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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
Prior to the 20th Century, it was not clear if the universe ever had a beginning. Had it always existed? No one knew. It was a matter of faith. Then a succession of discoveries throughout the 20th ...
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Gerritt Schuitema
Did God use the Big Bang to create? Science and the Bible respond with a resounding no. He used His Word. What resulted is often described as the big bang but it is important to understand this is only an effect, not the cause. The cause was the spoken Word of our Father. So strap in, this gets heavy: "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?" - John 3:12 So how did God create? John 1:1-4 is perhaps the best location for this. Also, more physics than most can comprehend. So back to the basics: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." - John 1:1-3 The Word creates and maintains all things at all times. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." - John 1:4 Within the Word, and only within the Word does life exist. So there we have it. All of the reality we experience in life, the Light, is organized and preceded by the heavenly/spiritual etc., the Word. Light organized by sound. The Truth, from the Word. Christ. And as Christ creates that which we see around us, even now as we read; creating and maintaining that which we see and experience, it should be no surprise then, when science confirms the afore mentioned scriptures, for they are studying the very work of our Father's hands, which are Christ's. Contrary to popular opinion, the bible does lay out how God created, via His Word (John 1:1-3), which was, is and will be Christ. Also important to note that the bible is clear, this is a spoken sound being uttered, and not a concept. (Strong's G3056) and this is they key, that it is the literal spoken Word of our Father being used here. This is what happened at the beginning. Amazingly, there is a science that few people are consciously aware of, though subconsciously we have all seen it, which confirms these opening verses. This science not only confirms bible passages such as John 1:1-3, but many others, including Ex. 3:14 (my personal favorite) This science is called cymatics and is the study of sound on matter. (John 1:3) More easily: Ever seen an opera singer sing a really high note, and break a glass? Haven't we all? This is not science fiction, rather a fact of creation written in God's word for millennia. The power of the sound waves coming from her voice are physically trying to reshape the glass. As the glass is rigid and fragile, it shatters before coming to rest in its new form. This is a fact, sound organizes matter (John 1:3) Below this answer is a link to a short video about cymatics and the effect it has on 'matter.' Also, as a corollary, NASA released an article in 2003 which proved that not only was 'sound' responsible for all galactic formation, but that the power contained in the sound waves we are experiencing right now, coursing through us all this very moment and organizing and maintaining all things, are something to the effect of the combined power of 100 million super novas! Link below Since a super nova, at that time, was the most powerful thing we have ever witnessed, this finding is incomprehensible. Further, the fact that these things line up directly with how the bible tells us God created, it is no wonder it was not widely publicized, bad for the highly recently publicized science vs faith debate. Science and Faith are not separate as the media and Hollywood would have us believe. One points to the other and all things point to Christ crucified. It is important to remain grounded in scripture when delving in these areas. This is not scripture twisted to meet science, and this is crucially important. It is science proving one of the many, numerous truths revealed in the Word of God, which is the gospel of Christ, by which and in whom all knowledge and wisdom are, both now and forever. Lastly, as the very definition of science is the study of the natural world, it directly follows that only natural explanations are allowed. Any supernatural explanation must be suppressed or ignored, because allowing them would then change the definition of science. Stay grounded and focused on the goal brothers and sisters, Christ alone, for there is no other way (John 14:6) but Christ: "Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" - Hebrews 1:3 "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know [these things] before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked (Rom 1:18-32), fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and [in] the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him [be] glory both now and for ever. Amen." - 2 Peter 3:17-18 Cymatics: http://youtu.be/05Io6lop3mk NASA Article: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/09sep_blackholesounds/
Allyse C
If you read the first chapter of the Bible, Genesis 1, you will see that God created all things including the earth, the inhabitants in it, the sun, the moon, the stars, and everything else.
Jennifer Rothnie
Supporter
It is doubtful that God used the 'Big Bang' to form the universe. - From a purely cosmological standpoint, the 'Big Bang' theory is a very weak theory. In fact, the theory has been retroactively revised over a dozen times when it's predictions have been shown false by observation. There has yet to be a version of the theory which a new observation has actually supported. Observations retroactively co-opted as 'proofs' of the Big Bang can easily be explained by known phenomena. - Various theories that accompany this model (expanding universe, elemental abundance predictions, etc) rely on countless adjustable parameters to make things fit. More assumptions are added each time a problem with the theory arises. - Factors crucial to the model working, such as dark-matter, dark energy, a universe of anti-matter, etc, are assumed, despite no observation supporting them. For someone to hold this theory, he must assume that 90% of the universe is filled with something that man has never detected, that no natural law or observation has supported, and that is not necessary for the orderly working of the universe. - The Big Bang assumes as a maxim that 'Viewed on a sufficiently large scale, the properties of the Universe are the same for all observers.'. Yet even within the observable universe scientists have been able to observe large unique structures (such as one large quasar group that is over 4 billion lightyears across, 16,000 times larger than the distance between the Milky Way and Andromeda), which are incompatible with the idea of perfect homogeneity. - The observable universe shows too many large scale structures to have been formed in less than 100 Billion years via the Big Bang. As such, the theory must assume (again with no backing) that the speed of galaxies was once much higher. -The largest 'proof' for the Big Bang theory that is often cited is that of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation (or CMB), a low level of radiation found throughout black space. This radiation is currently assumed by many scientists to be the 'afterglow' of the Big Bang. However, there are a two major problems with this: #1 The CMB is uniform, which the Big Bang model cannot account for. This is often called the 'horizon problem'. As the Big Bang model calls for the rapid expansion of energy and matter, certain areas of the universe would be hot and others cold. [Try scribbling a baloon with a black sharpie, then blowing it up, for a crude example of how uniformity decreases as the baloon expands]. For hot and cold to equalize across the vast expanse of the universe, one needs a LOT more than 14 billion years. #2 The CMB is a perfect example of a failed prediction that led to the theory being retrofitted/revised to fit the new data. Scientists mid 20th century theorizing a Big Bang actually assumed that a -minimum- CMB between 5°K and 50°K would be found, for the theory to be viable. Observations were too low to meet this threshhold, and thus in no way supported the idea of a Big Bang. Sir Eddington in 1926 had put forth the theory that the minimum temperature any body in space would cool to was approximately three degrees Kelvin. Which hypothesis was then supported by the CMB? Sir Eddingtons, with the finding of a uniform background radiation of 2.725 Kelvin. The Big Bang theory (of the time) was actually falsified by the low level CMB. There are many other problems with the Big Bang Theory as well, but the summation is this: - A 'possible explanation' is not a proof - A good hypothesis should be falsifiable, not claimed true simply by altering it to fit observed data - There are other cosmological models, and scientists are continually refining models and coming up with new ones as new discoveries are made - The assumption of a mostly homogeneous universe that the Big Bang relies on faces more and more difficulties/contrary data as we observe and discover a more fractal-like universe of varied scale and spatial topography
Brent Cohick
I personally have preached several messages on this topic. In my humble opinion and in trying to simplify this issue as much as possible, I am left with this conclusion. Take a space void of light and matter. I do realize this is almost incomprehensible for us as beings of material understanding. If you could put yourself there mentally, no air, no light, no atmosphere, compete nothingness, not one single atom. Now apply Genesis to this equation "Let there be light" BANG! this would be a huge explosion of existence in the middle of nothing. The light of God being the most pure, brightest light in existence piercing nothingness. What a contrast from nothing to everything in a split second. This is the story of the Almighty in it's purest form. And it begins in the beginning. From death to life. Loves pure light.......What the Bang that must have been! The most amazing part of this story is that it is still being written. The original light is still alive and well. Living in the lives of those who believe, who have the faith to believe and bring the message of God and His Son and His Spirit to the darkness.......BANG! I don't really understand where the controversy is? If you are a believer there was a day before you believed. A light went on at some point. One day the world was a certain way, then the true light of God made it's way into your heart and.... BANG! The world and everything in it changed. You were no longer the same, your everything changed. Your life all of a sudden had purpose and a meaning like never before. It's what I call the "MAC TRUCK OF TRUTH". All who have ever stood in it's path have been leveled by it's truth. Welcome to the light of God........BANG! I guess the only question left is not how it happened or even who did it, but what will you DO WITH IT?........BANG!
Todd Richardson
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1). We could really just stop there now, couldn't we? But our current society won't let us. Our society likes to pretend that there is no God. For, if there were to be a God, there would be someone (other than ourselves) for which to give an account of our thoughts and actions. As such, society continues on its quest to "prove" that there is no God. Consider the book of Romans, chapter 1... and more specifically, verses 18-32. That is an exact depiction of our current society. A society which suppresses the Truth. Verse 20 sums it up, "Since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been CLEARLY seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse". Yet society, mainly via the public education system, has spread the lie about creation. For, if there is no Creator, then there is no God, and the Bible is just a book of stories. If that is the belief, then there is no right or wrong, only what the individual decides for himself. Romans 1:24: Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts...". In other words, God allowed their sin to run its course as an act of judgment. That is why we see our society crumbling today. THANKFULLY, Jesus Christ stands there, with His arms wide open, waiting for us to return to Him. Much like the father of the prodigal son, He watches and waits for us to come to our senses, hoping that we do so before it's too late, and when He sees us coming, He runs (not walks) to us to welcome us home. The "big bang"? Did it really occur? Probably. But the thing is... I know Who "banged" it. Surely, out of nothing, when God said "Let there be light", I can only imagine what that looked and sounded like, but I would guess it was a "big bang". I don't know about you, but I think it would take more faith to believe that the big bang was a random chance thing, where cells came together by happenstance, and everything evolved into what we see today; than to believe that there is a God, who created it all. I don't have that much faith, so I'm going with a God who created. If there is a creation, then there's a Creator, if there's a plan, then there's a Planner. Big bang? Probably. But I know Who "banged" it.
Ian Cowan
The God-inspired sequence of ordinal numbers in Genesis 1 ("first", "second"...etc.) is clearly meant to teach believers the following:
i) the earth existed before the sun, moon and stars
ii) light existed before the sun
iii) plants existed before the sun
iv) birds existed before land animals (eg. Dinosaurs)
v) humankind was there from the beginning, as the Lord Jesus affirmed - Matt. 19 v 4 - and Paul confirmed - Romans 1 v 20 (note: "men" were the ones for whom "God's invisible qualities" were "clearly seen" since "the creation of the world").
The modern, secular Big Bang Theory (coupled with an evolutionary understanding of the origin and diversity of life) is clearly incompatible with this. So the question for Christians is one of authority: who (or Who!) do we believe?
Grant Abbott
The Big Bang Theory states that time, space and matter all came into existence simultaneously. Genesis 1:1 says: "In the beginning [ie Time], God created the heavens [ie space] and the earth [ie matter]. BBT also says that the development of our world took millions of years. Through evolutionary development and the survival of the fittest, eventually mankind arrived to dominate the planet. That is, through the death of millions of creatures including prehistoric humanoids, mankind has evolved to its current state of development. However, the bible clearly teaches that the first man, Adam, disobeyed God's direct command, and as a result, death entered our world. The appearance of death necessitated a plan of salvation, so Jesus agreed to be our savior; to live as a perfect human being, die on the cross to pay the penalty for our own sin (rebellion against God) and rise again to defeat death and restore God's gift of eternal life. BBT and evolutionary theory states that death brought man into the world. The bible states that mankind's rebellion against God brought death into the world. These two theories cannot be harmonized as they are complete opposites. The real question is: Where will we, as Christians, first look to discover truth? If we will not believe what God says in the bible about creation, what else will we not believe? Then the bible, as the word of God, loses its power to transform our lives. Without faith in what God has said, we will never find the abundantly satisfying life that Jesus made possible for us.
Andy Mangus
My short answer to this much debated question is this: The Bible tells us that God "spoke everything into existence", but with the exception of Adam, in which He took some soil from the Earth by His hands and formed Adam in His image. He later put Adam to sleep, took a rib and formed woman, and given the name Eve.(Genesis) Mankind is God's greatest and most precious creation and He made the heavens to declare His Glory! And a major point is this: All creation began when God said, "LET THERE BE LIGHT"! "Praise God that He provided a Savior! And, His name is Jesus Christ!". AMEN! ~~~Andy~~~
Joe cattani
The question is how did God create the universe? I don't know. We may never know. But I think if it was something we need to know, it would have been revealed to us. I don't view science and faith as necessarily at odds with each other. They are not seeking the same end. Science takes things apart and asks "how', faith puts things together and ask 'why'. I don't try to answer questions that I wasn't given the ability to understand in the first place. We don't understand a lot of things because it is not important that we do understand, it is important that we just know. God presents Himself to the Hebrews as the God who lead you out of bondage, not the God who created the universe. How God does things is just not important. What is important is why.
Joe Glascock
In brief, no God didn't use the big bang to create the universe, the big bang was a big dud, never happened, God no more used the big bang than he used evolution, there's no scientific evidence to support either theory. Kent Hovind on YouTube has several seminars concerning this topic, and although he's not a theologian, he taught high school science for 15 yrs, and is a Christian. He shows how the evidence points to God and creationism.
Phil Calvert
Genesis 1:1-5 KJV [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. [5] And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. I'll just start there for now, as you read verses 1-5 you notice that God created the heavens and the earth, then "God said" let there be light and there was light. No place in there was there mention of let there be a Big Bang. Psalm 33:4 KJV [4] For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. In this passage you see that the lord is right and the works he has done is in truth. The bible says that the world was created. Created by whom.... GOD him self. So there is no Big Bang theory. No more than we evolved from apes, he created all. Who says so the bible, which is the book of life.
Larry Truelove
We don't know if God used the Big Bang at the start of creation or if creation was the initial Big Bang. Scientist recognize that the universe is expanding. If that is so, there must have been some place it was expanding from. And there must have been a time when it happened. As Christians, we believe there was a beginning. We only have a general idea from Genesis about what happened. By the way, since a Big Bang is compatible with the idea of God's creation, some scientists dislike it.
Michael Tinsley
One thing I'd like to add besides the fact that I also believe the Big Bang was banged by God. All these _thousands of years since Genesis was written and atheistic scientists can't point to anything wrong with 'Let there be light!' My addition is, if you search on Wikipedia for the 'List of Christian thinkers in science' you'll find Christians through the ages including a list of people still alive (2001 to today) who are on the 'inside' of the scientific ranks making scientific contributions while at the same time fighting for our Faith and offering the Gospel to any who are interested. We are blessed to be alive today when the scientific community is finding that the more they learn the less they actually know because every discovery leads to another unanswered question while we Christians know with conviction that God created the universe and everything in it. Making comments on scientific articles I see in the news, I've run into some atheists and most of them are angry at us for our faith and make deriding comments as if we Christians were not only fools, but actually dangerous to the United States because of our message of peace and salvation. That kind of rhetoric is oxymoronic at best and actually frightening to think they might act on some of the threats they make. I hope the previous paragraph isn't off topic because I'd like Christian folks to know about those kind of people if they don't already know.
Billy P Eldred
Of course my answer is I do not know, but neither does anyone else. What I do know is that to me, when I read the Bible I see what I think is the perfect harmony of a "Big bang theory" and the creation account. Which means it really does not matter as God did it either way.
Mike Dumais
The Big Bang Theory corresponds with The Bible in a general way and in some interesting details; GOD said = spoke = sound. String Theory asserts a sound wave was the ignition for the Bang. If you do the math on "a day with The Lord is as 1000 years", we get the speed of light as we are told at least 15 times by Jesus in The Bible that he is the light. This by the way reconciles what scientists tell us are the ages of the universe, the earth and the six days of creation. Biblical proof of the Theory of Relativity.
Gregory Tomlinson
The big bang theory is the the only supernatural event atheist scoffers accept. Out of nothing came everything.Yet it still does not explain origin, such as who or what power caused the creation of something from nothing. They will never know because the darkness of their own hearts blind them from from the truth, that is sin blinds their hearts the truth of the Gospel and the light of existence. So they will stumble in the dark as the blind leading the blind, ever seeking and never coming to the knowledge of the truth until it is to late. Trust in His word and it will be a light unto your path and a crown of knowledge and understanding to your head. It will keep you when the world is bound by fear, ignorance, and uncertainties of man's own design. Maranatha
lynn Sander
I have read and agree with many of the answers given here. God created the heavens and the earth. I would like to add a thought that may explain some of what science observes. (1) The big bang theory basically stems from the observation that the stars in the universe are moving away from one another as if blasted out by a large explosion. (2) There is a force called gravity that acts over all distances. (3) God's original plan was for creation to last forever. God would have known that after creation all objects in the universe would begin to move, either towards each other under the force of gravity until the universe was crushed or God would have to cast them with outward motion to keep them separated and they could last forever. I wonder if we see that original motion today and have mistaken it for the big bang. I know this is not provable, but just a thought I have had, to try and explain what science observes.
Nils Jansma
Did God use the “Big Bang” (BB) to create the Universe? The concise answer to this question is “yes” notwithstanding whether He did it in short or long periods of our time. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter which time-argument you choose, a process like the BB had to occur to explain why anything exists. The term BB is not a scientific term. In fact, it was a spoof coined in a 1949 BBC Radio Broadcast by Sir Fred Hoyle as a way of making fun of the concept of something coming into existence out of nothing. However, according to the Bible, that is exactly what happened. (Hebrews 11:3). So when we speak of the BB we are not talking about a normal explosion but instead, we are describing an incredibly structured, very rapid expansion of the material Universe into existence. It has been likened to a balloon which suddenly inflates out of nothing. The closest simile I can imagine to describe the BB is that of a beautiful display of fireworks. Such an impressive display is an engineered product of carefully selected chemicals which when ignited from a very small spark, almost instantly “expands” into a fantastic array of colors and special effects. That is somewhat like the BB. From an imaginary point, not yet fully understood by modern science, called a “singularity” all space and time, which includes the Universe and earth, emerged by rapidly expanding into existence. In fact, it is still expanding to this day. Like a display of fireworks, all the components of the Universe were already built into it before it came into existence. Everything we see in the heavens and the earth is the result of an engineered project developed by Jesus before time began. (Genesis 1:1) Next, where did all this come from? Some Theists would define the source of the Universe as being God’s habitation which the Bible calls “eternity.” (Isaiah 57:15) From a scientific point of view, the BB came from a place that has no time or any other definable physical characteristics. We just don’t know where it came from. However, to the objective observer, it appears that the Universe is the result a predetermined design. In other words, the Universe didn’t develop haphazardly like a normal explosion. All the galaxies and planets, including the earth, were already in their pre-designated places the moment the seeds of the Universe came into existence at the BB. It is easy to say, the Word of God [Jesus] created everything, a statement with which I fully agree. The question is, how did He do it? In other words, as stated in Hebrews 11:3, there was a moment when there was nothing and then something suddenly appeared out of “nothing.” Where did it come from logistically? Did it all-of-a-sudden “de-cloak” like a Klingon War Ship fully formed? This type scenario suggests that the Universe already existed in our space-time continuum and just became visible upon command. That still doesn’t explain how our balloon-like Universe emerged from eternity past in the first place. I would suggest that Jesus used a process comparable to a BB event to create everything we see. Suddenly, from “nothing” the heavens and the earth expanded into existence. (Hebrews 11:3) That makes good sense to me. Now we might ask, how long did it take for such an object as large as the Universe to be squeezed into existence, like toothpaste from a tube? The initial BB mysteriously went through an incredibly rapid expansion called the “inflation period” that lasted far less than 10^-33 seconds. Hypothetically, if it is physically possible to extend the inflation period, a modern universe could have been created in a relatively short period of our time. In either case, it would still be something like a BB event that Jesus used to create the Universe.
RICK PORTER
I would just add this as a believing Christian who believes in the Voice of creation, that is the incarnate Jesus who in Heaven before the time of our system creation was the Word or Logos. To an unbeliever, this may just be a theory, but I see also the Big Bang creation is also called a Theory. As for me, if I am weighing my eternal existence destination on a Theory, I choose the Biblical account over so-called human science, which constantly has to be adjusted or updated or changed or challenged by a different scientist or different findings or changing discoveries. In other words, it is not absolute at all but just propped up by secular man There was a Big Bang in the Scripture called an earthquake that tore the curtain in the Temple from top to bottom, opening the access to God to all mankind through what Jesus did on Calvary! Matthew 27:45-52.
ainsley chalmers
Some observations. Big bang 1. creation is totally incompatible with the historical record as described in Genesis chapters 1-4. 2. involves generation of lots of hydrogen (H2) and helium gas (He) which dissipates and doesn't concentrate to form suns, planets. 3. requires dark energy plus dark matter to form suns, planets and eventually us from H2, He. Dark energy and matter have never been found despite billions of research dollars spent to find it. 4. H2 and He - where did these gases come from? The 1st law of thermodynamics states that matter/energy cannot be created or destroyed but may be changed from one form to another. Only God can create matter from nothing. To conclude, God is the Creator of our universe, and it tells us how He did it in Genesis. The Big Bang theory is fancy but illogical; it means nothing and distorts what He is saying.
Joseph Trujillo
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. For God said "Let there be light" and there was light. The words "God said" indicate that God spoke. And speaking is the act of the word and by the Word of God all things have come into being. Apart from Him, nothing has come into being that has come into being. Since the Word is with God (John 1:1b), there is no other way to describe the beginning. But if the dying man does not believe the Word of God, then he will seek the word of another or even his own. The man has free will to believe the Word of God or to believe the word of man. Those that believe the word of man, will receive the reward of man. And those that believe the Word of God will receive the reward of God, and live and see the Paradise of God.
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