The Universe

Starting with a Bang

The idea of evolution is more than just an attempt to theorize how monkeys turned into man. Rather, it is an effort to explain how absolutely everything came into existence naturally (without God). Science should be the pure search for truth, but proponents of evolution reject any explanation that allows for supernatural intelligence. This seems particularly challenging when you talk about beginnings. The story of evolution must have a beginning. Enter the Big Bang.

​There’s been no shortage of ink spilled on this topic, so it can be very easy to get lost when researching this important area. One of my favorite speakers on this topic is Spike Psarris. Mr. Psarris was an atheist who worked as an engineer for NASA. The more he learned about the universe, the more he questioned his evolutionary beliefs. Much of this discussion will be supported by clips from a presentation Mr. Psarris conducted at a conference (Ref #203).

Before we get started, it would be helpful to view a brief synopsis of the story of the Big Bang. For brevity’s sake, I’ll bullet point the story for you (Ref #206):

 

Creation of the Universe

  • 13.8 billion years ago our universe began with a dot a fraction of the size of an atom
  • This dot expanded at a rate faster than the speed of light bringing with it all time, space, matter and energy
  • As the expanding universe slowed and cooled, a few elements were formed from the energy (primarily hydrogen/helium)
  • The gases gathered together to form stars
  • Stars exploded to form heavier elements which scattered throughout the universe

Creation of our Solar System

  • 4.6 billion years ago our solar system began as a cloud of dust and gas
  • A star began to form as the cloud was compressed by some unknown force
  • As the star spun and collected more mass, a disk of dust began to form the planets and moons in our solar system
  • Much debris was left over from the process and is present today as asteroids and large belts of clouds of material

It sounds like an interesting theory but can it hold water when you look at it objectively? We will explore its validity, but first we need to understand where this theory originated. What scientific evidence led the secular world (and so many Christians these days) to believe in such a grand idea? Mr. Psarris is going to spend about 6 minutes discussing the three primary evidences that led to the Big Bang concept.

It’s OK if you didn’t understand all of his points. You really don’t need to. I’m not even going to counter those points because it isn’t necessary. None of those evidences are contradictory to a Biblical account of the creation of the universe. They simply support the idea that the universe has expanded. I will, however, mention that there are problems with these interpretations and there are alternative explanations. There is evidence that strongly suggests microwave background radiation isn’t a result of the Big Bang as claimed (see additional resources page for reference).

 

The Bible clearly states that God stretched out the universe thousands of years ago. Psalm 104 verse 2 testifies that God “stretches out the heavens like a tent”. Many other passages refer to this same topic (Job 9:8; Isaiah 40:22, 42:5, 44:24, 45:12, 48:13 & 51:13; Jeremiah 10:12 & 51:15; Zechariah 12:1). Just because the universe seems to be expanding doesn’t mean that it took billions of years or that it happened on its own.

The true test of a theory’s validity isn’t the evidence that leads you to come up with the idea, it is the supporting evidences (or lack thereof) and logical consistencies that support it or logical inconsistencies that contradict it. Let’s discover why Mr. Psarris abandoned his atheistic faith and job at NASA:

Let’s first start with the obvious. This theory doesn’t even begin to tackle how the universe originated. It simply attempts to come up with an explanation of what happened after something or someone lit the fuse. This beginning cause has no explanation whatsoever. John Maddox, former editor-in-chief of the prestigious British science journal Nature (a devout evolutionist), wrote the following about the Big Bang:

 

“In all respects save that of convenience, this view of the origin of the Universe is thoroughly unsatisfactory. For one thing, the implication is that there was an instant at which time literally began and, so, by extension, an instant before which there was no time. That in turn implies that even if the origin of the Universe may be successfully supposed to lie in the Big Bang, the origin of the Big Bang itself is not susceptible to discussion.” (Maddox 1989, p. 425)

 

So even if the Big Bang did work as a model, it still doesn’t serve the purpose for which it was truly created – to explain how the universe came to exist without God. It still requires God or at least some supernatural being to create the “cosmic egg” in the first place.

 

So lesson number one about the Big Bang theory is that it still fails to answer the question, “Where did everything come from?”. An evolutionist will point to the Big Bang in an attempt to explain how the universe got here, but in fact it has no answer for that question.

​Another line of questioning that reveals a major problem for the Big Bang theory is to explain the origination of non-material concepts.

The concept of information is one of the biggest obstacles against any idea that claims the universe and all of life is simply matter with no spiritual or supernatural component and with no intelligence behind the design. It flies in the face of intuition and logic to claim that hydrogen is the creator of all things. The Big Bang has no ability to explain non-material phenomenon which we experience every day (information, love, art, music, etc.)

​This next clip will explain several other issues with the Big Bang theory along with the “rescue devices” created to save the theory. A rescue device is an “add-on” theory that is created in order to save the original theory. The Big Bang theory has so many fatal problems that it needs a slew of rescue devices to make it palatable even to evolutionists. It’s not important to necessarily understand the details for these rescue devices, just the fact that they are needed. Mr. Psarris walks us through several of them in this next clip.

When you are first exposed to Big Bang teaching in elementary school, they simply tell you that science has convincingly proven that the universe was created in the Big Bang. They don’t tell you that it doesn’t truly explain how anything originated, it contradicts known laws of physics and that it needs to be rescued by other concepts that also have no evidence. Additionally, it really only offers explanations for a fraction of what it claims to explain.

Next you will see three more claims against the Big Bang. Again, don’t get caught up with trying to understand the problems (you can research them later). Simply understand that everyone agrees they are problems and need a solution.

Assuming that we did believe that inflation actually happened, it would be good to also inquire about the chances that it happened exactly the way we needed it to happen in order to sustain the universe and life.  What are the chances that this mysterious “Inflaton” particle caused just the right kind of “bang”?  Let’s take a look:

Here are a few more factoids to support the Anthropic Principle:

 

  • If the gravitational constant varied by just 1 to the 1060th power, the universe wouldn’t exist.
  • Ratio of electron to proton mass (1:1836) can’t change. Again, if this were larger or smaller, molecules could not form.
  • Our sun is the perfect mass. If it were larger, its brightness would change too quickly and there would be too much high energy radiation.
  • The earth’s distance from the sun is crucial for a stable water cycle. Too far away and most water would freeze; too close and most water would boil.
  • The earth’s gravity, axial tilt, rotation period, magnetic field, crust thickness, oxygen/nitrogen ratio, carbon dioxide, water vapor and ozone levels are perfect.

Given the problems with the Big Bang theory, as an alternative, a new theory has been suggested. Impressively enough, this one can never be disputed by science because it can’t be observed or tested.

Closing

​Unfortunately, this model taught as fact everywhere around the world has significant challenges. However, supporters of evolution have a way for the theory to appear plausible even in the absence of mathematical or scientific support. They now explain that their theory of the origin of the universe seems impossible only because we are assuming we are the only universe in existence.

 

If there were, say, an infinite number of universes out there, we would expect that anything could happen because there are an infinite number of possibilities.

This new trend in secular astronomy is being taken seriously. Why? Because it is likely the best way to maintain the theory. However, this does two things:

 

  1. It moves the model from pseudo-science to faith-based. Big Bang believers were able to use scientific tools and methods (telescopes to observe stars and make predictions based on evidence) to make pseudoscience seem scientific. However, the new trend of assuming there is a multiverse (and that this multiverse makes this impossible model possible) is not even close to science. There is absolutely no credible evidence of this, nor would we expect there to be. They call their science “naturalistic” and exclude God as a prerequisite because God isn’t part of nature. Then they create supernatural theories to save their naturalistic ones.
  2. Even in an infinite number of universes, logic must still be part of the equation. You can’t have a universe where 2 + 2 = 3. If you can, then what is the point of ever doing science at all? If nothing is consistent or predictable, science is a worthless endeavor. However, we live in a world that is consistent and has rules and laws that we can trust. So why not stick to what we know as opposed to trying to create a solution that does away with all science and mathematics just to save an antiquated model?

In an effort to remove faith from the equation, they have created an equation that requires even more faith (just not faith in God).

 

In closing, I want to share some facts and show you the majesty of God. Here’s some information about our solar system:

  • The earth’s spin results in a surface speed of 1,000 miles per hour at the equator
  • The earth is traveling 66,000 miles per hour around the sun
  • Our solar system is traveling 515,000 miles an hour through space
  • Every planet is different and there are 181 known moons orbiting planets in our solar system

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A very talented special effects company (DjSadhu) created this representation of our solar system in space. It isn’t typically what people think of when they picture the very static solar system models used in middle school classrooms.

Ask yourself if it makes any sense that this type of precision and complexity could ever happen randomly based on what we know about the world we live in? I remember reading a book many years ago written by a Christian author who used the Big Bang as evidence that God created the universe.

 

Many Christians fall into the trap of believing that we need to fit God into this man-made philosophical box. I so often hear, “Well, why couldn’t God have done it that way?”. Well, obviously God could have done anything but the method presented in the Big Bang model isn’t likely for these reasons:

    1. It is in direct opposition to the way He said He did it in Genesis. Not only is the timeline massively different but the order of events is different. The Bible must be significantly twisted and altered to make the Big Bang fit.
    2. The entire reason for the Big Bang is to give man some sense of comfort that we are the god of our own universe and that no supernatural being is needed to explain why we are here. The current Big Bang model is the result of dozens of iterations from atheistic philosophers. Why would an all-knowing, all-powerful God “code” the Bible so that no one understood it until our modern-day anti-God scientists “figured it out” thousands of years later only to use it as the foundation for an atheistic religion? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.
    3. The Big Bang model changes constantly. In 10 years it will look completely different. Do you really want to hitch your belief system to a moving wagon with no stability? Why not simply believe the Bible which never changes and is never wrong?

 

Lastly, there is far more evidence against it than for it. It simply doesn’t work!

 

Now, if you want to know the truth about how the universe was created – here’s how it began.

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:1)

​Mortal man will never be able to understand how an all-powerful God started time and created space and matter simply by speaking the words. It is outside of nature. According to the Bible, God created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in it in 6 days. According to the very detailed genealogies, this happened approximately 6,000 years ago. Nothing anyone has ever observed has proven this wrong. In fact, as you have seen, there is overwhelming evidence that God is the only option.