Size of the Universe: Isn't it Too Large to Have Been Created by God for Humanity?
by Rich Deem

Introduction

Size of the Universe

The universe is immense in size. If God created the universe why would He make it so big and massive? It turns out that the laws of physics require the universe to be the size it is in order for stars and galaxies (and humans) to exist.

Rich Deem

The large size of the universe is often said to be an argument against the existence of the God of Christianity. If the purpose of God were to create a place for humans to live, why didn't God just create one star and one planet? Isn't the existence of trillions of galaxies a complete waste? Doesn't the huge size and mass of the universe suggest that humans are just a cosmic accident among the numerous habitable planets?

Size of the universe

Our star, the Sun, is a slightly above average sized star (one of the 1021 stars in the universe) in an average sized galaxy (of which there are ~100 billion in the universe). The universe itself is currently tens of billions of light years across,1 and seems to be expanding more rapidly as it gets older. It seems like complete overkill for God to have created so many galaxies when one would have been more than enough. The Hubble ultra deep field image below shows what the universe looked like ~2 billion years after the initiation of the Big Bang. The tiny dots are not stars, but entire galaxies, tightly packed together in the early universe.

Hubble Deep FieldHubble Deep Field

God's purpose for the universe

The argument that the universe is too large to have been created by God implies a knowledge of God's purposes in creating the universe. Skeptics tend to assume that Christianity claims that the universe was created to give humans a nice place to live. Although the Bible indicates that the universe was created as a place for humans to live, God's purposes in creating the universe go much deeper than just providing a good place to live. In fact, God's ultimate purpose for the universe involves its complete destruction,2 followed by His creation of an entirely new universe with vastly different physical laws. God's main purpose for the universe is to allow a large number3 of spiritual beings (both angels and humans) to choose to spend eternity with Him.4 The requirement of the allowance of choice for free will beings puts constraints on the laws of physics and how the universe operates.

What does a universe look like that requires free will choice? First, there is a requirement for cause and effect. Since we live in such a universe, we tend to assume that cause and effect is a given. However, time, a necessary component of cause and effect, is a construct of this universe, and began at the initiation of the Big bang.5 In addition to time, it must be clear that choices exist, and that there are differences between those choices. The Bible says that we must choose between good and evil (which is why evil must exist), and accept God's solution (Jesus Christ) to the problem of evil. How do we know that choices are to made while living on earth? There are two forms of revelation (general and special) that God has used to inform mankind of their choices. General revelation comes from nature itself. This is one reason why the universe is as big as what it is. If God had created one star and one planet, we might think about how it came to be, but we would have no way of studying those two objects to make any kind of inference about their origin. However, the Bible says that God spreads out the stars,6 and that we can study the universe to see how great God is,7 so that we are without excuse in rejecting Him.8 So, the immense size of the universe demonstrates God's power and authority.

Universe size matters!

Journey Toward Creation DVDBesides spiritual reasons, there are also physical constraints on the minimum (and maximum) mass of the universe. The universe could not have been much smaller than it is in order for nuclear fusion to have occurred during the first 3 minutes after the Big Bang. Without this brief period of nucleosynthesis, the early universe would have consisted entirely of hydrogen.9 Without helium (comprising ~24% of the matter in the universe), heavy element production in stars is not possible, so that no rocky planets would have ever existed in the entire history of the universe.

Likewise, the universe could not have been a much more massive than it is, or life would not have been possible. If the universe were just one part in 1059 more massive,10 the universe would have collapsed before life was possible. Since there are only 1080 baryons in the universe, this means that an addition of just 1021 baryons (at 1.67�10−27 kg/baryon equals 1.7 mg of matter - equal to a grain of sand) would have made life impossible! The universe is exactly the size it must be for life to exist at all.

Conclusion Top of page

For both spiritual and physical reasons, the universe must be immense to fulfill the purposes of God, according to the Bible. The large size of the universe tells us about His power and authority, and is required for the formation of rocky planets.

References Top of page

  1. Krauss, L. M. and B. Chaboyer. 2003. Age Estimates of Globular Clusters in the Milky Way: Constraints on Cosmology. Science 299: 65-69.
  2. But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:7)
    But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10)
    looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! (2 Peter 3:12)
    "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18)
    "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Mark 13:31)
    "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." (Luke 21:33)
    And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, "YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN." And this expression, "Yet once more," denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, in order that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26-27)
  3. After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. (Revelation 7:9-11)
  4. In Jesus' parable of the banquet, the master of the house (representing God) invited a large number of guests. Most of the invited guests made excuses and did not want to go to the banquet (representing heaven). Jesus said, "Then the master [God] told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full.'" (Luke 14:23)
  5. "The conclusion of this lecture is that the universe has not existed forever. Rather, the universe, and time itself, had a beginning in the Big Bang, about 15 billion years ago." Stephen Hawking The Beginning of Time.
    Penrose, R. 1966. An analysis of the structure of space-time. Adams Prize Essay, Cambridge University.
    Hawking, S.W. 1966. Singularities and the Geometry of space-time. Adams Prize Essay, Cambridge University.
    Hawking, S.W. and G.F.R. Ellis. 1968. The cosmic black-body radiation and the existence of singularities in our universe. Astrophysical Journal 152: 25-36.
    Hawking, S.W. and R. Penrose. 1970. The singularities of gravitational collapse and cosmology. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A: 529-548.
  6. The following verses suggest that God created the universe through an expanding universe - what science has called the Big Bang. In many cases the Hebrew text indicates present tense - a process still continuing.
    • Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea; (Job 9:8)
    • Covering Thyself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. (Psalm 104:2)
    • It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22)
    • Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread out the earth and its offspring, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk in it, (Isaiah 42:5)
    • Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone" (Isaiah 44:24)
    • "It is I who made the earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I ordained all their host." (Isaiah 45:12)
    • "Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together." (Isaiah 48:13)
    • That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens, And laid the foundations of the earth; That you fear continually all day long because of the fury of the oppressor, As he makes ready to destroy? But where is the fury of the oppressor? (Isaiah 51:13)
    • It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 10:12)
    • It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 51:15)
    • The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, (Zechariah 12:1)
  7. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)
  8. ... what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)
    And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah. (Psalm 50:6)
    The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples have seen His glory. (Psalm 97:6)
  9. Big Bang nucleosynthesis, Wikipedia.
  10. Cosmology Tutorial, Part 3: Spatial Curvature; Flatness-Oldness; Horizon, Edward L. (Ned) Wright, UCLA.

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Last Modified December 19, 2006

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