One of the goals of Apologetics is to deal with the objections that people have regarding the existence of God. For the last several weeks, we have been listing some of these objections and the arguments that address them. Here is where we address the explanation of the universe by chance:
The Explanation of Chance. Why posit an intelligent cause (designer) of the world when chance can explain the apparent design? Given enough time, any “lucky” combination will result. The universe may be a “happy accident”.
For one thing, there has not been enough time for chance to work. One former atheist, Fred Hoyle, calculated that, given the geological time span of billions of years, the chances are still only one to 1030,000 that so complex a form as even a one-celled animal would emerge by purely natural forces (Hoyle). The chances are virtually zero that chance was responsible.
Second, chance does not “cause” anything; only forces do. And it is known that natural forces do not produce specified complexity, such as that found in living things. Chance is only an abstraction that describes the intersection of two or more lines of causes.
Finally, it is unscientific and irrational to appeal to chance. As even the skeptic David Hume noted, science is based on observation about regularly recurring events. And the only kind of cause known to rational beings that can cause the specified complexity found in living things is an intelligent cause
Geisler, N. L. (1999). In Baker encyclopedia of Christian apologetics (p. 292). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.