Another Look at the "God of the Gaps" (Following the Discovery of Big Bang Radiation)

With God’s help

Israel Today – 2014

These days we have been informed of an important scientific discovery. Another empirical confirmation of the Big Bang theory has been received and the first confirmation of the gravitational wave phenomenon observed by Einstein about a century ago. Not surprisingly, the Pavlovian instinct in our public discourse immediately raises the question of the existence of God. Every time something new is discovered about the process of creation and the emergence of life, believers see in the new finding further confirmation of their position (and of course also a miraculous fit with the biblical description), and so do atheists (science continues to push the feet of faith, thank God). I will mention that this was also the case when the "God particle" was discovered (!), and it is no wonder that it is the same these days.

Some prove the existence of God from gaps in scientific knowledge. If science cannot explain something, in their view this is a clear sign that there is a God. Atheists, on the other hand, accuse these arguments of a fallacy known as the "god of the gaps," that is, proving the existence of God from gaps in scientific knowledge. In their view, if there is a gap, it is a reason to continue scientific research in order to understand more and close more and more parts of it, but the scientific gap should not be filled with metaphysical hypotheses. God is not a substitute for a scientific explanation, and therefore the existence of the gap and its size prove nothing about his existence. In my book, I argued that precisely as a believer, I think atheists are right in this debate.

But there are two sides to this coin: if indeed the existence of a gap in scientific knowledge does not prove that there is a God, to the same extent closing this gap does not prove that there is no God. The question of the existence of God does not depend on gaps in scientific knowledge, or indeed on scientific explanations in general. The existence of God was no more true in the past (when the gap was greater) than it is today, but it was no less true then either. The relevant question is different: does the scientific description also give us a sufficient explanation on the philosophical-theological level or not? Those who think so see science as an appropriate philosophical alternative to belief in God, and those who do not accept this believe in God. The current discovery, like its predecessors, should not change anything in this regard.

However, in the last debate, the one that deals with the relevance of scientific explanation to the philosophical plane, I actually find myself on the side of the believers. To the best of my judgment, scientific explanation cannot constitute a philosophical alternative to belief in God. Every scientific explanation is given within the framework of a system of basic natural laws. These laws themselves, of course, have no explanation within the scientific framework that posits them. Even if an explanation is found for them, it will be given in terms of another system of laws, which itself will require explanation. This is a fundamental gap, not scientific but meta-scientific, and therefore it should not be closed by further research (unless we can show that all the laws of physics are logical tautologies, laws that are valid by their very nature). In my opinion, the question of God's existence is related, if at all, to an explanation of the nature of the laws of nature and the special fit that exists between them (what is known as fine tuning). On the other hand, gaps in specific scientific explanations presented within the framework of these laws are supposed to be closed by further scientific research, as we have recently been informed. And the Jews had light and joy and gladness and wealth…

Michael Avraham is a Doctor of Physics, and teaches at the Higher Institute of Torah at Bar-Ilan University. Two of his books, Freedom Sciences (On neuroscience and free will) andGod plays dice (On Evolution and Theology) were published by Yedioth Books.