Sunday Superposition #27

God's hostile universe; repurposing old mines; celebrity conversions

Sunday Superposition is a premium perk for paid subscribers, an end-of-the-month collection of spiritual themes and links to stuff I find interesting.

If God created the universe, why is most of it hostile to life?

I enjoy sharing images like this on social media and reminding people what an artist our Creator is:

Even as a crusty old scientist who’s been at this for a long time, images like this never fail to stir strong emotions in me. I’m sure many of you find them similarly moving.

When I give credit to Jesus for creating this incredible universe, I’m sometimes asked how I can believe God created it when almost all of it is hostile to life.

Not an unreasonable question.

My belief in God rests on a lot of evidence, including how intelligible and organized the universe is, and how finely-tuned it is to permit intelligent life. That was enough to convince me in my final, faltering days as an atheist that God is real.

So, for me, the question isn’t whether the vastness of the universe and its hostility to human life points toward or away from God, but how to understand the vastness and hostility given that I already believe in God.