Why Would God Create Such an Immense Universe?

Does an immense universe prove that God does not exist? Some atheist philosophers argue that if God existed then the universe wouldn’t be as big as it is. They argue that the Christian God (and the gods of other religions) are human-oriented. Given this, these philosophers reason that we should see a smaller universe; or more humans populating the universe. Instead, we find an immense universe with humans relegated to one tiny planet for a relatively short period of time. One philosopher puts it this way.

If God is human-oriented, wouldn’t you expect him to create a universe in which humans feature prominently? You’d expect humans to occupy most of the universe, existing across time. Yet that isn’t the kind of universe we live in... Clearly, there is a discrepancy between the kind of universe we would expect a human-oriented God to create, and the universe we live in. How can we explain it? Surely the simplest explanation is that God doesn’t exist. The spatial and temporal size of the universe gives us reason to be atheists.

The problem with this line of reasoning is that it fails to account for the fact that the Christian God is not only interested in humans (John 3:16, Psalm 8:1-5) but he also seeks to display his glory. The power of a thunderstorm, the beauty of a flower, the intricacy of a snowflake, the majesty of snow-capped mountains, and the immensity of our vast universe, all declare the glory of God (Psalm 19:1-2, Rom 1:20). Given this, it’s no wonder that the universe is as big as it is, for it displays the power and majesty of God.

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Reference

Emily Thomas, “Does the Size of the Universe Prove God Doesn’t Exist?,” RealClearScience, November 3, 2017, https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2017/11/03/does_the_size_of_the_universe_prove_god_doesnt_exist_110442.html.