How did our universe come into being, and how long has it been here?
“The day is Yours, the night is also Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.” - Psalm 74:16
Science deals with the observable present. What happened in the past is not something we can test scientifically. So, we have to take what we know and work backward to the birth of the universe—at the instant of creation—to understand what happened in the beginning.
Important Background Knowledge
The Law of Increasing Entropy: everything is in gradual decay; energy tends to go from a useful form to a useless form.
The Law of Cause and Effect: everything with a beginning had a cause.
Sir Isaac Newton: his ideas were the beginning of modern physics.
Potential Energy: energy waiting to be used.
Kinetic Energy: energy in motion.
First Law of Thermodynamics: energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can be converted to another form.
George LeMaitre: Catholic priest who theorized that everything started from the explosion of a “primeval atom”.
Edwin Hubble: American scientist who observed that galaxies seemed to be moving away from each other.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB): radiation that Big Bang theorists believe is left over from a time around 400,000 years after the Big Bang.
Big Bang: theory that the universe came into existence over 13 billion years ago with a massive explosion.
Planck Satellite: launched by NASA in 2009 to study microwave background radiation.
Blue Stars: burn so brightly that they should have burned out long ago if the universe is actually billions of years old.
Spiral Galaxies: these would be so twisted we couldn’t recognize them if they were really billions of years old.
Cosmic Inflation: idea that when the universe was supposedly expanding it sped up and then slowed down—used to explain problems secularists are finding with the CMB.
Think Tank
Why is it important to understand that the past is something that cannot be observed by science?
Empirical science has to do only with the observable present. What happened in the past is not something we can test directly. This means that we have to take what we know in the present and work backward to understand our origins. At some level, faith is required, and all we can do is take the evidence we have and try to come to the best conclusion.
Why do you think we have certain laws of physics that cannot be altered? What would science be like without them?
The laws of physics demonstrate the order and precision of creation, and God gave them to us so we could understand our world and His nature. Science would be disorderly and illogical without them.
Summarize the Big Bang theory:
The Big Bang theory says that the entire universe began as a point, a singularity, which rapidly expanded and caused everything we see today.
Why were secular scientists so excited in the 1960s when they detected microwave radiation coming from all directions in space? Explain the problems new research is finding with viewing this Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (CMB) as “proof” of the Big Bang.
Secular scientists thought the microwave radiation was leftover from the Big Bang. The Big Bang theory predicts that there would be hot and cold spots in the universe, showing variations in the CMB temperature. However, new research has shown that the CMB temperature is much more uniform than scientists predicted. These variations also contradict Big Bang predictions by suggesting a special direction in space.
What are some simple examples of how the laws of physics describe the order and precision that exist in our world—the opposite of the chaos that you would expect from an explosion?
The laws of physics show that order does not come from chaos. Gravity holds the sun’s hydrogen together. A block of wood falling on a table transitions from potential to kinetic energy and shows the First Law of Thermodynamics: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted. These laws are consistent and predictable.
How does the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the Law of Increasing Entropy) pose a powerful argument against the Big Bang?
The Second Law of Thermodynamics shows a universal tendency for things to go toward a state of equilibrium (same temperature everywhere) in which no energy is available to do work. But the Big Bang is supposed to have started in such a state. How then could we possibly have non-equilibrium conditions today? How do we have usable energy today if the universe started in such a state?
Back to the Bible
Read Genesis 1; 8:22; Psalm 74:16; Isaiah 40:26; James 1:17.
List everything you observe in these verses that shows us how the universe holds together and how it operates.
Genesis 1 tells us that the universe was created by the spoken words of God. Genesis 8:22 shows us that God intended creation to be orderly and regular, not chaotic. Psalm 74:16 shows us that God not only created the universe but that He also holds authority over it. Isaiah 40:26 tells us God commands and preserves the heavenly hosts.
On which creation day did God create space, time, matter, and energy?
The first day of creation.
What does the First Law of Thermodynamics tell us about the original energy that God put into the universe?
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, simply converted. The amount of original energy created by God is the same today as in the beginning and had to be instilled in the universe by an outside force.
How do Genesis 8:22 and Isaiah 40:26 support the Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy (the First Law of Thermodynamics)?
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can be transferred from one form to another, but not created or destroyed. These verses support this by saying that God’s creation will endure because He is upholding it by His power.
What doe the Law of Entropy show us about whether the universe could be eternally old?
The universe can’t be eternally old because all the energy in it would have been degraded into a totally useless form by now.
If the universe is not eternal, it had to have a beginning. As we know from simple logic, every beginning requires what? What “law” applies here?
We know from simple logic that every beginning requires a cause. The law that applies to this is called The Law of Cause and Effect.
What does it mean that God has “no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17)? How can this statement apply to our universe…and our everyday lives?
God is not changeful or unstable. WE can know that the universe and laws of physics are under His control. We can trust God to be constant and trustworthy, and this applies to the promises He has made regarding our lives and salvation.
Takeaways
Our universe has order—not chaos—because it was designed with order and purpose by the Creator God who does not change, who is always consistent.
The laws of physics and mathematics reflect the order and purpose God instilled in His creation.
Even though we were not there at the beginning to observe the creation of the universe, scientific evidence indicates the Earth is young and that every detail of our universe was planned—it was not an accident.
Next Week: Uniqueness of Earth