I have just come across some physical facts about the human body. The facts are a little dated, and maybe medical science might have changed them somewhat, but I think you will get the point anyway. They are given to be true of the average woman, but I imagine they hold to be true for the average man. According to the information an average woman has about 750 movable muscles, 500 of which work in pairs. Her skin covers an area 20 square feet. In a piece of skin the size of a postage stamp there are four yards of nerves, one hundred sweat glands, fifteen oil glands, a yard of blood vessels, and about three million assorted cells. When we think about that, how the words of the psalmist ring true, Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous --- and how well I know it (Psalm 139:14; NLT).
Now that is an example of God working in us --- in a square inch of our territory; this reveals to us the detailed marvel of human creation, God working in the infinitesimally small things of our life.
Even if we go to the other end of the scale and we look at our vast universe, God’s creative handiwork is found there in the fine-tuning of physical characteristics. The fine-turning of the universe is shown in the precise strengths of four basic forces. Gravity is the best known of these forces and is the weakest, with a relative strength of one. Next comes the weak nuclear force that holds the neutron together. It is 10 (10 multiplied by itself 34 times) stronger than gravity, but works only at subatomic distances. Electromagnetism is 1,000 times stronger than the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force, which keeps protons together in the nucleus of an atom, is 100 times stronger yet. If even one of these forces had a slightly different strength, the life-sustaining universe that we know of would be impossible.
If gravity was slightly stronger all stars would burn out too fast for life on earth, on the other hand, if gravity was weaker there would be no production of heavier elements to produce planets. If the weak nuclear force was slightly stronger there would be nothing in the universe but hydrogen, if it was weaker all the hydrogen would turn into helium and other elements. If the electromagnetic force was not precise there would be no chemical bonds to produce life. Finally, changing the strong nuclear force would produce a universe with only hydrogen or with no hydrogen.
Besides these four factors, there are at least 25 other factors that require pinpoint precision to produce a universe that contains life. Getting each of them exactly right suggests the presence of an Intelligent Designer.
In addition to fine-tuning the universe there needs to be a carefully selected place where life can reside. Life as we know it can exist only within certain limits. There are at least 45 factors, from the size of our galaxy to the mass of the moon, which permit the presence of life on this planet. The fine-tuning of the four physical forces and the presence of one habitable planet are just two (there are 10 factors) of the components that would go into a formula to predict the probably of a life-supporting universe. Back in 1961, Frank Drake calculated the chances which were later refined by Penrose at 1 in 10 to the 10 to the 123. This number is beyond our ability to comprehend. To write 10 to the 10 to the 123 in one line would extend beyond the bounds of the universe.
When we think of the design of our vast universe, we can say with far more amazement than even the psalmist could, “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers --- the moon and the stars you have set in place --- what are mortals that you should think of us, mere mortals that you should care for us?” (Psalm 8:3, 4; NLT). When we think logically, which is a goal of mathematics, we are naturally led to think of a designer God.
-- Pastor Rich
