Re: Meaning of "fine-tuning"

From: Howard J. Van Till (hvantill@novagate.com)
Date: Mon Oct 23 2000 - 13:58:44 EDT

  • Next message: Moorad Alexanian: "Re: Meaning of "fine-tuning""

    Bob wrote,

    > In a message dated 10/21/2000 9:04:14 AM, hvantill@novagate.com writes:
    >
    > << Episodic creationism, on the other hand, should see evidence for fine
    > tuning
    > and the Anthropic Principle as surprising, since occasional acts of divine
    > adjustment could presumably make up for any lack of original tuning. >>
    >
    > Howard,
    >
    > Not at all. The fine tuning, as I understand it applies only to the
    > pre-biotic universe, and, as you said, originated in the initial state of the
    > universe.
    >
    > If one has a developmental model of the universe, as I have, then episodic
    > interaction with it on the part of God is no problem, anymore than your
    > interaction with your children, all along their developmental trajectory,
    > does not mean that there was something deficient in them. God called His
    > creation Good. Not perfect. Not robust. Just good. There is nothing in
    > Scripture that I can find that says that God is not involved in His creation
    > at all levels.
    >
    > Best regards,
    >
    > Bob

    You and I know well the differences in our two perspectives. No doubt those
    differences are rather stable and unlikely to change quickly.

    You welcome episodes of divine form-imposing interventions as integral to
    God's creative action. I expect that God gave being to a Creation in which
    such interventions are unnecessary.

    I see no basis for thinking that God gave being to a Creation equipped with
    a robust formational economy for the actualization of physical structures
    but a non-robust formational economy for the actualization of life forms.

    You have often compared God's creative work to that of a gardener tending a
    garden. But a human gardener does not first give being to the formational
    economy in which the garden participates. The human gardener can do no more
    than employ what already exists. The Creator of the universe, on the other
    hand, has no such limitations and begins by giving being to everything,
    including the Creation's formational economy.

    Cordially,

    Howard Van Till

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