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“The Word of God is Love. The
enactment of the Word of God is service to your brothers
and sisters. Truly, if the Word of God is actively resident
within your life, the Fruits of Spirit
are being produced in your life through the Service of Love.”
Solonia, tml
5/2004
***
CREATION AND EVOLUTION Revisited
About BIG BANG THEORY, UNIVERSE and GOD according to SCIENCE
www.Big-Bang-Theory.com
Big Bang
Theory - The Premise
The Big Bang theory is an effort to explain what happened at the very
beginning of our universe. Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown
beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning.
Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there
was something: our universe. The big bang theory is an effort to explain what
happened during and after that moment.
According to the standard theory, our universe sprang into existence as
"singularity" around 13.7 billion years ago. What is a
"singularity" and where does it come from? Well, to be honest, we
don't know for sure. Singularities are zones which defy our current
understanding of physics. They are thought to exist at the core of
"black holes." Black holes are areas of intense gravitational
pressure. The pressure is thought to be so intense that finite matter is
actually squished into infinite density (a mathematical concept which truly
boggles the mind). These zones of infinite density are called
"singularities." Our universe is thought to have begun as an
infinitesimally small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense, something - a
singularity. Where did it come from? We don't know. Why did it appear? We
don't know.
After its initial appearance, it apparently inflated (the "Big
Bang"), expanded and cooled, going from very, very small and very, very
hot, to the size and temperature of our current universe. It continues to
expand and cool to this day and we are inside of it: incredible creatures
living on a unique planet, circling a beautiful star clustered together with
several hundred billion other stars in a galaxy soaring through the cosmos,
all of which is inside of an expanding universe that began as an
infinitesimal singularity which appeared out of nowhere for reasons unknown.
This is the Big Bang theory.
Big Bang Theory -
Common Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions surrounding the Big Bang theory. For
example, we tend to imagine a giant explosion. Experts however say that there
was no explosion; there was (and continues to be) an expansion. Rather than
imagining a balloon popping and releasing its contents, imagine a balloon
expanding: an infinitesimally small balloon expanding to the size of our
current universe.
Another misconception is that we tend to image the singularity as a little
fireball appearing somewhere in space. According to the many experts however,
space didn't exist prior to the Big Bang. Back in the late '60s and early
'70s, when men first walked upon the moon, "three British
astrophysicists, Steven Hawking, George Ellis, and Roger Penrose turned their
attention to the Theory of Relativity and its implications regarding our
notions of time. In 1968 and 1970, they published papers in which they
extended Einstein's Theory of General Relativity to include measurements of
time and space.1, 2 According to their calculations, time and
space had a finite beginning that corresponded to the origin of matter and
energy."3The singularity didn't appear in space;
rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the
singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or
energy - nothing. So where and in what did the singularity appear if not in
space? We don't know. We don't know where it came from, why it's here, or
even where it is. All we really know is that we are inside of it and at one
time it didn't exist and neither did we.
Big Bang Theory - Evidence for the Theory
What are the major evidences which support the Big Bang theory?
·
First of
all, we are reasonably certain that the universe had a beginning.
·
Second,
galaxies appear to be moving away from us at speeds proportional to their
distance. This is called "Hubble's Law," named after Edwin Hubble
(1889-1953) who discovered this phenomenon in 1929. This observation supports
the expansion of the universe and suggests that the universe was once
compacted.
·
Third, if
the universe was initially very, very hot as the Big Bang suggests, we should
be able to find some remnant of this heat. In 1965, Radioastronomers Arno
Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered a 2.725 degree Kelvin (-454.765 degree
Fahrenheit, -270.425 degree Celsius) Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
(CMB) which pervades the observable universe. This is thought to be the
remnant which scientists were looking for. Penzias and Wilson shared in the
1978 Nobel Prize for Physics for their discovery.
·
Finally, the
abundance of the "light elements" Hydrogen and Helium found in the
observable universe are thought to support the Big Bang model of origins.
Big Bang Theory - The Only Plausible Theory?
Is the standard Big Bang theory the only model consistent with these
evidences? No, it's just the most popular one. Internationally renown
Astrophysicist George F. R. Ellis explains: "People need to be aware
that there is a range of models that could explain the observations….For
instance, I can construct you a spherically symmetrical universe with Earth
at its center, and you cannot disprove it based on observations….You can only
exclude it on philosophical grounds. In my view there is absolutely nothing wrong
in that. What I want to bring into the open is the fact that we are using
philosophical criteria in choosing our models. A lot of cosmology tries to
hide that."4
In 2003, Physicist Robert Gentry proposed an attractive alternative to the
standard theory, an alternative which also accounts for the evidences listed
above.5 Dr. Gentry claims that the standard Big Bang model is
founded upon a faulty paradigm (the Friedmann-lemaitre expanding-spacetime
paradigm) which he claims is inconsistent with the empirical data. He chooses
instead to base his model on Einstein's static-spacetime paradigm which he
claims is the "genuine cosmic Rosetta." Gentry has published
several papers outlining what he considers to be serious flaws in the
standard Big Bang model.6 Other high-profile dissenters
include Nobel laureate Dr. Hannes Alfvén, Professor Geoffrey Burbidge, Dr.
Halton Arp, and the renowned British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle, who is
accredited with first coining the term "the Big Bang" during a BBC
radio broadcast in 1950.
Big Bang Theory - What About God?
Any discussion of the Big Bang theory would be incomplete without
asking the question, what about God? This is because cosmogony (the study of
the origin of the universe) is an area where science and theology meet.
Creation was a supernatural event. That is, it took place outside of the
natural realm. This fact begs the question: is there anything else which
exists outside of the natural realm? Specifically, is there a master
Architect out there? We know that this universe had a beginning. Was God the
"First Cause"? We won't attempt to answer that question in this
short article. We just ask the question:
Does God
Exist?
Footnotes:
- Steven W. Hawking, George F.R. Ellis,
"The Cosmic Black-Body Radiation and the Existence of Singularities
in our Universe,"Astrophysical Journal, 152, (1968) pp.
25-36.
- Steven W. Hawking, Roger Penrose, "The Singularities
of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology," Proceedings of
the Royal Society of London, series A, 314 (1970) pp. 529-548.
- Mark Eastman, Chuck Missler, The
Creator: Beyond Time and Space, (1996) p. 11.
- W. Wayt Gibbs, "Profile: George F. R.
Ellis," Scientific American,October 1995, Vol. 273,
No.4, p. 55.
- See
http://www.halos.com/reports/ext-2003-022.pdf
- See
http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-rosetta.pdf and
http://www.halos.com/reports/ext-2003-021.pdf; see also
http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-redshift.pdf and http://www.halos.com/reports/arxiv-1998-affirmed.pdf
***
”Let
us behold the Light, that through the forgiveness, finds its way into the
great darkness
of this world. Perceive the Light in all your brothers and
sisters by fully forgiving each other,
because it is only then that you will see their Light,
know the higher Truth, and achieve the
happiness of Brotherhood.”
Michael of Nebadon, tml
5/2004
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