Hi everyone! We’ve been investigating the question of who or what could have created our universe. Last Monday was our 4th meeting of Church In A Brewery. We took an investigation method from the book God’s Crime Scene and examined the origin of the universe as if it were a crime scene. We then came up with a list of possible “suspects” or causes of the universe. Common theories of the cause of our universe include:
- The universe itself (eternal universe model)
- An intelligent creator or God
- Matter, space, time, etc…
- Aliens!
To understand the investigation method from God’s Crime Scene, we discussed a fun analogy from one of my all-time favorite TV shows, Batman The Animated Series! Yep… I’m a nerd. Check out this clip!
In this clip, a mysterious villain seems to have trashed the Batmobile with bare hands. Based on the damage at the crime scene, what sort of suspect could be capable of committing this crime? Many of the villains in Batman’s rogues gallery aren’t strong enough to cause that kind of damage. They were able to narrow down their suspect list significantly just based on the evidence at the crime scene.
We took a similar approach to investigating the origin of the universe. Our group discussed the evidence found at the “crime scene” of the origin of the universe. We identified pieces of evidence that we can see in our world such as the creation of a universe from nothing (which would require a very powerful suspect), complex information, the existence of life, justice, consciousness, complex systems such as the water cycle, etc. From here, we began narrowing down our suspect list. It made for a very interesting discussion!
You can listen to a podcast recap of Week 4’s topic introduction here:
Below are the questions we discussed together for this week. If you’d like to be a part of our discussion group, stop by Church In A Brewery at Augustino Brewing. We meet every Monday night at 7:30 PM. 756 N. Tyler Rd. Wichita, KS 67212
Discussion Questions:
- What do you see in our world that the “cause” of the universe is responsible for?
- Discuss each possible “cause” of the universe. What are the limitations of each suspect, if any?
List of potential causes of the universe:
-The universe itself
-An intelligent creator (such as God)
-Aliens
-Matter, energy, time (universe is random, no intelligent source required)
3. Narrow down your list of suspects. Which suspects can best account for everything we see in our world?
4. What are your unanswered questions on this subject?
Additional reading:
Article on the organization of the simplest cell: https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/todays-new-reason-to-believe/read/tnrtb/2009/10/01/bringing-order-to-the-case-for-intelligent-design-part-2