In the Beginning
In the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle taught the concept that the universe is eternal so as to avoid the problem of how it begun. It is only throughout the 20th century that science has steadily come to the conclusion that the universe did indeed have a beginning after all! The Bible declares this thousands of years before this was discovered: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Gen. 1:1). However, believers in the theory of the big bang attempt to exclude God from this beginning. Although there are most certainly problems with this theory (discussed below) it is interesting that science has at least now come to the point where they now admit a beginning to the universe, and are a step closer to having to admit the truthfulness of the Bible’s explanation for the origins of our universe.
The Big Bang’s Big Problems
Although the big bang theory brings science closer to the Bible’s account of origins it certainly has its problems.
Firstly, the idea of a universe beginning with a big bang goes against empirical science and the laws of physics. The 1st Law of Thermodynamics has shown that energy and matter remain constant. They can be transferred from one into the other but neither can appear from nothing. Even basic common sense and logic tells us that it is obvious that something can simply not come from nothing. Where did matter come from? Scientists are unable to say where the matter that existed to create the big bang came from. The Bible tells us that a supernatural being called God brought it into being (Gen. 1:1).
Up until the time of Louis Pasteur (a scientist who was also a creationist), in the 19th century, science believed in spontaneous generation. People believed that living things could be produced from non-living things. Pasteur disproved this theory in 1859. As well as this, Pasteur also established the theory of biogenesis; that life can only come from already pre-existing life. Today, atheistic scientists stubbornly teach a form of spontaneous generation: that living matter arose in the universe from non-living matter (abiogenesis - life from non-life)! Christians, however, have maintained the scientific principle that life can only come from life (i.e. God).
The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics states that the everything in the universe is running down and decaying. But to believe in a big bang would mean that the opposite is true: out of chaos order came into being and rather than decaying and becoming more disorderly, life and the universe is becoming more orderly. The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics refutes this. The Bible, far from being at odds with science (as some have erroneously been led to believe), actually tells us that the universe is running down and becoming more disorderly just as the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics has revealed (Isa. 51:6; Ps. 102:25-26; Rom. 8:21).
Secondly, what existed outside the matter that exploded in the big bang?
Thirdly, what was it that caused the bang? An effect always has a cause. What was the spark that lit the fuse? The Christian answer to this great first cause is God.
Fourthly, how can such order and complexity that we see in the universe and living things be created from such a disorder as a big bang? Common sense tells us that an big explosion results in a big mess. No one would argue that a work of art came about as the result of an explosion in a paint factory. The Bible tells us that the design of the universe that exists all around us is evidence of an intelligent designer (Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:20).
Although the theory of the big bang brings us closer to the Biblical view of origins (that the universe has a beginning) it still falls short of explaining the complexity of the universe and the origin of life and matter. The Biblical account of the creation does not face these difficulties and makes much more sense than atheistic naturalistic explanations. The bottom line is many people put forward big theories like the big bang in an attempt to exclude God from the picture. To admit the existence of God means that people know that they must give an account of themselves to Him one day. The Bible says that the existence of God is obvious by what He has created and that people try and suppress the truth in unrighteousness:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,...For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,... " (Rom. 1:18, 20-22)