Arguments for the existence of God from design in the natural world (i.e. the teleological argument) provide reasons for the existence of God because our world appears thoroughly planned by an intelligent Creator. Many teleological-cosmological arguments focus on what we know about complex scientific principles including the standard model of particle physics, electro-magnetism, and quantum mechanics. Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten whatever we once knew about college-level physics. Thankfully, instead of advanced scientific principles, Scripture simply calls us to look at the sun, moon, and stars to remind us of the God who created us and sustains us. For example, “the heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. … [God] has set a tent for the sun … and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19) “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name.” (Jeremiah 31) “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8)
The Goldilocks Principle in cosmology comes from “The Story of the Three Bears.” In this fairy tale, Goldilocks walked into the bear’s home and sampled the porridge, chairs, and beds of the great big bear, the middle-sized bear, and the little wee bear. In each case she preferred the porridge, chairs, and beds that were “just right” instead of the ones that were too hot, too cold, too hard, too soft, too high, or too low. Without getting bogged down in the statistical impossibility that so many aspects of the earth, sun, and moon are all “just right” for us to exist, let’s simply consider a few ways in which our world is meticulously designed by our Creator God.
The earth’s mass is just right to provide (i) gravity for a life-sustaining atmosphere of oxygen, nitrogen, and water, (ii) a protective magnetic field from the sun’s solar radiation, and (iii) a stable rotation to moderate daily temperatures across the whole earth’s surface.
The earth’s distance from sun is just right to have (i) a surface temperature to sustain life without all water eventually freezing to ice or boiling completely away, (ii) an annual cycle of moderate seasons based on the tilt of the earth’s axis, and (iii) the right kind and amount sunlight necessary for abundant photosynthesis.
The sun’s mass and age are just right to provide (i) a stable orbit for the earth around the sun, (ii) a consistent emission of ultraviolet (UV) light to provide a protective layer of ozone in earth’s atmosphere, and (iii) enough infrared (IR) light to maintain a hospitable temperature on earth.
Our one and only moon’s mass and distance to earth are just right to (i) stabilize the earth’s axial tilt and seasonal temperature variations, and (ii) to enable modest ocean tides, preventing these waters from becoming stagnant and lifeless, or violent and destructive. No other planet in our solar system has exactly one moon. Mercury and Venus have none. Jupiter and Saturn each have over 50 moons.
The largest planets in our solar system, especially Jupiter and Saturn, are necessary to block comets and asteroids from bombarding earth with frequent extinction-level events. These large planets are just the right size and in just the right place to allow life on earth to flourish.
In all of these designed aspects of creation, if things were just a little bit larger or just a little bit smaller, life on earth would not exist. In over a hundred other ways, all life is balanced on a knife’s edge. So the next time you see the sun, moon, stars, and planets take a moment to praise God for His wonderfully precise creation, and His ever lovingkindness for how He protects us and provides for us.