THE BIG BANG & THE CREATOR
BEFORE EINSTEIN
Prior to 1955, one could adopt atheism as a valid and potentially true view of the world. This is because scientists, prior to 1955, believed in a Steady State Universe. The universe has always existed and will always exist. Changes might occur, but the universe maintains a steady state. If the universe has been eternally present (without a definite beginning), then being an atheist is intellectually plausible. The universe and its physical laws have simply been eternally present.
EINSTEIN’S IMPACT
Einstein changed all this. When Einstein proposed his General Theory of Relativity in 1916, his calculations showed that all time, matter, and space had a definite beginning. This directly contradicted the Steady State Universe in which most scientists believed. To avoid this, Einstein introduced what he called a “cosmological constant” so that the universe, in his theory, would remain eternal.
Evidence, though, caught up with the constant. In 1927, Edwin Hubble observed from Mt. Wilson Observatory a red shift in light from every observable galaxy. This could only mean that the galaxies were moving away from us, so the universe is expanding. In 1929, Einstein himself looked through the telescope and declared the cosmological constant his greatest blunder. He stripped it out from his equations and accepted the implication of his theory: the universe is expanding because it had a definite beginning. Since then, evidence from both earth and space has confirmed the General Theory of Relativity.
AFTER EINSTEIN
The concept of a Steady State Universe was finally abandoned by mainstream science in 1955 and replaced by a Big Bang Universe, which had a definite beginning. Since 1955, therefore, you can’t both believe in the General Theory of Relativity and the Big Bang and still be an atheist. Something that has a beginning has a cause.
The classical argument for the necessity of a Creator has three propositions:
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Everything which begins has a cause for its beginning.
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The universe began to exist.
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Therefore, the universe had a cause from beyond time, space, and matter for its beginning.
“. . . the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same: the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply at a definite moment of time, in a flash of light and energy.”
-Robert Jastrow
Astronomer & Founder of NASA\’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies
IS IT TRUE?
This is a logically valid argument. Since it is a logically valid argument and since the first two propositions are true, then the conclusion must be true as well. Is it true? Let’s look at the scientific evidence for each proposition:
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“Everything that has a beginning has a cause” is the Law of Causality. Without this law, science is impossible. TRUE
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Did the universe have a beginning? Since Einstein, there are four streams of evidence for the Big Bang. First, there’s still energy and organization left in the universe. If the universe were eternal, it would have already used up all its energy and fallen apart, according to The Second Law of Thermodynamics (as something runs, it uses up energy). Second, evidence shows the universe is expanding. It is expanding because it had a beginning. Before its beginning, there was no space, time, or matter. Third, the discovery of background cosmic radiation in 1965 revealed the heat and light produced by the Big Bang that started the universe. Fourth, the COBE satellite showed precise ripples in the temperature of the background radiation. Their precision shows that the big bang and expansion of the universe brought together just enough matter to create galaxies but not so much that the universe would collapse on itself. . . . TRUE.
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If the first two propositions in a logically valid argument are true, the the third proposition must be true: the universe had a First Cause that decided to create the universe. Since this First Cause exists prior to the universe, we know that it is beyond space and time, immaterial, and spiritual in nature. Because the universe operates by a complex interplay of finely tuned variables, we know that the First Cause not only makes decisions but is sentient as well. . . TRUE.