Why did god create stars that we can only see using telescopes?

Question

Presumably there are other stars that we cannot yet, and may never be able to see, being as they are, so far away.

If I believed in god then I think this was because god was expecting us to use science to one day invent the telescope, so that we could see and appreciate them. (religious people are always going on about how god created this beautiful world for us....well presumably you mean all the stars too?)

As an atheist I think it's easy to explain all these extra stars.....because there was no "god" involved in creating us or the earth. It therefore doesn't matter that there's lots of stars we
can't see, because they were created randomly, nicely and neatly explaining their apparent randomness!!
I can't imagine any other at all reasonable or logical explanation, though I'm sure there are believers out there who'll give it a go!! LOL

Dave P...I really really hope you are being sarcastic!! Nebulae painted on....? Same as the rainbows which are painted on the sky by god when he cries though I guess...?

There no appear to be two main categories of believer:
1. Stupid and ignorant. This sort believes most everything the bible says, and probably disbelieves well proven things like evolution etc
2. Considered but still in denial. These will happily agree with scientists' views of the mechanics of the universe even (apparently) as far as astrophysics; yet when confronted with the simple question: "Why physical laws (of motion and force etc) exist and where did it all start", they suddenly prefer to explain it using the "old man saying let there be light" rather than saying "We don't know, but I bet science will one day be able to tell us." The fact that you're happy to believe the science stuff you can't reasonably deny, but suddenly get the jitters when science says...we don't yet know, means you're hedging yr bets!

On the point about this Gonzales bloke (who is clearly an idiot, as I will explain)...
If the conditions did not exist (naturally and non-supernaturally) for life to have developed by chance then we would not be here to witness it. Our existence therefore CATEGORICALLY proves NOTHING.

I am sick and tired of truly, monumentally stupid people trying to claim that we are in any special position in this universe using logic so blindingly wrong that it scares me!!

Final edit:
Of course the position of stars proves nothing. I never said I can prove that god doesn't exist. I can only prove that some people will never have the capacity to see that we do not need him to exist to explain the magnificence of the universe.
I only seek to illustrate the many paradoxes littered throughout religious thinking, and; perhaps more importantly, amuse myself at the crazy (but amusingly creative) twaddle used by believers when faced with fairly simple questions about real-life observations.

I was expecting "Well he finished dead early on day one, so decided to carry on to 5pm for his own enjoyment!!" at the very least.

Answer 1

All the bible has to say is 'The stars he made also'

that's it. The rest of the universe dismissed in one trite statement! It makes perfect sense if you accept the author was a member of bronze-age, pre-scientific culture who had not the slightest inkling what stars were, and thought the earth was the centre of everything. It does not make much sense as the testament of a omniscient creator!

Answer 2

Before the Galilean revolution, people thought all the planets and stars must revolve around the earth. Astronomy shows otherwise, but such evidence has no bearing upon the claim that God created the heavens and the earth. Similarly, that there are stars we can't see with unaided vision has no bearing on the evidence of creation.

However, there are some interesting facts about earth's position in the galaxy and solar system that suggest that God positioned us perfectly for astronomical discovery. First, our sun is placed between the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy, a place that allows an excellent view of distant astronomical objects, including other galaxies. Second, the relative size of the earth's single moon perfectly matches the relative size of the sun, which is vastly larger. This enables perfect solar eclipses, which have been vital in many astronomical studies, including the verification of Einstein's theory of relativity.

The heavens declare the glory of God. Isn't it much richer to live in such an inconceivably vast universe, maybe the only intelligent species on countless planets among billions of galaxies, than on a small stage where visible stars are the only backdrop?

Answer 3

Actually you are on the right track, in that God placed them where we could eventually see them with telescopes, and admire His handiwork.

On the other hand, He placed them at such a distance that we can determine their properties without them being deadly to us. If a nova or supernova exploded just a few light-years from us, all life on Earth would perish. The same if any stars, nebulae, "black holes", etc. came too close in passing.

This way we can safely observe them and through advancements in science understand how He made them, and their purposes. For example, "black holes" are the universe's "vacuum cleaners", ensuring that galaxies don't become choked with dust.

Besides, the universe is not only still expanding, the expansion is accelerating contrary to the laws of physics. It has been recently calculated that there is not enough supposed "dark matter" to balance expansion vs. gravity.

This means that something or Someone outside of the universe put more energy into the original plasma ball than was there to begin with, forcing it to explode with a violence greater than it could have done on its own in what we call "The Big Bang".

Just some things for your consideration :)

Answer 4

Similar questions point out that reality is what it is not because someone made it to please us - or God. Why couldn't the earth have two moons, instead of one? Why not with rings like Saturn? Why so small? Why so many stars in the universe? A few thousands would have been enough! Why is there a universe at all? Why not the absolute void? One thing about reality is that it is what it is regardless of what we wished it would be. We can study and learn HOW the universe works, but to ask WHY it exists it implies that we think "someone" could have made it differently or not at all - and that's the fallacy in our thinking. The universe, reality, was not created by anyone since it is the thing that exists through change and keeps transforming itself forever and ever.

Answer 5

My dear friend, Science is of the physical while on the other hand God is Spiritual. God has given unto man the stars and beyond as his limit, which means that there is no end to how much we can extend our scientific knowledge. I would like you to take this fact down: "There is Science beyond Science, there is Logic beyond Logics and Physics above Physics." As a matter of fact God is not a magician, he is purely scientific in everything he does, the Science and Physics of God extends beyond any human comprehension, a fact which is supported by Scientists in their laws about Higher Dimensions and higher Logics.
In this light, I would also like to tell you that no randomness can produce the orderliness we see in the Universe. Randomness does not explain why we Humans are the sole creatures on earth with this amount of knowledge.
If you look at our world today, you will see that traits are shared between organisms. Eagles aren't the only creatures that can fly, Fishes aren't the only creatures that can swim but yet Man is the only being with this amount of intelligence. Do you call that random? I don't think so, matter of fact it is pure purpose.
So... to answer your question about the stars and why they are so "far". What do you think will happen if we extended Mars' orbit a several million kilometers towards earth and what impact will this have on our solar system?
By the way, have you ever heard that Stars consume other Stars? And by the way, who told you that the Stars you see in the sky are "so far away?". Distance is not to blame, "Relativity" is. The distance between us and the nearest star is great because of sheer relativity rather than the actual distance.
God has created the world in which we live in, given us unabridged intelligence, given us a conscience and the question you find worthy to ask is "Why are the stars so far away?" Hasn't God given you the intelligence to conquer all obstacle? You should as well as God to change your diapers.
God has given us Intelligence - Use it to solve our daily problems.
You want to go to the Stars? - Fine by him, use your intelligence to build yourself a space craft that can travels millions of light-years, or better still, discover a wormhole to make the distance shorter.

Answer 6

good question, for if the christians believe that a God made the earth in seven days 12, 000 years ago and we are the centre of the universe and the only life in the cosmos; why did he bother making the rest of the universe, if we had no chance of exploring its wonders? was it just so we had something pretty to look at? this is just another flaw in creationism! Ok we cant explain what was b4 the big bang and the big bang is only a theory, but does that mean that some God created billions of Galaxys' just for our amusement through a telescope, I think not!

Answer 7

I think as humans with limited intelligence we have to accept that some power or force has created the events and laws that govern the universe. However I cant see any evidence that that power or force has any special interest in any particular person or species or for that matter planet or solar system. In fact all the evidence suggests that nothing exists that could be thought of a a personal "god"

Answer 8

If you're up for a bit of poetic licence, how about this:

The universe is a kaleidoscope, and hell is a black hole.

We were infinitesimal particles shoogling about in one universal compartment until we learned enough to construct telescopes and see other universes (compartments), even guessing at parallel universes and dimensions unseeable, so far. But God is the creator of the kaeleidoscope we call the universe and he's not looking through the lens. He's holding the kaleidoscope in his hand.

Answer 9

What the questioner fails to realise is that we aren a unique position in the universe to view space and make discoveries. If you can look up the priveleged planet and find out how many conditions have to be present for life to exist and how we are in the best place to be able to see into space.

Answer 10

Great points.

I wonder what God is going to do about the andromeda galaxy? It is on a collision course with the Milky Way, and eventually they will collide causing a complete change and likely destruction of the solar system and earth.

If God 'restores' the earth is he going to reverse time so that the Milky Way won't be destroyed?

Oh and we didn't come from nothing, we came from matter, shadow. The theory that matter has always existed in one form or another is far more tenable than the theory of God's existence.