

Loudmouth

Contributor
Aug 26, 2003
51,417
6,142
Visit site
✟98,015.00
Faith
Agnostic
From memory you used this as an example for nature being able to make design or complexity. If it is not from a random process then what is it from.

A non-random natural process, obviously.

If nature is random, then a stream should go uphill as much as it goes downhill, right? Obviously, nature isn't always random.
 
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
A non-random natural process, obviously.

If nature is random, then a stream should go uphill as much as it goes downhill, right? Obviously, nature isn't always random.
The reason it runs down hill and not up is the law of gravity. But where did that law come from. Can you explain how it came into existence from a naturalistic non random process. Because that is what gave that river its predictable pattern in the first place. So the point is was that law from design or a random process in the beginning. A designer can make something with controls but still allow for individual random occurrences within those boundaries. So the important thing is where did that original law which controls everything come from.

As with the river, gravity is what causes the water to run down hill but each river is subject to random events such as what particular obstacles or material are in those rivers ect. Each river will then have their individual random effects from whatever each river is subject to. So nature is both random and shows predictable patterns. But observing the the river run down hill from gravity doesn't explain anything or prove that nature can create something that seems designed or have patterns. Thats just an observation without any verified evidence about what actually caused the controlling factor in the first place.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Loudmouth

Contributor
Aug 26, 2003
51,417
6,142
Visit site
✟98,015.00
Faith
Agnostic
The reason it runs down hill and not up is the law of gravity.

Correct. Therefore, physical laws can cause some natural processes to be non-random. Congratulations, you just solved the problem.

But where did that law come from.

We don't need to know where the laws come from in order to determine that they are non-random.
 
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
Correct. Therefore, physical laws can cause some natural processes to be non-random. Congratulations, you just solved the problem.
We don't need to know where the laws come from in order to determine that they are non-random.
Yes but where did those physical laws come from. If they are the result of some design in life then the source isn't purely from nature. It seems your trying to credit nature with designing everything when the origins of naturalistic processes are not from design but random processes. The laws and guiding mechanisms have to be established and in place to start with to allow things like rivers to run their course.

How does nature create things like gravity out of no gravity. How does nature create the fine tuning between gravity and the so called dark energy that keeps the universe static. Changing the ratio of this by the tiniest of fractions will change things to the point of not allowing life. So how did this fine tuned balance come into existence in the first place from a naturalistic process that doesn't have design or intention or purpose. yet the balance is so precise it seems to pre determine the just right conditions to allow life and our universe in the first place. So its now the river that is the driving factor it is the laws of nature that give this direction and order.
 
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
I've repeatedly suggested that you seek out courses on this topic. You declined.
As I said I have already been studying these topics for at least 25 hours a week for a long time. I have recently finished two diplomas and I am just starting a degree in social science which covers biology as an elective so this will further my studies.

Then you can't help but conflate complexity with design, which obviously creates problems when one speaks of complex structures that weren't designed.
Thats part of the point isn't it how do you know they weren't designed. Isn't that the point of this debate. It seems you dont give any acknowledgement that design is associated with complexity. Yet can you show me evidence that nature can design things without any design or intelligence being there in the first place.

The thing is your claim that complexity can be found in non designed things like evolution and physics is based on a world view in the first place and thats what you forget. You believe all life and existence came from no life and existence or something along those lines. That the laws of physics, the code for life was once not there and somehow through a naturalistic process that didn't involve any intelligence created these laws and codes for life and existence. That has not been scientifically verified. So thats the point you believe one thing and I believe that there is evidence that life came from intelligence and is designed. All you may be doing is taking the results of design and attributing it to your view of nature.

Oh please... everyone can see how you've been conflating 'natural' with 'random'. Don't back-peddle.
The origin of how life and existence came about does come from a non designed and random process. What else could it have come from if none of the information needed for life to begin was there. What you see after the laws of nature and physics are already established and may be the workings of those basic governing laws and everything else just follows. Show me the evidence of how those controlling laws for everything to operate came about through nature without a designer, intelligence or pre existing information. Thats the crux of the matter isn't it.

Oh, for goodness sake...
Thats about right.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Archaeopteryx

Wanderer
Jul 1, 2007
22,229
2,608
✟78,240.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
As I said I have already been studying these topics for at least 25 hours a week for a long time.
I'm sorry to say, but it doesn't show.
I have recently finished two diplomas and I am just starting a degree in social science which covers biology so this will further my studies.
That's honestly very god to hear.
Thats part of the point isn't it. That is part of design. It seems you dont give any acknowledgement that design is associated with complexity.
I do. But I don't assume 'complexity' = 'design'.
And ID has been scientifically verified? No, which is why you depend on arguments from ignorance in your attempts to support ID.
So thats the point you believe one thing and I believe that there is evidence that life came from intelligence and is designed.
Except you don't have evidence for that. You just have fallacious arguments from ignorance. That's not evidence. You assume that "we don't know how this came about" somehow translates to "therefore, it was designed."
Show me how it came about with an intelligent designer. Maybe if your hypothesis actually explained something it would be taken seriously.
 
Upvote 0

Loudmouth

Contributor
Aug 26, 2003
51,417
6,142
Visit site
✟98,015.00
Faith
Agnostic
Yes but where did those physical laws come from.

We have yet to determine if they came from random or non-random processes.

It seems your trying to credit nature with designing everything when the origins of naturalistic processes are not from design but random processes.

I am crediting nature for designing what we have evidence for nature designing. That includes galaxies, geology, and biology.

The laws and guiding mechanisms have to be established and in place to start with to allow things like rivers to run their course.

We don't need to know where they came from in order to determine what those laws have produced since they arrived.

How does nature create things like gravity out of no gravity.

Where did you demonstrate that gravity came from no gravity?
 
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
I'm sorry to say, but it doesn't show.
That once again is your opinion. I think if you go back over my posts you will find they are thoroughly investigated with ample references. I may not know the more detailed information at the expert level but I do know enough about the basic differences between design and what natural processes like Darwinian evolution and a world view on how life and existence came about. Luckily I can reference the experts work as well to help support my views.
That's honestly very god to hear.
Yes I thought you'd be happy with that. But I have been studying this area for some time now and believe that I will have a reasonable head start on my studies. So it wont be completely alien to me.
I do. But I don't assume 'complexity' = 'design'.
If it acts like its designed, reacts like its designed and looks like its designed then chances are its designed. Yes this the the point of difference. All the complex machinery and technology we see that humans have made we instantly recognize that as being designed. Yet when it comes to life we suddenly think different. The evidence of a detailed explanation for how that complexity came about through a non designed naturalistic process it is vastly lacking and well beyond its capabilities. At the same time the parallels between man made design and design in nature are stunning.

And ID has been scientifically verified? No, which is why you depend on arguments from ignorance in your attempts to support ID.
Well it seems to be more supported than you give credit. Its very hard for ID to be recognized by the scientific world to begin with let alone be judged on its merits. There is a massive bias against it not because its not science but because it contradicts a lot of what the main consensus of the scientific world view is.
But there has been more and more evidence and support coming out in the last few years which cant be fobbed off as rubbish from highly respected and knowledgeable experts.

Except you don't have evidence for that. You just have fallacious arguments from ignorance. That's not evidence. You assume that "we don't know how this came about" somehow translates to "therefore, it was designed."
No they are not arguments from ignorance. They are not even my views. I have posted many peer reviewed articles on the subject which you seem to reject out of hand all the time. Here once again is a few choice ones.

The Coherence of an Engineered World
This peer-reviewed scientific paper argues that we live in an “engineered world.” It observes that “Human-engineered systems are characterized by stability, predictability, reliability, transparency, controllability, efficiency, and (ideally) optimality. These features are also prevalent throughout the natural systems that make up the cosmos. However, the level of engineering appears to be far above and beyond, or transcendent of, current human capabilities.”
http://www.witpress.com/elibrary/wit-transactions-on-ecology-and-the-environment/114/19279

The following paper speaks about the difficulties of mutations being able to change an existing protein by eliminating the present function and then replacing it with a completely new ability that is functional.
Estimating the prevalence of protein sequences adopting functional enzyme folds
Combined with the estimated prevalence of plausible hydropathic patterns (for any fold) and of relevant folds for particular functions, this implies the overall prevalence of sequences performing a specific function by any domain-sized fold may be as low as 1 in 10(77), adding to the body of evidence that functional folds require highly extraordinary sequences.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15321723

Along with the fact that evidence shows that mutations cant evolve protein structures that are functional and there is also evidence that the information needed for the variety and complexity of proteins fold may be pre existing and universal in structure and form.
The protein folds as platonic forms: new support for the pre-Darwinian conception of evolution by natural law.
The folds are evidently determined by natural law, not natural selection, and are "lawful forms" in the Platonic and pre-Darwinian sense of the word, which are bound to occur everywhere in the universe where the same 20 amino acids are used for their construction.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12419661

Show me how it came about with an intelligent designer. Maybe if your hypothesis actually explained something it would be taken seriously.
The evidence doesn't have to be showing a particular intelligent designer. It just has to show that there is intelligent design in life.

Predictions of Design (Hypothesis):

(1) High information content machine-like irreducibly complex structures will be found.
(2) Forms will be found in the fossil record that appear suddenly and without any precursors.
(3) Genes and functional parts will be re-used in different unrelated organisms.
(4) The genetic code will NOT contain much discarded genetic baggage code or function-less "junk DNA".

The following paper, co-authored by a theoretical biologist and an environmental biologist, explicitly challenges the ability of Darwinian mechanisms or self-organizational models to account for the origin of the language-based chemical code underlying life. They explain that “evolutionary algorithms, neural nets, and cellular automata have not been shown to self-organize spontaneously into nontrivial functions.” The authors observe that life, “typically contains large quantities of prescriptive information.” They further argue that “prescription requires choice contingency rather than chance contingency or necessity,” entailing a necessary appeal to an intelligent cause.
Self-organization vs. self-ordering events in life-origin model

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1571064506000224

The next paper seeks to address the question, “If all known life depends upon genetic instructions, how was the first linear digital prescriptive genetic information generated by natural process?”
The Capabilities of Chaos and Complexity
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2662469/
 
Upvote 0

Dave Ellis

Contributor
Dec 27, 2011
8,933
821
Toronto, Ontario
✟59,815.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
In Relationship
Politics
CA-Conservatives
The thread degenerated, as atheists won't be able to respond to all points while being consistent with their position, and this response with saying nothing about the points I just had posted shows that.

What do you mean?
 
Upvote 0

FredVB

Regular Member
Mar 11, 2010
4,989
1,011
America
Visit site
✟322,983.00
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Single


I don't think I have to come up with a model for it, the big bang model isn't my own. Being atheistic, you can think of yourself as being very very very very very lucky to be here, or just ignorantly disregard that being the case now that you are here, or otherwise you acknowledge you have purpose being put here, in which you should be thankful, or reap what you will still have with ingratitude. The big bang model has those parameters that don't correspond to anything we can say requires them to be those values yet with being any other value we won't have a universe that any life could be in. So if it isn't set so that we could be here, let alone communicating about it, with some intelligence among us for that presumably, it is up to you to show how this could be without it being from the Creator, as necessary being, as cause for this, and the idea for a multiverse, which would be brought up for it, has no evidence at all, just a demand some see for it to avoid this obvious suggestion of the parameters set for such a big bang, which also has no explanation, to produce our universe with any life possible in it, unlike our concept of God for which we who will willingly obey will see evidence for. You won't have your evidence though for such a multiverse to be in a model, you can try though. But as you won't ever consider at all obedience to your maker from whom you have purpose, you won't see evidence, and it isn't obliged to be provided to you, with your unwillingness, other than this demand to you to show your evidence that it is otherwise.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

stevevw

inquisitive
Nov 4, 2013
15,873
1,702
Brisbane Qld Australia
✟319,132.00
Gender
Male
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Private
What about the hypothesis of God.
As John says at the beginning of his gospel John 1:1 to 5
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

As it says in the beginning of Genesis 1 to 3.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

So before anything there was Gods word. Nothing could be created with Gods word. Everything that was created was through Gods word. This would make sense in that Gods word is immaterial. God spoke existence into reality when He said let there be light. By the power of Gods word He materialized time, space and matter. This is the only way we can explain how something can come from nothing.

If this is the case and God spoke existence into being then the beginning was measured and purposeful. That is why we have the fine tuning of the universe for life. Because it didn't come from a chance natural occurrence but a creator that had a purpose in mind. That purpose was life. But that life wasn't just about a physical life. It was also a spiritual life that would go beyond everything that He had created. AS Jesus says He gives us life. So all of creation is for the purpose of life. That life is seen in all its glory in Jesus who was the word who became flesh.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

KCfromNC

Regular Member
Apr 18, 2007
30,256
17,181
✟545,630.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private

Or any other number of options that you didn't list.


We could just be honest and admit we don't yet know rather than making up stuff about magical beings, you know.
 
Upvote 0

KCfromNC

Regular Member
Apr 18, 2007
30,256
17,181
✟545,630.00
Faith
Atheist
Marital Status
Private
What about the hypothesis of God.

Get back to us when you have a testable one. And I'm still waiting on your tested, well established model of universe formation which shows that our current configuration is as unlikely as you're guessing it is. Looks like you have some work to do - not sure which is the top priority, but I'm not really holding my breath on either.
 
Upvote 0

SkyWriting

The Librarian
Site Supporter
Jan 10, 2010
37,281
8,501
Milwaukee
✟411,038.00
Country
United States
Gender
Male
Faith
Non-Denom
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others

(Devils Advocate) - Which may be the case 99% of the time.
Our instance is the one exception and we are here to be
amazed at it.
 
Upvote 0