We are living in our home - on the planet earth -, with its rocks, mountains, and oceans. The moon encircles the earth. Earth and moon together are flying through space around the sun, together with the other planets, in their orbits. Our solar system is a tiny spot at the outer edge of our Milky Way. Our Milky Way is rotating. It is a part of a cluster of galaxies. And our cluster of galaxies, in turn, is a part of a still larger super-cluster of galaxies. And many of these super-clusters of galaxies are making up our universe. In this huge material universe, we human beings are just a tiny speck of dust. Sometimes, a ray of light from distant galaxies might reach our eyes that was sent out there many billions of years ago.
Sooner or later, each human being will ask himself: Why is there a universe? Why is there matter? And why am I here? - The answers and opinions among scientists differ, also among nonscientists. Here are some of the beliefs and assertions, which I have most commonly heard from students, scientists, and nonscientists in western and eastern countries: "The universe is eternal. It has no beginning and no end. Mass can be changed into energy, and energy into mass, as Einstein has shown in his equation E = mc². Energy cannot be destroyed. Thus, the universe has always been there. It has no beginning."
"First there was matter. Spirit (or mind) is the result of matter. Man needs a brain, in order to think. His brain is matter. Hence, matter must have been there first." - "Man is the highest form of matter. Above man, there is nothing: no God and no angels." - "I only believe, what I can see. Since I cannot see God, I cannot believe that there is a God." - "The beginning of our universe has no cause. The universe arose through chance, through some lucky coincidence. There is no purpose, no design in the universe. Its order arose by itself out of chaos."
"Every information, known to man, is based on an energetic/material carrier. Thus, information must be the result of energy/matter." - "The material universe is a closed system: nothing can be added to it. And nothing can be taken away from it, for there is no outside."- "The universe started with a big bang. It is now expanding. When the universe has reached its largest size, it will collapse and contract again, until it is as small, as it was at the beginning of the big bang. Then it will explode again and expand into another universe. Thus, our universe keeps on expanding and contracting forever. This proves that it has no beginning, that it was not made by God."
Someone else will say: "The universe had a beginning: in the big bang. You may not ask: ‘What was before the big bang?’ because there was no ‘before’, since the physical universe has just begun with the big bang." - "You may not ask: ‘Why is there a universe?’ This question is not allowed, for it lies beyond the limits of natural science. Each one may believe here, whatever he wants, for one can neither prove nor disprove him. - You may not ask ‘Why?’ because physics does not deal with this." - "From the scientific point of view, one can neither prove that God has made the universe, nor can one disprove, that God has made the universe. One can only believe it."
"We have no experimental proof that God has made the universe. When a human being makes a machine, we can see him making this machine with our own eyes. But we have not seen that God has made the universe. Thus, there is no experimental proof that God has made it." - "The birth of the universe is an historical event. It lies beyond the realm of experimental science. It occurs only once. Hence, we cannot know, why there is a universe. - We have not been there, when the universe arose. So, we cannot know, if it was made by God, or if it arose by itself through chance, through some lucky coincidence." - Someone will say: "If you have energy and enough time, everything will be possible, because the upward-drive toward a higher order, toward life, is contained already within inorganic matter itself."
"The chance-evolution of the universe must be true, because every serious scientist in the world believes in it. Belief in evolution is scientific. Belief in creation is unscientific. - Belief in creation is naive. Religion is the opiate of the enslaved people. - Science and religion are opposed to each other: Evolution is based on knowledge, creation on ignorance." - "Every scientist believes in evolution. The scientist must know, because he has studied this at the university. Only ignorant and mentally sick persons still do believe that God has made everything. Every normal person believes in evolution. If someone believes that God has made everything, there must be something wrong with him in his head. He should be severely punished for his error, because he is an enemy of the people!"
Some students and scientists will say: "We don’t know, why there is a universe, because we still know too little about this. We must wait, till the scientists have found out more about this. And that might still take a long time. So, it is useless to think about this." - "Man’s brain cannot understand, why there is a universe, why there is matter. Thus, we should not think about this. - If God has made everything: who then, made God? - Everything in the universe has been made by nature."
Some scientists will say: "If we found out that God has made the universe, our work as physicists would be finished. We would have nothing left to do, then, anymore!" - "Science is only dealing, with what is there, not, with why it is there!" - Why is there a universe? - "You must not ask the question ‘Why?’ - It’s just natural!" - "The teacher said: First there was the earth. Much later, mankind arose on this earth. The earth is matter. Man has a mind, a spirit. Thus, matter was there first. And spirit is the result of matter." - "If one sees no way out anymore, one just says: God made it!"
Please, go through this list of arguments, objections, and opinions again, and ask yourself: Which one of them is true? And which one is false? - Which one is logical? And which one is not logical? - Which one is provable? And which one is not provable?
The Universe - Why it is there is absolutely neutral toward all political controversies. It has nothing to do whatsoever with any religious organization or group. I myself only am responsible for its contents