Despite being very conservative in my theology and approach to Scripture, as well as a firm Creationist, I enjoy reading very broadly and can count within my library volumes by secular scientists Paul Davies, Stephen Hawking, and Brian Greene (in addition to books by scientists more theistically oriented, such as Francis Collins and Keith Ward). Quite a few (though not all) secular physicists of various stripes approve of, or at least are sympathetic to, the idea of a "multiverse," that our universe, consisting of millions of galaxies, is just one of many, perhaps infinite, other universes: As Greene writes, "Imagine that what we call the universe is actually only one tiny part of a vastly larger cosmological expanse, one of an enormous number of island universes scattered across a grand cosmological archipelago" (Brian Greene, The Elegant Universe [New York: Vintage, 2003], 366).
Now, quite often the idea of a multiverse intrudes from the scientific realm into the philosophical realm as a tool to dispense of the need for God. Indeed, some time ago I read a short story in which the protagonist, as part of theoretical physics research team, assists in the discovery of another universe, and subsequently is "freed" from having to believe in God (as if somehow agnostics and/or atheists lived a more fulfilled life than religious people!). Occasionally the argument is given that a multiverse would once-for-all do away with the need to speculate about why our universe just so happens to be right for life, issues raised by the so-called anthropic principle.
In reality, this perspective is somewhat naive and begs the question. We are still left with the foundational question of why there is something rather than nothing, whether that be one universe or many. To argue that we just happen to be lucky to live in the one universe in a million that could sustain life does not explain how there exists a mechanism for the creation (or self-creation) of universes in the first place (the Big Bang further complicates matters, since with most interpretations it dispenses with the possibility that the universe is eternal).
If one wishes to argue, as some do, that quantum mechanics via the role of observers allows for the destruction and creation of entire universes out of nothing, we are left with the question of how and why quantum mechanics came to define the universe. If quantum mechanics and the mechanism of observation, as an explanatory framework for the existence of the universe or multiverse, is simply left unquestioned, then quantum mechanics takes the role of God as the object of unquestioning faith. (I have discussed this more technically in my article in the British journal Science and Christian Belief, back in 2012; click here for access).
In other words, though arguably one can create an internally consistent explanation via quantum mechanics and the multiverse as to why we exist today, this comes at the expense of critical reflection on the very existence of those two elements. They replace God, because like God they are taken for granted. Every position, no matter how "scientific," retains some unquestioned presuppositions.
The flip side, of course, is that sometimes Christians assume unfairly that simply because secular science makes a suggestion not mentioned in the Bible, it is automatically suspect. Could God have created a multiverse? Absolutely. Why not? What God wishes to create is His business, and who am I to tell Him "no"? We Christians need to be a bit more careful in our knee-jerk reactions, and also to acknowledge the mystery of all that we do not know. As Augustine once said, "It is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics [i.e., maters about physical creation]; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, . . ." ("The Literal Meaning of Genesis," translated by J. H. Taylor; note to impressionable readers: this does not mean I agree with everything Augustine said in that treatise!).
Now, could the existence of a multiverse raise difficult theological questions? Maybe, maybe not. The very idea is not problematic. If God could create multiple galaxies, why not multiple universes? What would cause some deep theological reflection, though, is the possibility that via quantum mechanics every decision a person made in this universe causes it to split until two universes, with the opposite decision existing in another. We could end up with the bizarre situation of Jesus Christ dying for sinners in millions, perhaps an infinite number, of universes (though perhaps some universes exist where the Fall to sin never happened). At a minimum, that does not cohere well with the emphasis in Scripture on the finality of Christ's once-for-all sacrifice here on earth in AD 33 [or, less likely, AD 30]. Still, that is only one unlikely interpretation out of the unlikely (though not impossible) possibility that the multiverse exists (a situation which would seem to resist tangible proof, anyways).
In the next post we will look at another situation that some atheists and some Christians seem to think is antithetical to the coherence of Christianity, extra-terrestrial life.
No comments:
Post a Comment