The headlines began to appear on Monday that the “landmark discovery” had been made which “proves” the “cosmic inflation” aspect of the big-bang theory. The “Big Bang” theory is held by many, particularly by atheists and Bible-deniers, as the naturalistic explanation of the origin of the universe and the eventual basis of all life, including human life. Of course, atheists believe that life began spontaneously, then “evolved” over a period of hundreds of millions of years of steady change. For those atheists and evolutionists who mock creationists for their faith-based beliefs about origins, it should be observed that both theories (big-bang & evolution) are accepted by atheists and evolutionists upon the basis of faith – not upon provable facts.
“Cosmic inflation” is the theory that in “a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second,” a sub-atomic particle exploded and expanded “a hundred trillion trillion” times its original size and eventually formed the present universe. The theory also includes the notion that the universe is in a constant state of expansion. {Incidentally, Bible-believers have no reason to object to the concept of expansion. In fact, the Bible repeatedly uses the word “expanse” in the creation passage of Genesis 1, and one definition of that Hebrew word might suggest the notion of universal expansion.}
Using the BICEP2 telescope at the South Pole, astronomers claim to have observed ripples of gravitational waves that trace back to the big bang, which they claim to have occurred 13.8 billion years ago. Scientists of all kinds are describing this as the greatest scientific discovery in recent decades, and several of them are saying that the finding is worthy of a Nobel Prize. For the following reasons, I vehemently disagree:
1. This latest “discovery” relating to “big-bang” dynamics is far from definitive. Because it is obviously impossible to replicate and observe the “big-bang” process that scientists allege to have happened in the distant past, scientists must use computer “models” to mimic their imagined big-bang behavior. The models are programmed using a variety of assumed parameters. If the wrong parameters are used, the outcome is flawed. Scientists could easily be reading effects of some other cause: For example, gravitational waves could be the natural result of the “expanse” of God’s creation (Genesis 1:14-17).
2. The biblical creation account provides an explanation for everything that can be observed through even the most powerful of the astronomer’s telescopes. God spoke the material universe into existence (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 1:3). He then fashioned it into its proper working order. No scientific discovery to date negates the biblical model. Both “gravitational waves” and “ancient light” can be explained by the biblical model of creation.
3. On the 4th day of creation God made the “lights” of the expanse (Genesis 1:14-19). This included stars, including our sun, and the various planets and moons throughout the universe. These heavenly bodies were made after the earth, so the big bang theory cannot be reconciled with the biblical account of creation. One or the other must be wrong.
4. Some people become trapped by the naturalistic arguments of the atheists and they begin to question the Scriptures. For example, we know that many stars and planets are millions of light years from the earth, yet the Bible implies that the universe is far younger than “millions” of years old. It is argued that since some stars are millions of light years away from the earth, then it must have taken millions of years for them to have became visible to the earth. Of course, this dilemma exists only for those who assume that God did not make the stars fully-formed and with their light emissions. The Genesis account affirms that He did (Genesis 1:15 – “they shall be as lights…”).
Yes, I know that atheists and evolutionists accuse Bible-believers of using God and the Bible as a psychological crutch, but we could just as easily accuse them of the same – after all, they accept the big-bang and evolutionary theories on the mere basis of faith.
Tim Haile