Sunday, September 13, 2015

Genesis and the Big Bang (Part 2)



(Gen 1:1), “God…”  “As the study of events following the Big Bang is extended mathematically to earlier times (using the Lambda-CDM concordance model), the size of the universe shrinks toward zero and, inversely, the temperatures and density increase toward infinity…This condition of infinities is referred to as a singularity and singularities cannot be treated by conventional mathematics…The conditions of time zero elude us…Although there is a theoretical solution in the world of physics to this problem of the beginning in terms that are perceivable by humans, there is no solution.” [1]  Just as any value divided by zero is “indeterminate”, so also are the properties of the universe where infinite matter is contained in a volume approaching a size of zero, i.e., a singularity.  “Infinity cannot be dealt with quantitatively and so cosmologists cannot describe the conditions of our absolute origin in real terms.” [2]

Scripture defines God as the “singularity”, the force behind creation, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3), and “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for Him.” (Col 1:16).  The universe came into existence by: The Word of God (John 1:1-3), and was ordained by the Will of God, (Rev 4:11).  God existed before the creation, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together,” (Col 1:17).  Other verses often referenced include: (Prov 8:22-31)(John 17:24)(Eph 1:4)(2 Tim 1:9)(Titus 1:2)(1 Pet 1:20)(Rev 4:11).

A few scientists still hold to a position that the universe is an oscillating system where the effects of gravity slow down the expansion and ultimately cause the universe to contract to a point where the Big Bang will be repeated in the future.  This position is a steady-state form of the Big Bang where the universe always existed, and therefore, does not require a creator.  To date (2015), scientists have not identified sufficient mass in the universe or other forces to promote a contraction.  In 2011, the Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt, and Adam Riess, “for the (1998) discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe.”  Rather than slowing, the expansion of the universe is accelerating.  That finding caught the scientific community by surprise.  If there is a beginning, the cosmos was initiated by a causal Agent operating beyond space and time.  According to Dr. Gerald L Schroeder,

“A Big Bang followed by an unending expansion of the universe tells us that there was a beginning and that, at a minimum, there is a place for a Beginner.” [3]

(Gen 1:1), “…created...”  The Hebrew word used at the beginning of Genesis for “created” is “bara” (Gen 1:2, 2:4)(Psa 148:5)(Isa 40:26), which is understood as bringing something new into existence out of nothing.  The word only occurs four times in scripture.  While man is capable of creating from materials that already exist, only God is capable of bringing into existence a creation from nothing, as the Hebrew writer stated, “The worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible,” (Heb 11:3).  The Bible stands alone in declaring that God created the universe out of nothing and that space and time only come into existence at the time of creation.

“By contrast, those sacred books with no clear connection to the Bible claim that a god, gods, or forces created the cosmos within space and time, which, they say, have always existed.  The Bible stands apart in declaring that space and time are not eternal but rather, suddenly came into being by an act of God, a Being completely independent from – that is, transcendent to or outside of -- space, time, matter, and energy.  The importance of this unique doctrine cannot be overstated.  It sets biblical revelation apart from all other so-called revelatory writings.” [4]



[1] Genesis and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 66
[2] Genesis and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 63
[3] Genesis and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 79
[4] Genesis and the Big Bang, Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder, Ph.D., 1990 Edition, page 28

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