I would argue that in this universe, the existence of god is extremely unlikely, and the possible existence of god in other universes that we cannot access is not relevant. However, others argue that it is not theoretically impossible for universes to interact in some way, therefore god is possible in this one.
Posted: November 25th 2008
bitbutter www
The problem with this kind of argument is that in bending over backwards to try and find a hiding place for gods, whatever they might be, the theist also swings the doors wide open for all kinds of other fantasy creatures. The theist will be reluctant to put the likelihood of the existence of some of these beings on an equal footing with that of his favourite deity. For example:
Since Multiverse M-theory implies that a flying spaghetti monster is possible and even likely in at least some universes, how do we “know” what type of universe we are in, and wouldn’t the existence of at least one flying spaghetti monster in one universe be highly probable?
Though I don’t think agnosticism is an appropriate stance towards the gods that humans have imagined, I won’t argue with someone who insists that we should be agnostic towards both Yahweh and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Posted: November 27th 2008
SmartLX www
This whole line of thinking is moot to those many theists who believe God is somehow outside matter/time/universes.
Nevertheless, a definite positive probability for a god doesn’t follow because infinite iterations do not always give you every conceivable result. All universes may have to have certain things in common, or a single set of basic qualities may repeat themselves over and over. If all universes are based on fixed, undirected (but initially variable) laws of physics, there’s no need for a god anywhere at all and even if one existed, far from being omnipotent it would be entirely impotent.
I’m not denying the remote possibility of gods, even in our own universe. I’m just saying that other universes may not offer additional chances for them to exist.
Posted: November 26th 2008
logicel
The problem of infinite regress, that is, that an even more complicated god is needed to create the god in question, is not solved by the Multiverse theory. Hence, such an entity would be highly improbable in each and every multiverse.
The Multiverse theory instead shows that it is not necessary to have a fine-tuning god in order to have an universe in which we can thrive. In other words, a knob-fiddling god is not required as there are no knobs to be fiddled (paraphasing Dawkins). We find ourselves in the only universe in which it is possible for us to find ourselves.
Posted: November 26th 2008