I was presented with an interesting theory which was claimed to be the ultimate, definitive proof of God. The theory goes like this: The probability of life happening by chance is equivalent to a tornado tearing through a junkyard and perfectly assembling a BOEING 747, thus, we must have had a creator. This is actually a widely utilized argument, presumably first presented by Fred Hoyle, by creationists. I thought about this, researched, and here is what I have to say in response to the “definitive proof of God.”
A) “Chance” is not the logical alternative to Creationism. As a matter of fact, chance contradicts Natural Selection just as much as it contradicts creationism. Natural Selection is a simple, elegant solution to existence which has absolutely nothing to do with chance and everything to do with survival of traits better suited for survival (which is an absolutely logical and sound theory). Traits that are better equipped to survive, survive. Does that have anything to do with chance? No. Thus, chance is NOT the plausible alternative to creationism, and when chance fails, creationism does not win by default.
B) Lets say that there are a billion billion planets out there (actually a modest assumption according to most scientific models) and that the beginning of life on any of these planets actually WAS a highly improbable occurrence. We could say that the chances of a planet having life are a billion to one. This would still allow for life on a billion planets! Furthermore, we would only need the probability of life on a single planet in a billion billion to justify, scientifically, our existence. Now think of this principle (Anthropic Principle) on a molecular level. The possibilities and probabilities are greater than you think.
C) Lastly, if, for the sake of arguments, the occurrence of life WAS as unlikely as a BOEING 747, then the existence of a God complicated enough to transcend realms of time and space, break physical laws, hear all of our prayers simultaneously etc. etc. would be INFINITELY LESS LIKELY than the accidental creation of a BOEING 747. It would be equivalent of the same tornado creating a super computer with all possible knowledge, the ultimate software of the past, present, future, and all other realms and dimensions, all planes of possibility already calculated and saved onto a hard-drive. The computer would also be able to infinitely influence existence because of its immense power. This is extremely unlikely. The probability could be calculated to zero. Thus, God doesn’t exist.
Sorry creationists, try another one.
Yes? Or am I missing something here?