5 Realities that Challenge the Multiverse Theory

The idea that there is more than one universe is popular these days. This hypothesis was originally put forward by Hugh Everett, a student at Princeton University in the 1950s, who developed this thought for his PhD thesis. The multiverse notion has since been picked up in popular science fiction, like Dr. Strange… yet some take it seriously. The late Stephen Hawking, for example, was convinced this theory must be the answer to why our universe was so finely tuned for life to exist on Earth. If untold numbers of universes exist, then ours just got the lucky roll of the dice.

The reason the multiverse theory remains popular is primarily because it’s perceived to eliminate any need for an Intelligent Designer, one who must be the Divine Mind behind the Big Bang. But does the multiverse theory give the best explanation for why Earth is finely tuned for life? In any theory, one looks for what gives the best explanation for why something happened. This is known as Occam’s Razor, which means the simplest explanation is probably correct. There exists some basic natural realities and human experiences that show the historic Christian perspective is stronger in its explanatory scope on why there is one universe caused by a Creator rather than the multiverse theory.

Here are valid views that account for an array of accepted realities:

Reality #1: The universe had a distinct beginning – the Big Bang

This is an accepted fact by most scientists. Many used to think the universe was eternal and called this the “Steady-State Theory.” Yet, since Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, and the Second Law of Thermodynamics, that theory is no longer accepted. The Hubble Telescope was also used to discover that the universe was expanding. And with an expansion, there is a cause. Scientists now know that all space, time and material began in this Big Bang phenomenon. So, whatever created it must be outside of the cause, and be spaceless, timeless, immaterial and really, really smart! That sounds like a definition of God.

Reality #2: Non-material things exist

Abstract entities such as mathematics, laws of logic, and knowledge are immaterial yet exist. Nonetheless, a naturalistic worldview, one that does not acknowledge the existence of anything non-material, is firmly planted in the field of most sciences, and denies anything supernatural.

Scientists are often viewed as the truth-tellers of reality. But science can’t even explain why ‘order’ itself exists! The laws of nature, for example, are preexisting; in other words, scientists have merely discovered these laws which show that there are constants, like gravity, that govern the universe. The universe runs on ordered laws that are immaterial in nature. These things can’t be measured empirically (though the five senses), only the effects of using these laws can be measured. This shows that things exist that are not physical. So, one can infer that a nonmaterial cause to the physical universe is plausible.

Reality #3: Universal, moral objectives exist

Just like the laws of nature hint at a “Law Maker”, so do moral laws. Despite today’s relativistic-thinking, which says moral truth is subjective, there exists an innate sense of right and wrong within every mentally-healthy individual. These objective morals, like murder is wrong, are best explained by a Moral Law Maker.

The contrasting view, that says we are moral beings through social constructs, doesn’t hold the best explanation for why we have that innate sense of “ought-ness.” For example, if morals were simply social constructs, then who could say what the Nazis did to the Jews was wrong? German society claimed that the Jews were sub-human, and thus, deserving of death. If morals are subjective social constructs, then this kind of genocide could happen again.

Deep down within ourselves, innately we should know murder is wrong (unless it’s self-defense). You just don’t murder people. Period. That is an objective moral, again, best explained by God, who transcends any human standard of morality. For those who have rebelled against the Law Maker, searing their conscience, we have a written record of morality that God inspired Moses to write down (the Ten Commandments), so there is no excuse. If everyone just followed those laws, we’d not have the problems we face today.

Reality #4: Human beings are a self-reflecting species with a consciousness, free will, and a need for meaning in life

The best explanation for the mind is a human soul created by God. To suggest that the mind is just ‘a brain’ responding to biochemical stimuli renders the person with no free will. To clarify this point, if we merely responded to our environment because of evolutionary programming, that is determinism, not free will. As Tim Stratton of Free Thinking Ministries once said, “If Naturalism were true, people would be meat robots.” It sounds like he’s kidding, but he is serious! If a purely materialistic reality was true, there would be no free will because our brains would have no choice but to respond to chemical stimuli.

Yet common sense tells us that we do have free will. People have choices and make them all the time! They are not biochemical machines programmed by stimuli. People are so much more than their physical forms. We were created in God’s image; part of that image is having free will and a spirit, some of the best gifts God gave us.

Reality #5: Most people experience religious phenomena of some sort. In fact, more than half the world’s population follows a monotheistic religion[1]

Half of the world’s population equals more than 3 billion people. Are all these people deluded? The likelihood is no. Even though Atheism may be trendy (in certain circles), many intelligent people believe in God. And according to Pew research, religious belief is growing. If current trends continue, by 2050 only 13% of the population will be non-religious.

To rely on scientists as the only truth-tellers of our time is very limiting. Science can explain a lot of things materially, but it can’t explain experiences of the human soul, nor does it provide the best explanation for the origin of life.

These five realities show that naturalistic theories for the existence of our universe does not give the best explanatory power for why anything exists at all. The Multiverse Theory is just a “science-of-the-gaps” response to existence. Even if science does find another universe in the future (which is highly improbable), the multiverse theory still fails to account for what created the first universe. As shown philosophically, an infinite regress in event-causing universes is not possible. Science itself shows everything that exists has a cause; so, there must be a first cause that is outside of time and space that created time and space.

Just for fun, let’s say there are multiverses… then there probably would be a universe just like ours, where God created everything and people have religious faith.

 

[1]Ken Samples,7 Truths That Changed the World (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012),127.

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