NASAdude

Let's assume you own a pet, a cat for example.

For you to have your cat: 1) you obtained it by some circumstance, 2) it's parents mated and gave birth, and it survived, 3) each parents' parents mated and gave birth, etc, etc. The odds of that specific series of events happening are astronomically improbable. So did luck have something to do with each and every one of those events happening, or the overall result of those events?

Simply because a set of chance events takes place leading up to an overall improbability, that improbable event is become quite probable... because it did occur.

From the movie Interstate 60,

"Given an infinite universe and infinite time, all things will happen. That means that every event is inevitable, even those that are impossible.

That is to say, every event is inevitable; if it weren't, it wouldn't happen."

By the way, I highly recommend this movie. Be sure to watch it with an open mind, and you'll find you mind open even more to new possibilities afterwards.

Let's consider a discreet inanimate example. I have a bag of 1000 jellybeans, all of which are black except for one red one. We have examined the experiment and know it is not biased. If a robot arm pulls the red bean 3 times in a row, does that mean it is lucky? Assuming everything is unbiased as stated, it simply means that a 1-in-one-billion-chance event has occurred. It's the same chance as having a bag of one billion jelly beans and pulling the red bean. It is highly improbable, but a very much real and possible event.

In summary, luck has nothing to do with a set of unbiased chance events. It's simply random chance.

The only constraint on random chance is where there is intervention. For example, winning a rigged lottery isn't luck, it's simply biased random chance.

For a religious application, let's consider the formation of the universe. Science shows us that there are many factors in the formation of the universe after the big bang that had to be "just so" for life to be able to evolve on earth. Many of these factors are quite specific, making for the eventuality of life extremely unlikely. Does that mean God was involved in specifying the values for these factors?

We must apply the same reasoning. Simply because something highly improbable occurs does not require luck or the involvement of an outside influence such as God. We first must assume it is merely a set of chance happenings unless there is evidence otherwise.