The Origin of Everything
Why
is the universe here? Why is there something instead of nothing? The origin of
the universe is a mystery that has been reflected upon ever since human beings
first looked upward into a star-filled sky. It's the science of cosmology: the
study of the origin, development, and fate of the universe. Sophisticated
instruments, including telescopes such as the Hubble, have allowed us to look
farther into the distance than we could have imagined a few years ago.
Scientists have observed our expanding universe, and by re-winding the action
backward they have concluded that our universe was formed 13.8 billion years
ago. They describe it as the Big Bang, when the universe exploded into
existence from an infinitesimally small point, and it has been expanding from
that moment of singularity ever since.
Something Out of
Nothing? Let's
assume that the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe is right. What
caused the Big Bang? Many cosmologists
hold the view that this happened naturally, without benefit of any creator.
Other cosmologists are open to the idea of a creator, affirming what the very
first verse of the first book of the Bible states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) Certainly
everything couldn't come out of nothing. We've never observed something coming
from nothing. Our universe operates on the principle of cause and effect. If
the effect was the Big Bang, there must be a cause. The word “poof” is hardly
an adequate explanation.
An Eternal
Process? One
theory states that our universe is involved in an eternal cyclical process of
expansion, then contraction, then exploding out again in another big bang, and
on and on. Recent discoveries debunk this theory in two ways. First of all, the
universe is expanding faster and faster, so it will never collapse upon itself.
Second, it has been determined that the criteria are not right for the universe
to do that over and over again. One could add a third reason: there's no proof
that even if the universe would collapse in on itself it would “bounce back”
into another big bang from such an event. The
idea that energy and matter have always existed is intellectually unsatisfying.
You can't keep pushing the question farther into the past. You always end up
asking where it all came from. If the effect is the existence of energy and
matter, what's the ultimate cause?
Multiple
Universes? It
seems that a growing trend is the belief in multiple universes; such is the
view held by theoretical physicist and string theorist Brian Greene, who is
often seen on PBS. The theory is that
there might be forces beyond our own universe, perhaps a huge bubbling brew of
many other universes that have had and are having an impact on our own
universe. In fact, the theory is that the big bang of our own universe coming
into being may have happened because of and from those other universes. It's argued that out of perhaps billions or trillions of other universes,
it's just luck that it all came together just right for everything, including
us, to be here. However,
this is all pure conjecture, for there’s no proof for multiple universes. Even if you hypothesize their existence
you’re still left with the fundamental question as to where they came from.
Our
“Finely-Tuned” Universe The
amazing discoveries within the last few years of the number of ways our
universe is “finely tuned” so it can be here at all speaks of intelligent
design, of a creator who created. For instance, if the strength of gravity was
just one part in several billions weaker, it would be insufficient to hold
matter together for galaxies, stars, and planets to form. If gravity were just
a tad greater to the same degree, everything would have collapsed in on itself
long ago, near the time of the Big Bang. It has also been explained that if the neutron weren't exactly 1.001 times
the mass of the proton, this universe wouldn't be here. These
are just two examples of how the dials had to be set just right for everything
to be here. Cosmologist Ed Harrison stated, “Here's a cosmological proof of the
existence of God. . . The fine-tuning of the universe. . . Take your choice –
blind chance that requires an infinite amount of universes, or design, that
requires only one. Many scientists, when they admit their views, incline
towards a theological, or design, argument.” (quoted from A Place for Truth, edited by Dallas Willard, the article by Hugh Ross, “A Scientist Who
Looked and Was Found”, p.132, from Masks of the Universe, New York: Macmillan, 1985)
Reason Enough
for Faith Many
hold to the conviction, including a significant number of scientists, that
there is something or someone beyond space and time, and other than energy and
matter, which has made all that is. Francis Collins, physician-geneticist and
head of the Human Genome Project, was interviewed with atheist Richard Dawkins.
Collins wrote, “At the end of the interview, he did admit that he couldn't, on
a purely rational basis, exclude the possibility of a supernatural being. But,
he says, such a being would be grander and more complicated and awesome than
anything humans could contemplate. I wanted to jump up and shout, 'Hallelujah,
we have a convert!' (But I didn’t.)” (A Place for Truth, p.89) Scientist Hugh Ross stated that “one of the unique attributes of the
Christian God is that he is a transcendent Being, capable of acting through
cause and effect independent of length, width, height and time.” (A Place for
Truth, p.133) It
really makes good sense to believe that all that is – the origin of the
universe – is a result of the creative activity of God. It has been argued, and
I believe it's valid, that it takes more faith to believe that somehow
everything exists without anyone making it than to believe that there is a
Maker! Some
2000 years ago the brilliant scholar Paul of Tarsus wrote these inspired words:
“For since the
creation of the world God's invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine
nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so
that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) Yes, there is reason enough to believe that God is
responsible for the origin of our universe.
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by David J. Claassen
daveclaassen.com Copyright 2014 by David J. Claassen
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