Of course, these terms represent opinions about the universe, not facts. Is the universe complex? Complex compared to what? What other universes have you been to? What would a "randomly evolving" universe look like, if not like ours? Would it be INFINITELY simple, or just be a little bit less complex?
Is the universe ordered? Again, compared to what? Order is a relative term, and there is a lot of chaos around us. We could compare the present to the past and future, and say that there is a temporary increase in "order" that will diminish again due to entropy. Chaos can produce temporary order. Is a universe that will fall apart until all life is impossible an example of a planned system? Certainly it is not the best possible "design" for a universe meant to support life.
How do we know that a god (or gods) would design things to be complex anyway? Why would such a being not value simplicity and efficiency instead? In fact, complexity might be a sign of the creator's errors, not skills. Our "complexity" is not proof of a designer; neither is our incomplete, temporary "order". You might be asking, so what WOULD I consider logical proof that a universe was created by a perfect being or force?
PERFECTION is the criterion I use. Perfection is absolute. Something that is perfect could never be faulted by anyone for any reason. Absolute perfection and imperfection cannot co-exist, for any perfect being/force/dimension would cause all other things to also be perfect. The very concept of "imperfection" would therefore not exist. And yet, in our world, it does. Since imperfection does exist, then perfection does not. And to me, this eliminates the core belief of any god-based religion.
Sure, the major religions have attempted to address this issue. They have failed, and will always fail. Time and space cannot separate perfection from imperfection. You cannot say that "things will be perfect in the future" or "things were once perfect but fell apart" or "this world is imperfect but there is another, more perfrect world (heaven) out there". All of these contradict the absolute definition of "perfection". Even if (as some mystical religions claim) the universe is only an illusion, the illusion of imperfection is as damning as "real" imperfection.
No sane person has ever proclaimed the universe perfect-- in fact, every religion is based on solving the "problem" of imperfection. The world appears to be set up to cause suffering, death, destruction and extinction.The more powerful we think the Gods are, the more we have to ask, why didn’t they do a BETTER job?
The greatest lie of all is the doctrine of "the fall". Christians blame our "free will" for the decline of the universe. This argument is the greatest hole in Christian ideology, for three basic reasons:
1. A perfect universe would not "fall", for any reason. Perfection at least means "fall-proof".
2. Even if Humans have free will, that does not make us capable of causing the fall. In order to make a MISTAKE, free will is not enough! Inperfect knowledge and imperfect judgment are also required. If we had been created perfectly, our God-given judgment would not have allowed us (or Adam and Eve if you are a strict Creationist) to make mistakes, free will or no free will.
3. Free will and God are not compatible, if God can predict the future. Such a being would know the fate of every atom before it even existed. (For more on this argument, take any philosophy class...)
Materialistic science is not a threat to the dominant religions because it offers an alternative explanation for why the universe is ordered and complex--after all, every religion already offers a different alternative to that question. Atheism's challenge to religion is that it answers the one question that no religion could ever honestly solve: why is the universe NOT PERFECT?
If your definition of God is "perfection", then atheism is the only option. On the other hand, if perfection is NOT a quality of your favorite God, then why should I even care about His/Her reality?
Back to Open Minds: Viewpoints
