If God both created the Universe and cares about humans, why did he make it so large?

[Pieman333272]

Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

 

[jdwood983]

I don’t know about why He would make it so large, but I think He made the universe mostly uninhabitable so that we cherish and respect our single planet (while still holding dominion over it).

 

[ricmat]

God wants us to have Wisdom.

The beginning of Wisdom is fear of the Lord (to stand in awe of God, and be humble).

Looking at the immensity of the universe should lead us to stand in awe of God, be humble, and gain Wisdom.

Also, whatever God gives, he gives in “superabundance.” The wine at Cana. The bread leftover from the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Grace and holiness, if we ask for it and empty ourselves to receive it.

 

[McatholicN]

My two reasons:

1. I have looked into the vast night sky and was brought closer to God through awe by realizing its amazingness.
2. Who’s to say humans are God’s only special beings in the universe?

 

[tonyrey]

God is not bound by human notions of economy! What difference does the size (or age) of the universe make to our significance? Would our lives be more meaningful if nothing existed but this planet? Then it could be argued that God doesn’t exist because His power is so limited! So what size should the universe be?

 

[coolduude]

This should help a little:

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?

The answer is expanded on here: godandscience.org/apologetics/universe_too_large.html

 

[Anselm33]

Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

If you consider the Anthropic principle, the universe has to be large enough and old enough for life to evolve. See
magisreasonfaith.org/new%20at%20magis/philosophic-issues-in-cosmology-4the-anthropic-coincidences/
quoting from the above:

“The size of the universe and its age must be large enough…we need a sufficiently old universe for second generation stars to come into existence and then for planets to have a stable life for long enough that evolution could lead to the emergence of intelligent life. Thus the universe must be at about 15 billion years old for life to exist.”

(the quote is from the original article:“Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology” by G.R.F. Ellis.
anselm

 

[ProVobis]

So that we may appreciate Him better? Deus Omnipotens

But don’t forget He also made it very small that we can’t imagine or see either. We can’t see subatomic particles with the naked eye or see high-frequency wave lengths for that matter. We only take someone else’s word for it.

 

[ricmat]

If you consider the Anthropic principle, the universe has to be large enough and old enough for life to evolve. See
magisreasonfaith.org/new%20at%20magis/philosophic-issues-in-cosmology-4the-anthropic-coincidences/
quoting from the above:
(the quote is from the original article:“Issues in the Philosophy of Cosmology” by G.R.F. Ellis.
anselm

So the universe is as large as it is, and as old as it is because evolution was the only way God could make it happen, and therefore much time and space were required? Certainly this is the tail wagging the dog.

Thank you, but I think the answer to why God made the universe so large, or why God made anything at all has nothing to do with the anthropic principle, evolution, or the presence of gravity (which Hawking believes is “enough to explain everything”) If you believe that God is restricted in some way by scientific laws, it seems to me that you are mistaken.

 

[Windfish]

Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

Because such a large and old universe is necessary for the creation of stars, the death of stars, the formation of planets, the evolution of life, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Windfish]

Read this Pieman, I promise it will not disappoint.

It is an important fact to grasp that many of the aspects of the universe which appear so obviously in conflict with any interpretation of the universe as hospitable for life, turn out to be crucial features that are necessary for a universe to support complexity of any known sort.We shouldn’t be surprised to find that the universe is so big because that appears to be the only kind of universe we could in principle observe. Furthermore we should not be surprised not to observe extra-terrestrials as the distances involved are so vast. Universes that meet the necessary conditions for life are big and old, dark and cold. ‘All the worlds a stage’ as Shakespeare would say, and it has to be an unimaginably big one to have any players on it.

bedejournal.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-is-universe-so-big.html

The source is Catholic. Though a tinge, a tinge on the liberal side.

 

[PJM]

=Pieman333272;7357680]Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

God Created the Universe in it’s amazingly complex and incomprenhsible size to POINT out the very Power and Magesty of God.

ONLY Planet earth ca sutain LIFE AND the very FCT that among hundreds of thousands of living THINGS on Plant Earth; ONLY ONE;*** humanity; ***created in the image and likeness of God [Gen. 1:26-27] has the POTENTIAL to Know, Love, bey and Serve God.

And that friend is the why Planet earth AND why we are Created with God-like gifts of intellect, mind, freewill and souls.

READ: Isaiah 43: 7-21 for verificaton.

God bless you,
Pat

 

[ronnie_bonigli]

Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

It’s a common error in thinking. But you have to realize no matter how the world was, people would wonder why God would have made it* that way*. As long as we have three space dimensions, those three dimensions are going to continue in each direction for an infinity. What if instead of those endless spaces being filled with other stars and galaxies, they were instead empty? Just the earth with empty space for an infinite distance in all directions. You just know some people would ask why a God would create a universe with endless emptiness in all directions, now THAT sounds terrorfying, just as Pascal had said about looking at the vast night sky. You could say “God can’t win”, no matter how He built a universe people would wonder how He could care about the infinitesimally small man.

 

[buffalo]

Man is in the center of the biggest distances and the smallest.

 

[StAnastasia]

ONLY Planet earth ca sutain LIFE

Can you prove this claim?

 

[perro_sarnoso]

Question is above.
Also, why did he make most of it uninhabitable? I know this is a basic question, but its been bugging me recently.

How small would it have to be in order for God to “care about humans”? Same goes for inhabitability…How inhabitable would it have to be in order for us not to be bugged about it?

A super-inhabited, small universe - would it raise more existential questions? Would it raise questions about God’s wisdom and knowledge and omniscience? Or would we still be questioning God’s decisions like we do today? asking, " why couldn’t God make an infinite universe - wah, wah"

One things’ for sure - SETI would be out of a job as well as Sci-Fi writers and film makers. We’d have to make up stuff like…“it came from a praeternatural realm” or " the only inhabited planet in the universe".

 

[buffalo]

Can you prove this claim?

There is somewhere around 500 anthropic conditions necessary for a planet to support simple life… Odds are around 10 to the 739 th. The universe has 10 to 79 protons and neutrons… Not total proof but pretty darn close.

 

[StAnastasia]

There is somewhere around 500 anthropic conditions necessary for a planet to support simple life… Odds are around 10 to the 739 th. The universe has 10 to 79 protons and neutrons… Not total proof but pretty darn close.

Do you have a non-Creationist or ID Creationist source for this? Something other than the Discovery Institute? Most astronomers would disagree with you, and they don’t speak of 500 anthropic conditions. You need to do better than this!

 

[violet81]

I think we are going to explore the universe in Eternity. It has to be darn big for us to be able to stay busy for an eternity.

 

[StAnastasia]

I think we are going to explore the universe in Eternity. It has to be darn big for us to be able to stay busy for an eternity.

And it’s getting bigger as we speak, expanding at the rate of 78 kilometres per second. In 20 billion years it will look far less dense than it does today, giving us more room to maneuver in eternity.