Earlier this week, I took five-yearl old parakeet Sunny Jewel to the vet because her bottom was bulging to the size of a big avocado pit. The vet was unable to prescribe anything for her, so I had to decide whether to put her down, although otherwise she seemed normal - I played god and decided to put her down.
This reminded me of the Four Last Things,
The Unifying Singularity and the Divine Algorithm of Life: Does God have an angelic being in charge of an Algorithm to decide what happens to an infinitity of inanimate and animate objects?
The Algorithm of Life vs. The Divine
An Algorithm of Life, usually means the mathematical patterns found in nature—the Fibonacci sequence in shells or the binary-like code of DNA. From a theological perspective, if there is a "Creator’s Algorithm," it differs from AI because it includes agency and grace.
AI operates on probability and data.In John 6:44 Jesus said to the. crowds:
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world
The "draw" Jesus mentions suggests a personal, non-algorithmic pull toward the divine that defies simple logic or calculation.
The last few minutes of Sunny Jewel's life on earth
For many scientists who do not believe in a supernatural Creator, the "Algorithm of Life" is not a person or a god, but a set of self-organizing principles that allow complexity to emerge from simple rules.
What the Algorithm of Life Looks Like
In a purely naturalistic view, this "algorithm" isn't written in a code by an outside programmer; it is baked into the physics of the universe. It typically consists of three main components:
• Abiogenesis (The Startup): Life began when chemical reactions among organic compounds reached a "tipping point" under the right conditions (like thermal vents or shallow seas).
• Information Control: Some researchers see the "algorithm" as the moment information gained control over matter. In this view, when molecules like RNA began storing "instructions" for their own replication, chemistry transitioned into life.
• Evolution (The Infinite Loop): Once life starts, evolution acts as a mathematical algorithm. It follows a recursive loop of Variation, Selection, and Heredity. This "endless race" creates increasingly complex forms without needing a finish line or a designer.
• A Magnificent Machine: Most see the universe as a "great machine" or a "great thought" governed by laws, rather than a spiritual being. They don't worship the algorithm; they study it as a mechanical process.
• Awe vs. Adoration: While they may feel a deep sense of awe and wonder at the "magnificent panorama of creativity" in the universe, they generally view this as "transcendent naturalism" rather than religion. The algorithm is seen as an explanation, not a source of moral authority or eternal life.
• Exceptions (Biocentrism): Some thinkers, like Robert Lanza, propose "Biocentrism," where life and consciousness are fundamental to the universe. For them, the "algorithm" isn't just a byproduct of physics—it is the very thing that creates reality. While this isn't a "God" you pray to, it is a spiritual-adjacent view that sees life as the primary force of the cosmos.
In short, for these scientists, the Algorithm of Life is the "How" but not the "Who." It provides the rules for the game without needing a player to start it.
St. Thomas Aquinas said "To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible" a profound synthesis of three core ideas:
• The Utility of Models: "All models are wrong, some models are useful," is a pillar of modern statistics from George Box. In this context, it suggests that while science provides "useful" maps of the world, they are always just approximations. They can never capture the full "Real" or the divine.
• Science as a Created Tool: For the believer, science isn't a replacement for God, but a way to study the "fingerprints" of the Creator. As early scientists like Newton and Kepler believed, they were simply "thinking God’s thoughts after Him".
• The Limit of Explanation: highlights that for the nonbeliever, no amount of evidence (the Big Bang, DNA, fine-tuning) is "sufficient" because they are looking for a physical answer to a metaphysical reality. Conversely, for the one with faith, the mere existence of the universe is the only "explanation" needed.
In this view, the Algorithm of Life isn't a cold, random script—it’s the intentional design of a Mind that existed before the first line of "code" was ever written.
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