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Magis CenterSeptember 27, 20233 min read

Fr. Spitzer Discusses Science and the Evidence for God

“As the eternally inflating infinite multiverse fades into the world of fantasy, what’s replacing it is a super-intelligent, transcendent creator whose image cannot be suppressed.”
—Fr. Robert J. Spitzer 

In the attached video from the recent World On Fire Conference 2023, Father Spitzer delves into how scientific evidence for a creator is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Theories that were once adamantly thought by scientists to disprove the existence of an intelligent creator are slowly dissolving in light of new evidence. Father Spitzer explains how the odds of our universe existing are close to impossible, in addition to how infinite multiverse theories are not able to account for these odds.

Scientists Are Starting to Believe in Evidence for God 

Many contemporary scientists are starting to turn to faith. Recent statistics have shown that 66% of young scientists believe in God, with another 15% being agnostic and 13% being atheists. Something is happening in science. 

Scientists and atheists are starting to move towards faith as the evidence for an intelligent creator continues to emerge from astrophysics. Father Spitzer believes that God is starting to lift the veil of the origins of our universe

Evidence for God in the Origins of Creation 

Although our universe is 13.8 billion years old and expands at an ever-accelerating rate, we can deduce from physics that there is a beginning. 

Through understanding the four universal forces of our universe, we can begin to see that the odds of our universe existing are almost impossible to explain. The four universal constant forces are: 

  1. Gravitational Force
  2. Electromagnetic Force 
  3. Strong Nuclear Force 
  4. Weak Nuclear Force 

Somehow, these forces were able to perfectly act together to produce the complex planet that we inhabit. But how is our universe perfectly constructed for life? Father Spitzer attributes the origin of our universe to fine-tuned coincidences. 

Evidence for God in Fine-Tuned Coincidences   

The odds are against our universe’s low entropy. Entropy refers to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that whenever work is done, a physical system moves from order to disorder. Meaning that since the Big Bang, the universe has been expanding and becoming progressively disordered as it grows higher in entropy. Yet, somehow, our universe was able to have low enough entropy to support life. 

When we examine the odds of our universe’s low entropy, it is the same odds as a monkey producing the entire Shakespearean corpus by randomly tapping the keys of a typewriter on the first try. The possibility of this occurring can be signified by one in a billion, trillion, trillion, trillion chance. Thus, the order of our universe is very unusual. It is almost impossible to attribute to pure chance. If any of the four universal constant forces were even a slight percent higher, it would be impossible for life to exist. 

Evidence for God as an Intelligent, Transcendent Creator

The only possible explanations for the low entropy of our universe are: 

  1. An infinite, eternal multiverse.
  2. An exceedingly intelligent, transcendent creator.

Although some theories, like the Oscillating Universe Theory and String Theory, attempt to validate the claim that there can be an infinite, eternal multiverse, the Borde-Guth-Vilenkin Proof demonstrated that all inflationary multiverses must have a beginning. Meaning all universes MUST have a beginning. 

Father Spitzer concludes: 

  1. If there is a universe, it would have to have a beginning.
  2. If there is a multiverse, it would generate only a small number of bubble universes, most of which are like our own. 
  3. Such a small number of bubble universes could not possibly explain the fine-tuning of our universe, whose odds are close to impossible. 
  4. Therefore, it is highly likely that our universe or multiverse has a beginning and that the fine-tuning for life in our universe is explicable only by an exceedingly intelligent, transcendent creator. 

Fr. Spitzer on the Evidence for God 

Throughout Father Spitzer’s exploration of cosmology and evidence for God, he demonstrates that science is beginning to point more to the possibility of a transcendent creator with each passing day. The scientific landscape is undoubtedly changing, and scientists are beginning to turn towards faith as capable of answering some of the most puzzling cosmological questions.

Father Spitzer says the following to conclude:

“Scientists unshackled themselves from the domain of superstition, and they climbed and ascended the mountains of knowledge with a strictly empirical, mathematical methodology, got to the final precipice, pulled themselves over, and found a band of theologians there, awaiting them for centuries.”  

Watch Fr. Spitzer's entire talk, which also dives into near-death experiences and the Boltzmann brain.

 

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Magis Center

The mission of the Magis Center is to create content that helps people find higher purpose in life, an awareness of their transcendent dignity, a sense of the transcendent providential power who guides them, and a determination to live ethically responsible lives. To that end, the Magis Center produces and distributes media that provides contemporary commentary on timeless topics.

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