The anthropic principle

The anthropic principle has presented researchers on the cutting edge of science with a vexing dilemma. Their data are showing that the mathematical relationships embedded within matter and energy, from the atomic to the galactic scale, are precisely aligned to support life on earth.

And the equations are saying, "This wasn't an accident." The earth appears to have been constructed as a home for us. Mankind. It's as though somebody knew we were coming, lit a fire, turned on the lights, and put supper on the table.

"An-throp-ic" is a three-syllable word of Greek origin that almost demands the use of a one-syllable Anglo-Saxon word: God. This is vexing to some scientists because they have invested a lot of time and money into proving what we might call the Theory of Dumb Luck.

The anthropic principle isn't exactly an admission that the Bible had it right all along, but it does make it awkward for thoughtful people to believe that the universe is the result of Dumb Luck.

If science is becoming aware of design, that is cause for celebration. It validates the intuition of common folk and children who, over the centuries, have gazed up into a diamond sky and thought, "Surely this must be the work of God."

Modern science has missed a lot of those little details. Since Darwin's time, the most celebrated scholars at the most prestigious universities in the Western world have waged war against the very notion of a Designer behind the design, calling it religious nonsense.

How embarrassing that it's now showing up in their equations! Their war, it appears, was not just against faith, but against truth as well-religious truth and scientific truth. And could it be that the two were the same all along?

Discoveries such as the anthropic principle offer hope that, given enough time and research money, the cutting edge of science can be coaxed into recognizing the obvious. It's in the night sky, the geometry of a snowflake, the eyes of a child, and it's shouting a clear message.