Was the universe created by chance or on purpose?

It's a heated topic, and one that will certainly be no stranger to the new Battle Zone here, just as it wasn't with the old Battle Zone. So I'm MAKING IT. On purpose. (See what I did there?)

I personally can't fathom the universe being created by chance, or really any of existence, um, existing without some purpose. I just don't enjoy thinking that way, honestly. I've gone back and forth about it, but I keep returning to the idea that there is an intelligent design behind it all. It just makes sense for that to be the case when you look at the complexity of it all. For me, the term God applies. For others it might not, but regardless I don't think it was a random event that just HAPPENED to occur. It's too big and too structured, in my opinion.

Hello, new Battle Zone, and good luck.

I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I'll refute points I find stupid (Something must have designed physics, so protestantism is exactly right, etc.) but I've got no strong evidence one way or the other, and as such, no worthwhile opinion.

I personally believe that the existence of a creator is entirely possible, but not one as most religions envision. I don't and probably won't ever believe that there is a sentient, self-aware, humanesque God who regularly interacts with humanity.

No single human could design the universe, so logically, the possible God doesn't think like a human. Who are humans to claim that we're God's most important project? How do we know we aren't some cosmic coincidence he doesn't even find noteworthy?

Existence in itself is easily the biggest argument against atheism, but to argue it for a specific religion is extremely arrogant.

now now no need for Roger-Ebert-like speaking.

thinking that it was made by chance just leaves a very off-feeling that measures your worth by the zero-quantity value that is sheer luck.

thinking that it was made on purpose is what humanity chose to believe in 'cause it was way more cool thinking that there was some higher reason behind it all, hence religions with (a) supreme being(s).

me thinks that ginormous aliens created a barely sustainable universe and are currently watching us and every other lifeform there may exist, whether this is either a massive incumbtion by high-ranked member of their society or just a school project of a 20 billion year old child.

nah not really I just made that up. But it's fun making up theories.

Either way I'm sure it's just one of those things that humanity is too insignificant to learn. As it is, Sol will inevitably die off and we will go with it, so it's really an insignificant kind of thing to know the answer to. If there IS some greater purpose to the galaxy, then the only possible purpose of it could be, well, existing.

Haha I hardly addressed the question. But I don't really know where to start so I guess that's the end of my contribution here.

On purpose. After all, we are just a lab experiment in something's basement.

On purpose.

How many chances would it take to get to where we are?

I remember seeing a TV show on that subject once.

The numbers involved in getting just the right conditions to create an "Earth-like" planet are staggering. To put it simply, were this all pure coincidence that we exist, there's a very good possibility that despite the mind numbing size of the universe, we are truly alone.

I tend to just think of it as chance, since I find thinking the other way leads me to ending up looping the shame question over and over.

meh... it was probably a fluke or something

In the end it's a question of whether you believe in what you don't understand(purpose), or you believe in something extremely unlikely(chance).

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Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29 )

always wanted to do that

What about time? As in, supposedly, there is no beginning and there is no end, so where does a creator come into it? Also, no matter how small the chances are of bigbang/ideal planets/evolving into humans (lol debate), given enough time, as its not impossible, it's guaranteed to happen.

Also, if there are aliens or life on other planets, which I find it hard to believe there aren't, theres no reason why they couldn't have once existed long ago on a planet that got destroyed by a supernova or something (like how we're eventually going to get gobbled up by the Sun, yum yum).

So yeh, coincidence.

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What about time? As in, supposedly, there is no beginning and there is no end, so where does a creator come into it?

And because of this you are dismissing the concept of a creator? Also are you dismissing the concept of an 'Eternal creator' Which has been around for many thousands of years, and correct me if I'm wrong, even more than that?
You are trying to understand an eternity by blocking out Possible barriers. Like understanding the legnth of an infinitely long piece of string by cutting off a portion of it. Truely, it is very hard for a human to try to apply and then understand something of infinite proportions in any given situation. We instinctively believe most things "End". So when we have something infinite thrown our way, it is really easy to jump to conclusions, isn't it? Makind sense of something highly non-understandable is terribly complicated.. And dismissing quite plausable options is the last thing you should do.

How is there a chance for time to exist if it has "Always existed"?
By saying that time always was is and will be, then it never 'Ceased to exist,' that there was no start, no chance involved because it was always there.

Why is the idea of a creator plausable? Well,

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matter how small the chances are of bigbang/ideal planets/evolving into humans (lol debate), given enough time, as its not impossible, it's guaranteed to happen.

If something does not happen for a very long time, does that increace or decreace the chances of it happening?
You can't really know.
And how long until it is garanteed?

If one digit of Pi is 4, does that increace or decreace the chances of the next one being an 8?

Something that is infinite doesn't mean certain things have to apply to it.
Just because we think time goes on forever, doesn't mean something has to happen in it.

By Now You probably thing I'm just ranting, but ask yourself:
Do you think you're lucky to be alive, or made to be alive?
If the former, luck does end. The latter, there is purpose.
Do you think there is no hope to escape and end, or that there is always hope because something greater than what our minds can behold, holds power to create an end?

Fordy wrote:

What about time? As in, supposedly, there is no beginning and there is no end, so where does a creator come into it? Also, no matter how small the chances are of bigbang/ideal planets/evolving into humans (lol debate), given enough time, as its not impossible, it's guaranteed to happen.

Also, if there are aliens or life on other planets, which I find it hard to believe there aren't, theres no reason why they couldn't have once existed long ago on a planet that got destroyed by a supernova or something (like how we're eventually going to get gobbled up by the Sun, yum yum).

So yeh, coincidence.

If it's a supernova that destroys the Earth, it'll more likely be because the oceans all dry up then because the atmosphere was stripped away and our planet bombarded by radiation.

And even were the sun to not be able to go supernova, the Earth would eventually stop rotating, the core would eventually stop giving off heat, etc. etc.

Really, Earth's lived up most of it's life cycle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth#Future

I believe in god, but I do not believe he created the universe. Honestly, I think whatever told us that they were our maker was a liar and said only to feel better about themselves.

It was an inevitability (if you are referring to the big bang) due to the long standing effects of gravity and spacial matter, but there is no God, no outside influence and if you are referring to the Earth, then it is due to a series of very favourable circumstances, again no God.

I know it's hard to fathom, but there is no one pulling the strings it's all maths and science

The Catholic opinion on this is actually that God didn't make the world, which I think is true. It's all basically a mathematical miracle that every atom was arranged so perfectly in the way it was, and is.
But really, how the world was made doesn't make a huge difference. Point is, we're here now. Maybe there's a God overseeing everything, or maybe there's not. But it's not like it changes things...

I created the universe. I farted into a sun and it blew up.

I believe that the Earth was created by chance, but I'm still open to creatures being designed by higher powers. More likely reptiloids than gods but maybe their what gods are.

I sometimes wonder this exact question myselrf, is there a god, and if so did he create the universe, I personaly think the universe was made on purpose due to it being hard to figure out how an accident could create so much

You know what has always been a creepy though to me? What if WE create the big bang. Like, that would be both the beginning and end of the universe at once. Always felt creepy to me.

Everything happens by chance. Or at least that's my view.
I think it's amazing that a mass explosion caused by friction of... dust I believe, could create shifting planets, an possibly ever growing universe and most importantly - intellegence. It's strange how a chemical reaction created something that creates what others consider "art" or harvest what was placed to create things that do things for us.
Heck, if it made something as precise and diverse as the human beings, who's to say there isn't something stranger out there, something that perhaps we can't even pick up with our senses - billions of millions of light years a way.
And when we die out, the universe will just keep going on forever - can it really last forever though? And if it does just go away, what's left? Nothing? Surely that nothing would be something.

I try not to think about it, cause it's gets me all philosophical and I feel really insignificant like I'm just a hunk of chemical reactions that happens to be me.
But hey, it's odd right?

Not to forget, there might just be a god. That simplifies everything.

I personally like to think that this universe was made purposefully, by some sentient being(s), yadda yadda yadda... What happened within the universe though, happened by chance. Not much I can explain about my opinion that hasn't already been said...

I'm not sure if there is a real answer to this. We are not sure if there is a God even though a lot of people believe (including me) Or if Everything was just Space and Stars and Planets just came from natural effects. I'm not sure if this was the best topic