The Disruption: Scientific Evidence of a Beginning

For much of the early 20th century, the “steady state” theory, which held an eternal, unchanging universe, dominated the views among western scientists and philosophers. According to this theory, the universe existed in a constant state, with no beginning or end. The appeal of this idea was that it eliminated the need for a cause or Creator, as philosopher Bertrand Russell famously stated, “The universe is just there, and that's all.” If the universe had no beginning, then it did not need an explanation for its existence. However, several key discoveries in the 20th century would fundamentally shatter this understanding of the cosmos.

In 1922, physicist Alexander Friedmann, produced computations showing that the structure of the universe was not static and that even a tiny impulse might be sufficient to cause the whole structure to expand or contract according to Einstein’s ‘Theory of General Relativity’. George Lemaitre was the first to recognise the implications of what Friedmann concluded. Lemaitre formulated that the universe had begun in a cataclysmic explosion of a small, primeval atom. He also proposed that the amount of cosmic radiation are the leftover remnants of the initial “explosion.” The theoretical musings of these two scientists did not attract much attention and probably would have gone ignored except for new observational evidence that rocked the scientific world in 1929. That year, American astronomer Edwin Hubble, made one of the most important discoveries in the history of astronomy. He discovered that galaxies were moving away from us at speeds directly relative to their distance from us and from each other. A universe where everything constantly moves away from everything else implied a constantly expanding universe. Stephen Hawking writes, “The expansion of the universe was one of the most important intellectual discoveries of the 20th century, or of any century.”

Since the universe is constantly expanding, were we to rewind a film [of its history], then necessarily we would find the entire universe was in a joint state, referred to by some as the ‘Primordial Atom’. Many scientists and philosophers resisted the idea of a beginning to the universe because of the many questions that it raised – primarily what or who caused it. However, with Penzias and Wilson’s discovery of microwave radiation emanating from all directions, possessing the same physical characteristics - namely petrified light which came from a huge explosion during the first seconds after the birth of the universe – left little doubt about the fact that the universe had a beginning. We are told that that during the first second of the Big Bang, the universe grew incredibly with rapid expansion known as “inflation,” expanding from a subatomic size to about 93 billion miles in just a tiny fraction of a second.  Alan Guth from MIT writes “The universe expanded from a size smaller than a proton to over 93 billion miles across in a tiny fraction of a second.”[1]

1. Expansion of the Universe - now referred to as Hubble's Law. The discovery that galaxies are moving away from us with their speed proportional to their distance. This also showed that the universe is expanding and had historically been concentrated at a single point. Additionally, the light from distant galaxies is shifted towards the red end of the spectrum, indicating they are moving away from us.

2. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB)

3. Abundance of Light Elements.  The Big Bang theory predicts the formation of light elements like hydrogen, helium, and small amounts of lithium during the first few minutes after the universe began. Observations of the universe’s composition have matched these predictions.

Implications of a Beginning

 

The implications of these discoveries are profound. The idea of a universe with a definite starting point has fundamentally shaken the scientific foundations of the atheistic worldview. Former director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Robert Jastrow, fittingly remarked, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”[2]   

·  Everything that begins to exist has a cause.

·  The universe began to exist.

·  Therefore, the universe has a cause.

Also, this “cause” of the universe must be outside of space, time, and matter, as these very dimensions came into existence at the moment of the Big Bang. These discoveries have forced many atheists and philosophers to have to grapple with the question of a beginning. Some have attempted to avoid the conclusion of a Creator by claiming alternative explanations, such as multiverse theories or quantum fluctuations. However, none of these theories have any scientific evidence and lack empirical evidence that the Big Bang theory possesses. If the universe was created by a conscious, purposeful beingBeing, then it follows that human life humans and the universe itself have meaning and purpose.

-  Is it reasonable to believe that the universe originated purely by chance, without any cause or creator?

-  How do you reconcile the principle of causality (that everything that begins to exist must have a cause) with the idea that the universe came into existence at a certain point in history?

-  If space, time, and matter all began with the Big Bang, is it reasonable to believe the possibility of a Being who is outside these dimensions that started ad caused this event?

-  Do you think the existence of the universe is more plausibly explained by existence of a Creator than by the belief that “no-one” started it?

-  The concept of the Big Bang implies a transition from a state of non-existence to existence. What explanation do you propose for this transition without invoking a Creator or an external cause?

-  Considering that the Big Bang points to a singular origin point, how do you address the question of why anything exists at all rather than nothing?

[1] Guth, Alan H. The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins. Perseus Books, 1997.

[2] Jastrow, Robert. God and the Astronomers. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1978.