The facts are stranger than the fiction. For millennia, humanity has sought divine bliss. Over the centuries, several religions have emerged; some of them have survived, while many others have perished. Some of the modern religions are Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. There are many sets of beliefs that are totally fallacious to the human mind. But what draws the humans to God: fear of death, uncertainty, or complete love for the divine?
But what is the entity of god? In the present scientific age, there have been many advancements, and people are withdrawing from God. If we believe in science, then in my opinion, there is a 50-50 probability of God. But I believe that there is a 99.99 percent chance of god because his existence is not a matter of scientific exploration but a philosophical question. The divine empire is polytheist or monotheist; I do not know, but the philosophical methods point to a god. We cannot understand the creator in religion or science. Every religion has its set of beliefs, and we have to respect them and even follow them as a way to reach out to God.
In this article we will try to explore every fact that could be essential in understanding God and his creation in a philosophical tone, but trying to find a scientific approach.
The Stages in Seeking the Divine are Who, How, Why, and beyond. It is very difficult to cover all aspects as it is a broad topic. Here, we try to find out how to ask a question ‘how’ in a scientific and philosophical tone.
Asking questions of how god came into existence is fallacious
God is not a biological entity or undergoes biological processes, so it cannot be explained in physical world terms. God is eternal and there cannot be anything in him that makes him biologically deteriorating. So any attempt to describe god as having human or bodily form is futile. Though there can be a personal god not made of flesh or blood. Though it is very difficult to explain what and how god looks.
We can understand the universe after big bang but to know what existed before it is fairly a speculation. So in this situation saying from where god came is not possible. There are both the possibilities that god is either uncreated and existed since eternity or how god came into existence precedes big bang and cannot be conclusively predicted. So any proof going through lab test is also futile as it will mean only applying the conditions prevailing in the earth and universe based on physical composition or laws of nature. While god is older then the singularity or may be eternal.
Even if we talk about multiverse then every universe has different set of laws. This also makes it ponder that different set of laws can lead to same result life as which is comparable to life on earth. Producing life that we see on earth is essentially related to a particular set of laws which is visible on our universe. It is product of laws suitable for life on earth. What if there is a creation on other universe but does that mean what we perceive as life as we see here we can comprehend it or even call it life form.
So is also the case with the creator we cannot fathom him out. What we perceive as creator in traditional form, it is not possible that he resides in a form, that is unimaginable to us. Which is living but our understanding of universe and experience stops us from knowing it.
Whatever the outcome god is obviously above the realm of time, matter and space which sets him something above the big bang or affected by worldly matters. Even the theory of evolution is vague about the non-living things converting into building blocks of life.
It has been a question raised by non-believers- who created god. They are especially in awe of the all powerful god. They often ask about the need for such a vast universe when life is confined to just a small corner of the universe.
Does the vastness of the universe point to god?
Some scientist satirically pass judgment is why universe is so vast is it not wastage of resources by god. The answer is simple which also scientists know but ignore. They understand that galaxies balance the other galaxy with their gravity, if there is slight disbalance it will collapse. Even expansion of the universe points to this truth. If we have to understand god then we have to assume god as a law giver creating right conditions which will sustain life for long period of time.
The creation of universe is a continuous process it takes birth then collapses. Then a new universe is created which fuels the speculation of multiverse. Though multiverse is a concept it is gaining importance among scientists. But as human mind is limited we don’t know about physical presence of other universes. Some day science will throw more light on it.
The vastness must be understood in a way that the life may be possible in distant galaxies not just confined to earth. Though we are yet to find extra terrestrial life. How so much life mushroomed across the universe as the modern scientists expect. Is it all a chance that life evolved. There must be an intelligent creator who set the conditions right every where.
But in our search for ET do we really say confidently what constitutes the life form. Do the ETs have to be the same way that we imagine or the movies have projected.
No it has not to be. We do not understand every form of life. Similarly in case of god we are quick to pass judgment on god. God may be present in forms which is living and eternal but human mind cannot perceive it.
Life is so complex that some rudimentary forms can be perceivable to have emerged from evolution but without guidance from god such complex and sophisticated life forms cannot be sustainable.
Then what is the explanation for co-existence of evolution and theism. Is it theistic evolution. However, the critic claim that if the evolution is guided by god then how it is an unguided process as espoused by Darwin. Here we have to understand that god set the initial conditions which would lead to certain conclusive life forms as envisaged by him. Then after the initial process he withdraws. After which the evolution is triggered the way it seems today in various life forms. Though it seems to be unguided but there is possibility that it has been rigged from the beginning by god.
Signs of god in human being
Often a doubt is raised that universe came into existence 13.8 billion years ago while life emerged very late about 4.8 billion years ago. So why there is so much gap for many billion of years. Here we have to understand that there is no value as cosmic time for god as he is not confined to time. The time gap may be huge for us mortals though for god it is beyond the concept of time. So the question of time gap do not hold much validation for denying god.
Also, the atheism moment in West tries to impact the whole world. The West predominantly has a religion based on monotheism. It believes in the concept of Judgment Day. But many a time a question is raised what about the lives who die prematurely. Certainly one life is not enough. Here comes the importance of Hinduism religion which believes in reincarnation. It also logically explains the burgeoning population of the world.
But certainly every part of sacred book of religion cannot be a scientific book. Despite lacunae the concept of rebirth is tenable compatible to god unlike the Western religions.
However the beauty is that truth can be found with eastern philosophy and belief at the intersection of western scientific minds.
Science and God
I have a firm faith that there is a God, but many times, detractors question why he waited for so long to create the universe about 13.8 billion years ago, and more so, the first species emerged about 3.8 billion years ago. What took God so long to endow Earth with life so late, and even the rise of Homo sapiens even later, about 200,000-300,000 years ago? The answer is simple: God believes in order and harmony, which the renowned scientist Albert Einstein espoused. The creator is not blindfolded in showing his authority, but took a step-by-step creation to allow free will.
It has been time and again reiterated by theistic scientists and believers that God cannot be understood in terms of time, space, and matter. So he cannot be put in the frame of the physical world. Here, it is important to note that an incomprehensible time for humanity may be a way for God to sustain life that is suitable for the species.
God has shown his insignia in life from the perspective of the complexities of life. At the moment, in view of the present scenario of new scientific discoveries, I do not want to cast any aspersion on the theory of evolution, which looks tenable. But was it an undirected process, as espoused by scientists, or were the rules set from the time of creation of the universe, ultimately leading to the formation of the species on the earth? Only time will be able to answer this question, but coherence is something that cannot be denied. The famous atheist Richard Dawkins always refutes the analogy of the ‘watchmaker’ by William Paley, which roughly says that a watch cannot be made on its own; similarly, the universe cannot create itself. Dawkins always refutes the analogy. Even atheists like the late Christopher Hitchens agreed that fine-tuning of the universe is the only thing that may ever convince him about God, but added that he is an atheist. Atheists like Sam Harris are very speculative, postulating theories before the Big Bang, which is nothing but speculation.
But even as the atheist scientists try to make the debate lopsided, the famous scientist Michio Kaku proposes a middle path, calling for the possibility of God through his string theory. Here, it must be understood by readers that string theory is a branch of science and does not necessarily mean studying metaphysics. However, Kaku throws light on it through string theory. In the words of Kaku, the “mind of God” may be “cosmic music,” which is the resonance of strings in 11-dimensional hyperspace, and the universe’s mathematical nature suggests an underlying intelligent design.
Refuting the most scientific mind, Stephen Hawking, claim that,” At the instant of the big bang, God does not have the room for creating the universe, Kaku says, according to Albert Einstein’s theory of Relativity the big bank was instataneous and therefore Hawking says there was no time for the god to create the universe and therefore could not possibly exist. That’s an old theory we no longer necessarily believe that anymore because we know that the Big Bang was a quantum event. In a quantum event, if it happens once, it can happen again and again and creating a multiverse of universes. And so we begin to realise that there was plenty of time for god to create a universe because there was not just one universe.
This is a powerful argument in favour of god, but we do not know whether there is a multiverse, as it is a part of string theory, which is still developing. As the human mind is still exploring the vast universe, we only know about our universe; the rest are speculations. As we unravel the mystery of god’s creation, only time will tell whether Kaku is right or not.
Now moving away from the creation of the universe to the other mystery of how life originated on Earth. Let’s understand the other genius mind in the scientific domain, Francis Collins. While talking about the meaning of human life and whether there is an afterlife, he says, “Humans have a soul because of advanced consciousness, morality, and spiritual awareness. Animals have some level of consciousness, but not the human spiritual soul.”
In a way, he means only humans have the afterlife, while animals cannot have the same privilege. Though it seems tenable, it is hard to believe that such a thing as the soul evidence has not been found scientifically. However, if we think that God, who is so powerful and omnipotent, can recreate the world as it is, and you do not even need a soul for the afterlife.
Take another very meritorious mind, Dr. Sam Parnia, a leading resuscitation researcher, according to him, the consciousness might continue after the heart stops, providing a peek into the process of death. He challenges the notion that death is an endpoint, which is based on his study from the AWARE project. He found out that people report vivid experiences (lights, life reviews) during cardiac arrest, even minutes after brain activity ceases, indicating consciousness might not entirely vanish with brain death but could be a separate, measurable phenomenon.
He uses his study to improve CPR techniques for better recovery of these experiences, and to redefine what “death” means. He never conclusively or remotely uses it to deny or affirm the presence of God. But, interestingly, we now know that consciousness even exists after death, and for how long nobody is sure. But in my view, this discovery is of valuable importance for those who believe in god to have an understanding of the subject.
Amidst this discussion, I want to say that sometimes near-death experiences are cited as evidence of God, but this may be fallacious. Some of the books written on the subject are bestsellers, but they also remain very misleading. Scientists have conclusively tried to explain the process using scientific methods.
Even the rebirth cases, as claimed, have been called a hoax and have been explained very well by scientists, so we cannot hide behind this argument either. But I will add a word of caution, still, this process has not been studied too well to make a final judgment. In fact, Hinduism complete existence is based on this concept.
My point in bringing these cases is to reaffirm that we cannot try to find the divine through the god of Gaps theory. If Science has made progress, then we have to make ourselves adaptable to it and try to understand god’s world, the ‘how’ process in this way. The ignorance will only lead to bigotry and intolerance. Here, we must understand that secular Scientists try to work on wisdom through Science; we should not ignore it, but God is not testable and cannot be found out through a laboratory process.
Often, a question is raised as to why the Universe is so vast; it is satirically said by atheists that it is a waste of resources by god. But here we know that each galaxy supports the other galaxy, balancing it with gravity. Also, an expanding universe is compatible with the survival of the Universe. It means a process has been set up, and the Universe is behaving as destined.
Is God benevolent
We have discussed in detail that God is all omnipotent, but many times it is questioned whether the all-mighty god is benevolent. Many times, it is cited that there are so many natural disasters, deadly diseases, wars, and horrible crimes. If God is so omnipotent and benevolent, why does he not stop it?
To understand this, we have to assume that God does not want to reveal himself. He wants to remain anonymous. But why will he do that? Only to give free will to species. If he interferes, then the mystique of the universe will vanish.
He is a lawgiver, and through this process, he sustains life. So while making the laws of nature, such natural disasters may be imperative. He can stop it, but the free will of the species may be impacted because he never interferes. What Einstein believed was that he did not believe in a god who gives gifts and interferes in the world; he believed in an impersonal God. He believed in the law of nature. Here, I will tell that such a god may be a natural law giver, but very well could have a physical form. But what way he reveals himself is a mystery.
