Return of the God Hypothesis: Breakthroughs in Physics, Cosmology, and Biology Seeking Evidence for the Existence of God

by Stephen C. Meyer

in the spirit of the inquiry that Dawkins has advanced, I will evaluate whether the discoveries in cosmology, physics, and biology discussed in the preceding chapters might provide a good reason for believing in God, or even a better reason for believing in God than in naturalism or materialism, for example. As I’ve already suggested, recent scientific discoveries concerning biological and cosmological origins might be “just what we should expect” if a transcendent and intelligent designer acted to produce life and the universe. Since these same observations of nature may not be what we would expect assuming scientific materialism (or other nontheistic worldviews), the God hypothesis could in principle provide the best metaphysical explanation of the relevant scientific evidence. In other words, even if we can’t prove God’s existence with absolute certainty, we may have better reasons for affirming a theistic view of the “nature of nature” and the “prime reality” than for affirming other metaphysical systems of thought. The next three chapters explore this possibility in light of the evidence already presented.