The lecture: (from 2013)

Note: there is a period of 19 minutes of Q&A at the end of the lecture.

About the speaker:

His full biography is here.

Summary:

• It used to be true that most of the great scientists were believers in God
• But now science has advanced and we have better instruments – is it still true?
• Today, many people believe that science has shows that the universe and Earth are not special
• We used to believe that the Earth was the center of the universe, and Darwin showed we are not designed
• The problem with this view is that it is based on old science, not modern science
• Three topics: origin of the universe, fine-tuning of the universe, the Rare Earth hypothesis

Experimental evidence for the origin of the universe:

• #1: Hubble discovered that the universe expands because of redshifting of light from distant galaxies
• #2: Measurements of the cosmic microwave background radiation show the universe had a beginnning
• #3: Measurements of the light element (hydrogen and helium) abundances confirm an origin of the universe
• The best explanation for an absolute origin of space, time, matter and energy is a supernatural cause

Experimental evidence for the design of the universe:

• #1: The amount of matter: a bit less = no stars and galaxies, a bit more = universe recollapses
• #2: The strong force: a bit more = only hydrogen, a bit more = little or no hydrogen
• #3: Carbon resonance level: a bit higher = no carbon, a bit lower = no carbon

Experimental evidence for galactic, stellar and planetary habitability:

• #1: Galaxy: produces high number of heavy elements and low radiation
• #2: Star: long stable lifetime, burns bright, bachelor star, third generation star (10 billion years must elapsed),
• #3: Planet: mass of planet, stable orbit, liquid water, tectonic activity, tilt, moon

Naturalistic explanations:

• Humans evolve to the point where they reach back in time and create finely-tuned universe
• Eternally existing multiverse

Hawking and Mlodinow response to Rare Earth:

• There are lots of planets so one must support life
• Odds of a planet that supports life are low even with 10^22 planets

Hawking and Mlodinow proposal of M-theory multiverse:

• There is no experimental evidence for M-theory being true
• M-theory is not testable now and is not likely to be testable in the future
• But science is about making testable predictions, not about blind speculation

Hawking and Mlodinow no-boundary proposal:

• This theory requires the laws of physics to exist prior to the universe
• But where do you get laws of physics before there is any physical world?
• There is no experimental evidence for no-boundary proposal
• All the evidence we have now (redshift, CMBR, H-He abundances) is for Big Bang

What science has revealed provide abundant evidence for a transcendent Creator and Designer

Related posts

• The kalam cosmological argument and the Big Bang theory
• The fine-tuning argument from cosmological constants and quantities
• The origin of life, part 1 of 2: the building blocks of life
• The origin of life, part 2 of 2: biological information
• The sudden origin of phyla in the Cambrian explosion
• Galactic habitable zones and circumstellar habitable zones
• Irreducible complexity in molecular machines
• The creative limits of natural selection and random mutation
• Angus Menuge’s ontological argument from reason
• Alvin Plantinga’s epistemological argument from reason
• William Lane Craig’s moral argument
• The unexpected applicability of mathematics to nature
  
• Arguments and scientific evidence for non-physical minds