During his visit to campus on October 5th, Dr. Walter L. Bradley, Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Baylor University, addressed an intriguing question: Is there scientific evidence for the existence of God? From the beginning of his lecture, Bradley cautiously warned that “one cannot scientifically prove or disprove God”; nevertheless, he argued that evidence in favor of the scientific potential for a creator’s existence must still be evaluated.
Bradley stated that the concept of God came to the forefront of science in the 1930s with the introduction of the Big Bang Theory, which states that the universe originated from a dense and hot state and continues to expand to the present day. Bradley explained that the Big Bang theory contradicted steady-state theory (the previously accepted atheistic theory), which asserted that the universe has existed eternally.
According to Bradley, discoveries such as background radiation have bolstered Big Bang theory and given evidence to deists and theists in asserting that the universe, in fact, has a beginning.
After discussing the history of the relationship between science and God, Bradley focused on apparent design in nature. He asserted that the multiple components of science consistent with maintaining life on this Earth are signs of intelligent design.
Bradley used the nineteen universal constants, such as the speed of light, Planck’s constant, and the gravitational constant as evidence of design. He also cited the highly specific initial conditions of Earth that allowed life to occur, which he repeatedly referred to as the universe’s “Garden of Eden”.
Bradley’s arguments represent a new wave of religious science, which is not without it’s own criticism. According to Bradley, prominent atheists dismiss the idea of intelligent design, crediting both the creation of Earth and the scientific laws that allowed life to exist, as merely random.
For instance, Richard Dawkins, an atheist and evolutionary biologist, categorizes objects on Earth as being a result of design or designoids. Humans created objects of design, such as Mt. Rushmore. Random occurrences, however, such as the appearance of John F. Kennedy’s facial profile in the shadow of rocks in Hawaii, are designoids, defined as occurrences which appear to be designed but can be explained naturalistically.
Bradley emphasized that the scientific community, let alone humanity, may always remain split on this issue. What can be agreed upon, throughout all the controversy surrounding the relationship between science and God, is that the absolute beauty of nature and its science remains unscathed. Reflecting upon the inherent power of nature, Bradley epitomized such sentiment, stating that “equations do not describe nature, nature describes equations.”