The immensity of the universe;addendum (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by dhw, Friday, March 17, 2017, 12:58 (2568 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: dhw has recently again questioned the vastness of the universe as it relates to the appearance of humans. I have found such a reference, but so far cannot locate any support for the contention in the copious material I know:
http://potiphar.jongarvey.co.uk/2017/03/08/life-beyond-thulcandra/

QUOTE: "God might indeed decide to make life on earth a unique case, and the vastness of a cosmos uninhabited by other physical beings a matter for himself alone. Indeed, one of the intriguing aspects of cosmic fine tuning is the realisation that a vast universe is necessary to enable the conditions a tiny inhabited world like ours requires. God’s prodigality in doing so much for us would make as plausible, and inconclusive, a case. Yet Chalmers once more shows that extraterrestrial life poses no inherent problem whatsoever for Christianity. Neither, though, does a universe in which life is unique to the earth – a situation (presently the only one for which actual evidence exists) that in contrast poses a big problem for metaphysical naturalism." (David's bold)

DAVID’s comment: the overall intent of the article is to discuss whether Christians can accept more than one colony of humans in God's universe. It appears they can. However, what I found interesting is the contention that part of the fine tuning observations is the requirement for vastness of the universe. That vastness is required is implied in he multiverse theories, but that dos not prove the point. I will pursue it.

As I said before, the uniqueness of life on Earth would reduce the odds against chance, and it is absurd to insist that your God would have confined his life experiments to one blob in infinity. Why it has to be humans elsewhere I do not know, other than what Shapiro calls “large organs chauvinism”. As for the observation that the vastness of the universe is required for life, how the heck does anyone know? Has the author tried and definitively failed to create life without the billions and billions of solar systems extant and extinct? There is and can be no evidence for such a statement, so why make it, and indeed why take it seriously?


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