Tim, The Christian, Asks The Atheists: How Did The World Begin?

Before I present my next question / argument, a few housekeeping items:

1.  I apologize for not posting anything for a almost a week.  Life has been hectic for me, in a good way, this past week.  I thank you for your continued readership and think you can expect much more frequent posts.

2.  I have really appreciated that the posts we have put up have been commented on a lot.  A primary purpose which both Andrew and I had was to promote dialogue between Christians and atheists.  I have been very concerned in recent days, however, with the tenor of the comments.  Both sides need to tone it down.  Let's refuse to make personal attacks or digs.  Let's be civil with each other and focus on giving our best arguments. PLEASE.

Now my next question for you atheists: How can you explain the origins of the universe?

I believe that the Christian position concerning the origins of the world are more rational than the atheists'.  I do not believe that the atheist can adequately answer how the world was created. Typically the atheist says that the world was created through a Big Bang.  This begs the question, however.  What caused the Big Bang?  Where did the matter come from that went bang? How did something come from nothing?

The Christian position is clear.  Aristotle and Aquinas called it the Unmoved Mover.  Modernly, the argument is that there is an Intelligent Designer.  And there is plenty of evidence for an Intelligent Designer.  For example, the placement of the earth makes it more reasonable to believe that Someone placed it where it is:

1. The Tilt of Earth's Axis: The axis of the earth is tilted at about 23% yet no other planet is tilted like this in the known universe. The tilt of the earth is important because it allows for equal distribution of the heat from the sun. 

2. The Oscillation of the Earth's Axis: The earth "wobbles" off the 23% tilt by about 3%. It wobbles up 3%, then back to 23%, and then down 3%, and then up again to the 23% average tilt. And it does it with amazing regularity, thus creating seasons.  If this oscillation was more than 3% up from the average, the sun would strike the earth with such force the ice caps would melt, there would be huge flooding and eventually it would evaporate the oceans. Conversely, if there were no seasons, the world would be mostly ice. 

3. The Rotation of Earth: The earth rotates on the titled axis at about 1000 miles an hour. The rate of speed is critical for life to exist because it is what causes the day to be 24  hours long, a length of time that is critical for growth and rest to both animal and plant life.  If days were longer, the heat would build up so much that it would scorch everything above the surface of the ground.  If the nights were longer, scientists estimate that temperatures would plummet to -240 below 0. Our world is rotating at just the right speed to alternate between heating and cooling, to promote growth and rest.

4.  The Depth of the Oceans:  The depth of the earth's oceans is just right. The former president of the American Academy of Sciences said that if the earth's oceans had been just a little deeper when the earth began, the extra water would have robbed the atmosphere of the oxygen and carbon dioxide. The atmosphere we breath is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% trace elements, the exact combination for human life to prosper. Without it, life would have never begun. Therefore, the earth's oceans are just the right depths in relation to the atmosphere.

5. The Thickness of Earth's Crust: Not only are the earth's oceans the right depth, the earth's crust is the right thickness. If the earth's crust was only ten feet thinker it would oxidize all the earth's oxygen. 

6. The Speed of Orbit: The earth moves at the rate of 18 miles per second around the sun in an elliptical orbit, not a circular orbit, at just the right speed. If the earth slowed just a couple of miles per second we would be pulled into the sun and burned to a crisp. Conversely if the earth were moving faster in orbit, we would freeze to death. 

7. The Distance From Sun:  The earth is just the right number of miles from the sun, about 93 million miles, to get just the right amount of heat to survive.  The surface of the sun is about 12,000 degrees. If the earth was just a few miles closer to the sun, we would burn like torches; a few degrees further away, we would freeze like popsicles.

9. Distance Of The Moon: While the earth is spinning, oscillating, and racing round the sun, the moon is moving around the earth at just the right distance to cause the tides to ebb and flow at just the right rate. If our moon were in a closer orbit, the increased gravitational pull would cause the lower regions of the earth to be  flooded eventually, all land would be swamped.  

The placement of the earth and moon in the solar system is only one example of the miracles (I know you atheists will cringe at the use of that word) that can be found in nature.  The earth and moon are perfectly placed to be conducive to life.   Yet, the atheist would have us believe that it is simply by chance.  It is more rationale to believe that this evidence indicates that the world was placed where it was by a Creator.

This is not an argument about evolution.  Too often the arguments are confused. Evolution and the belief in creation by God are not mutually exclusive.  

This is also not an argument for ignorance, that is, I am not arguing that since an atheist cannot disprove that God created the world, then it must be that God created with world. Rather, I am saying that there is evidence that "God" created the world, and that it is more logical to believe that Something created the world. 

What say you?