Lesson 3- The Big Bang

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

The theory that all life has evolved from the process of natural selection.

Question 2

The Big Bang:

Answer 2

The theory that the world was created by an explosion of gas.

Question 3

Cosmology

Answer 3

The study of the cosmos/universe.

Question 4

Cosmogony

Answer 4

Explanations of the beginnings of the cosmos/universe

Question 5

Who came up with the idea of the Big Bang?

Answer 5

Pioneered by George Lemaitre, a theoretical physicist and Catholic priest.

Question 6

What actually is the Big Bang?

Answer 6

-The universe continues to expand: galaxies are moving away from one another, and the further away they are, the faster they move apart.

-The speed of expansion makes it possible to work out the age of the universe.

-about 13.8 billion years ago, there was a sudden burst of energy that marked the creation of time, space, matter and energy.

-Galaxies are moving away from Earth and from one another.

-This suggests that the galaxies were originally closer together and are now flying apart.

-the distance of a galaxy from Earth can be calculated by working out how fast it is moving away.

Question 7

Who supported theory of big bang?

Answer 7

It is supported by the Lambda-CDM ‘standard model’ of Big Bang cosmology.

Question 8

What is the impact of the Big Bang on Christians?

Answer 8

-The impact of the Big Bang amongst the Christian community has been mixed.

-For most Christians, the Big Bang theory suggests that the universe had a beginning, and that this was how God created the universe.

-The theory of an expanding universe was first proposed by a Belgian physicist and Roman Catholic priest, Georges Lamaître.

Question 9

Evidence that there was a beginning

Answer 9

-Genesis 1:3 – God creates light – this could be a metaphor for the light-stream from the Big Bang.

-Something which has a beginning naturally seems to require something to begin it (all events are caused).

-Links with the Causation Argument and the idea of a First Cause.

-Reasonable claim to connect with Aquinas’ Third Way – good inductive argument.

Question 10

Fine tuning arguments

Answer 10

-In order to produce intelligent life, the ‘cosmological constants’ all have to be correct to an impossibly narrow configuration.

-The fact that we are here therefore suggests that something (perhaps God?) has fine-tuned constants, since the odds of their being correct purely by chance are about 10,180 against.

-If this is the only universe, then God must have made it.

Question 11

Catholic Church

Answer 11

-The official position of the Catholic Church was given in 1951, when Pope Pius XII declared that the Big Bang theory did not conflict with the Catholic idea of creation.

-Catholics would argue that the Big Bang was caused by the will of God.

-There is also no shortage of scientists who accept God as the cause of the Big Bang.

“The Big Bang cries out for a divine explanation. It forces the conclusion that nature had a define beginning.” Francis Collins, 1993

Question 12

Pope Francis

Answer 12

Pope Francis has further cemented the Catholic position that creation required God but that this does not contradict the scientific assertions of the Big Bang

He said - when we read about creation in genesis we run the risk of imagining god was a magician with a magic wand able to do everything but that isn’t true

Question 13

What are fundamental Christians?

Answer 13

-There are certain Christians who think that the Bible should be interpreted literally.

-They think that the creation stories happened exactly in the way they were written down in Genesis. This worldview is called Creationism.

-This is different to the Catholic viewpoint we have been learning about.

-Catholic Christians would look at the Genesis creation accounts as symbolic. They are meant to give a reason for creation, not to explain how it was done.

Question 14

Main creationist beliefs…

Answer 14

-The Bible is the word of God and so must be totally accurate (right).

-God has given humans His truth through the Bible.

-Humans have no right to prefer their own interpretations to the actual words of God.

-Therefore, the Bible is read and interpreted literally (as it was written) and is not altered.

Question 15

Big band and deism…

Answer 15

-Deism was a popular Christian response to the Big Bang Theory.

-It is the belief that a deity (God!) ‘set things off’ and then left the universe to work according to the laws he created it with.

-However, he does not have any further influence / involvement with it.

Question 16

What was deism similar to?

Answer 16

-similar to Aristotle’s idea of the ‘Prime Mover’, who was utterly disinterested in the world.

-this contradicts key Christian beliefs about God as actively concerned for his creation – the Bible depicts God being actively involved with his world, for example the incarnation of Jesus Christ!

-Synoptic link: Religious language – could this lead to the death of God by a thousand qualifications? Why worship a God who isn’t interested at all?!

Question 17

God and divine intervention?

Answer 17

-The main point about the Big Bang theory, from the Christian point of view, is that it seems to provide undeniable evidence that there was a beginning of the universe.

-In Genesis 1:3, the first thing that God creates is light, and many Christians see this as a metaphor for the light-stream from the Big Bang.

-Something which has a beginning naturally seems to require something to begin it, since as far as we can tell from physics, all events are caused.

-If the universe was caused, then there must have been a First Cause (Aquinas states God is the uncaused first cause’ and the prime mover).

Question 18

The ‘fine-tuning’ argument for the Big Bang:

Answer 18

-This suggests to Christians that God caused it to happen.

-In order to produce intelligent life, the ‘cosmological constants’ (such as the stickiness of gravity, the expansion rate of the universe, and the production of RNA, DNA and proteins) all have to be correct to an impossibly narrow configuration.

-The fact that we are here, therefore, suggests that God has fine-tuned the constants. In other words, if this is the only universe, then God must have made it.

Question 19

Multi-verse Theory:

Answer 19

-The multiverse theory proposes the existence of an enormous number of universes, each with its own set of physical laws.

-Statistically, some universes would have cosmological constants aligning in a way conducive to life.

-This challenges the ‘fine-tuning’ argument, suggesting that the appearance of design in our universe might be a statistical outcome rather than evidence of purposeful tuning.

-With so many universes, it’s not that surprising that one of them turned out just right by luck.” So, the appearance of design in our universe might not be because someone set things up on purpose, but rather it’s like winning a lottery in a sea of possibilities.

-This idea suggests an alternative explanation, saying our universe’s features could be more about chance in a big group of universes than God planning it all out.

Question 20

Catholic Church views

Answer 20

-The official position of the Catholic Church was given in 1951, when Pope Pius XII declared that the Big Bang theory did not conflict with the Catholic idea of creation.

-Clearly, an atheist would say that the Big Bang was uncaused or self-caused, whereas Christians (such as Catholics) would argue that it was caused by the will of God.

-There is no shortage of scientists who accept God as the cause of the Big Bang

Here is a comment from Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute since 1993:
The Big Bang cries out for a divine explanation. It forces the conclusion that nature had a defined beginning. I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that.

Question 21

Creationist views?

Answer 21

-Those Christians who reject scientific accounts of the origins of the universe are called creationists.

-Creationist explanations appeal to their own brand of science, which basically refers to the statements in the Bible.

-When these conflict with the findings of modern science, the latter are seen as false, and the Bible is alleged to be the ‘true’ science.

-‘Intelligent design’ claims to be properly scientific, but its many critics reject that claim.

-There are two main types of creationist explanations: that of six-day (young earth) creationists, and that of ‘progressive’ (old earth) creationists.

Question 22

Six-day (young earth) Creationism:

Answer 22

-Although scientific evidence shows that the age of the universe is around 13.8 billion years, and that of the earth is around 4.5 billion years, Young Earth Creationism holds that the earth was created by God between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago.

-This belief follows a literal reading of Genesis in which God created the earth in six 24-hour days.

-All humans descend from Adam and Eve; there was no death before the ‘Fall’, and species were created, ‘as seen’, by God, and not produced through the evolution of species.

-This view is held by a large number of people, particularly in the USA, where it is taught in some evangelical churches.

-There is no scientific evidence for Young Earth Creationist views. Since the Genesis narratives of Creation and Flood have a clear dependence on some features of their earlier Babylonian counterparts, it is difficult to see the force of Creationist views beyond the level of simple belief, which some are content to have.

Question 23

What are some examples of young earth christianinty

Answer 23

-This interpretation is defended for example by Henry Morris, who wrote a series of books in the twentieth century promoting what he called creation science.

-another example, Ken Ham (an Australian-born fundamentalist Christian living in the USA) dates Noah’s Flood at 2348 BC, argues that the ark carried enough species for biodiversity; that dinosaurs co-existed with genetically modern humans, that radiometric and other scientific methods of dating the earth are wrong; and that the only evidence that counts is that of the one who was there - God.

Question 24

Old Earth Creationism:

Answer 24

-Progressive (old earth) Creationism takes a different approach.

-It acknowledges scientific findings that estimate the Earth’s age at around 4.5 billion years and the universe’s age at about 13.8 billion years.

-Interpretation of ‘Day’ in Genesis: Instead of interpreting the ‘days’ in Genesis as literal 24-hour periods, advocates of this view suggest that ‘day’ (Hebrew: yom) could mean more like a ‘creative epoch.’

-This implies that God had distinct periods of creative activity followed by long periods of stability (where everything stayed the same).

Question 25

Old earth creationists - rejection Darwin

Answer 25

-Rejection of Darwinian Evolution: Progressive Creationism rejects the idea of Darwinian evolution.

-It argues that God created species uniquely, and there was no gradual evolution from earlier species or ancestors.

Question 26

Old earth creationists - God’s Intervention as an ‘Intelligent Designer’

Answer 26

-According to this perspective, new species were directly created by God’s intervention as an ‘intelligent designer,’ and these species appeared fully formed.

-The assertion that species appeared “fully formed” means that, according to this perspective, God created each species in its complete and functional state.

-This stands in contrast to the idea of gradual evolution over time, where species would change incrementally.

Question 27

Old earth creationism - Direct Intervention

Answer 27

-According to Progressive Creationism, God didn’t just set things in motion at the beginning of time and let evolution unfold on its own.

-Instead, the perspective holds that God directly intervened in the process of creating new species.

-This implies a purposeful and intentional act by a divine being.

-This emphasizes the idea that the creation of species was not a random or haphazard process.

-Instead, it suggests a purposeful and intelligent plan behind the design of each species.

Question 28

Old earth creationism -Acknowledgment of Evolution for ‘Lower’ Beings

Answer 28

-While some supporters of Progressive Creationism are open to the idea of evolution for what they may consider “lower” or less complex beings, they draw a line when it comes to humans.

-This means they might accept the idea of evolutionary processes for certain organisms but insist on a special, direct creation for humans.

Question 29

Old earth creationism - Special Creation of Humans

Answer 29

-Progressive Creationism suggests that pre-human species found by archaeologists didn’t have souls. According to this view, Adam was the first human to have an eternal soul.

Question 30

Old earth creationism - Local Interpretation of the Flood

Answer 30

-Local Interpretation of the Flood: Unlike the global interpretation of Noah’s Flood in some creationist views,
-Progressive Creationism suggests that the flood was a local event, not a worldwide catastrophe.

Question 31

Intelligent design

Answer 31

-Intelligent Design suggests that certain features in the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent creator rather than random processes like natural selection.

Question 32

Intelligent design - who supports it

Answer 32

-Michael Behe is a biochemist who supports the idea of intelligent design, which some consider not quite scientific.

-He doesn’t believe in evolution and argues for something called “irreducible complexity.”

-In simpler terms, he says some things in nature are so complicated that they wouldn’t function if you took away just one part.

-For example, he pointed to the bacterial flagellum in a court trial, saying it couldn’t have evolved because it’s too complex.

Question 33

Rejection of Behe

Answer 33

-However, many scientists think Behe’s ideas are not good science and are more like a disguise for creationism, which is the belief that God directly created everything.

-Most Christians, though, don’t follow this view.

-They see evolution and natural selection as part of how God designed the world – like God set up the rules, and evolution is the way those rules play out.

-Even the Catholic Church disagrees with creationism, saying it’s not good for both science and religion. They prefer the idea that science and faith can coexist, with natural selection being part of God’s plan for how things develop in the world.

Question 34

Christian opposition to big bang

Answer 34

-When discussing Christian opposition to the Big Bang or Darwin, it’s essential to note that the fundamentalist interpretation of Genesis is a recent and minority view, mainly growing in the USA.

-Fundamentalists treat the Bible literally, defending it against scientific challenges. This stance contrasts with the historical approach to Christianity.

-Most religious thinkers, like St Augustine in the fourth century, recognized parts of the Bible needing interpretation when they didn’t align with observable facts. Misunderstandings arise when atheists assume all religious people are creationist fundamentalists, overlooking the more nuanced views of mainstream Christians.

Question 35

Georges Lemaître

Answer 35

-A Belgian priest named Georges Lemaître first suggested the Big Bang theory in the 1920s, when he theorized that the universe began from a single primordial atom.

-The idea received major boosts from Edwin Hubble’s observations that galaxies are speeding away from us in all directions, as well as from the 1960s discovery of cosmic microwave radiation—interpreted as echoes of the big bang—by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.

Question 36

Aftermath of cosmic inflation…

Answer 36

-As time passed and matter cooled, more diverse kinds of particles began to form, and they eventually condensed into the stars and galaxies of our present universe.

-By the time the universe was a billionth of a second old, the universe had cooled down enough for the four fundamental forces to separate from one another.

-The universe’s fundamental particles also formed.

-It was still so hot, though, that these particles hadn’t yet assembled into many of the subatomic particles we have today, such as the proton.

-Radiation in the early universe was so intense that colliding photons could form pairs of particles made of matter and antimatter, which is like regular matter in every way except with the opposite electrical charge. It’s thought that the early universe contained equal amounts of matter and antimatter.

-But as the universe cooled, photons no longer packed enough punch to make matter-antimatter pairs.

-Somehow, some excess matter survived—and it’s now the stuff that people, planets, and galaxies are made of.

-Physicists are still trying to figure out exactly how matter won out in the early universe.