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 (Living Waters 1983 Volume 2)
Was the "Big Bang" Really God?

Was the "Big Bang" Really God?

W. C. Liu

For centuries, unbelieving scientists have rejected and ridiculed the biblical version of the creation of the universe.  They have attempted to prove that the creation theory, indeed even the Bible itself, is nothing but a legend with no scientific foundation and no means of verification.  They have during the past centuries developed their own theories about the formation for the universe.  Unfortunately, none of the theories they have constructed is able to satisfy scientists in the various fields of scientific investigation.  However, scientists, based upon Einstein's theory of general relativity, have developed a theory called "Big Bang" which is currently gaining increasing popularity.

Since the early part of this century, scientists have been working their way backward to the moment of the creation of the universe.  By the 1940's they had come to within three minutes of the titanic explosion that took place nearly 15 trillion years ago.  By 1970 they had pushed the boundaries of knowledge to within about one millisecond of the "Big Bang." Today they have come even closer - to an interval so short that our concept of time itself may have to be redefined before we go any farther.  Scientists from various disciplines have conducted successful experiments to support the "Big Bang" theory.  So far it seems that no one has proved it to be erroneous.

According to the "Big Bang" theory, there was a tremendous cosmic explosion some 15 to 20 billion years ago. (1) After this inconceivable explosion the cosmic cloud and dust resulting from it spread, and is still expanding outward at an astonishing speed.  On its way of expansion it condensed to form 10 billion galaxies, each one a group of hundreds of billions of stars, including our own solar system which is believed to be formed some five billion years ago.  The sun was formed by nuclear fusion to produce light for the satellite planets, including the earth.  Thus all matter and space itself came into existence.

By accepting the "Big Bang" theory scientists are 'satisfied' that the question of how the universe was created is answered.  However, they are now deeply troubled by another question, namely, "what existed before the Big Bang?" To this question Edward Tivnan in Newsweek Focus summarized the general feeling as follows:

It came as a shock in the scientific camp when Einstein's theory of general relativity led to what is now accepted as the most likely scenario (for the beginning of the universe): the 'Big Bang,' a cosmic explosion in which the universe was born just short of 20 billion years ago.  Suddenly, the newest story of Genesis looked suspiciously like the oldest: a single, flashing act of creation.  Fiat Lux (L. let there be light).  Most astronomers and physicists took the news badly.  Einstein himself found the Possibility ‘irritating’..... Whether it's called God or not, scientists are increasingly accepting the idea that what came before the big bang may be unknowable.(2)

Therefore, "most cosmologists - scientists who study the structure and evolution of the universe - agree that the biblical account of creation in imagining initial void, may be uncannily close to the truth."(3)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the water.  And God said, "let there he light," and there was light. (Gen 1:1-3)

No matter how science advances, human wisdom and intelligence are limited.  For example, in time we simply do not know what it means by no beginning, and in space, by no end.  But in the Bible there are several places that teach us that God is the one who has no beginning and no end (Prov 8:22-23, Jn 17:5, Heb 7:3, Rev 21:6, 22:13).

It is likely that in time when enough mystery is revealed to man, everybody, including the unbelieving scientists will agree that the ultimate truth of the creation of the universe of anything else is in the Word of God - the Holy Bible.

 

Footnotes

1.        Joseph Silk, The Big Bang: The Creation and Evolution of the Universe (San Francisco: W. - H. Freeman & Co., 1980)

2.        Edward Tivnan, Newsweek Focus, June-July 1980, pp. 62-63

3.        Time.  December 27, 1976.

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