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| Mwha-hahahaha |
Many of us have big questions when it comes to God and science:
Does God like science?
Does God believe in science?
Does He disagree with science?
Does God believe in... the Big Bang Theory....? (gasp!)
I'll confess a bit, my main reason for writing this post is because I'm a bit frustrated. I've heard too many Christians who completely refute entire fields of science - fields that have spanned hundreds of years of intellectuals, and millions of dollars, and have made dramatic and amazing discoveries that's caused us to lead a more technologically advanced life. All because they have been trained to draw conclusions first, and when failing to match evidence and secular belief to their ideals, disregard what science has to say.
And then they wonder why they are not taken seriously by the entire academic and scientific community - the very souls who need to hear about the grace and salvation found in God! The way many Christian's approach science actually pushes scientifically minded individuals away from God... while it is in fact God's heart to draw even scientists near to Him!
My purpose is to act as a mediator... standing in the middle of the debate and shedding light on both sides of the argument.
In essence, I need to rebuke my brothers and sisters in love. By the work of His Holy Spirt, God has given me insight into both science and Himself, and I feel that God's heart is to reconcile science and Christianity. Sometimes, we need to just face to music and admit that maybe we have some things wrong. I hope you are able to have an open mind!
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First, can I say something? God loves what science has discovered! He intended on scientists making those very discoveries! He didn't place all of this false evidence on earth, just so that there could be a debate between science and Christians. And don't get me wrong. We definitely need discernment when weighing scientific 'evidence' and claims. There are some serious wackos out there!
To get back to my point, did you know that many of history's renown scientific intellectuals were also very devout believers (Newton, Galileo, Pascal, to name a few)? When they were making these grande discoveries, they viewed science as non-separate from religion. Moreover, they agreed that science was a natural way to view the work of a supernatural Creator! They were both (science and religion) viewed as separate sides of the same coin, if you will. Both seeking truth of the world we live in. It was only when science began discovering adaption of animals and evolution of organisms that the church began to disregard what science has to say.
Did you catch that...? It was the Christians who started the "fight"... not the other way around. And I'm going to be real, when Christians disregard an ocean of scientific evidence and observation, they are doing even further damage. They harm the credibility of virtually anything else that other well-meaning Christians attempt to teach and bring to the world of science.
Let's focus on one of the hottest issues between Christianity and science: The Big Bang Theory. Yes, I whole-heartedly, unashamedly believe in the Big Bang Theory, as science gives it to us in our current understanding.
I'll begin by explaining first about scientific theories. Popular belief says that theories are weaker than laws. However, they are NOT weaker than laws, and they will NOT graduate into laws, as if they can gain enough support and somehow achieve the status of law after enough supporters. Theories are actually conclusions based on numerous observations, and often repeated experimentation. Simply put, theories are valid and highly supported. So whenever Christians make claims such as...
"The Big Bang Theory is merely a theory, and therefore we cannot prove it or give validity to it..."
To a scientist, this is as ridiculous as saying "objects fall up"...! The layman's vocabulary usage of theory is all wrong. We cannot simply tack on 'theory' to the end of a claim, and make it suddenly unreliable. The reason that the Big Bang (and evolution for that matter... but that's another post for another time!) is a theory is because it took meticulous and detailed observation and evidence to come to that conclusion. Theories are - by definition - reliable! So Christians, stop saying that the Big Bang Theory is false, because it is 'merely a theory'!
For those that are unaware (or misinformed) let me now explain the major components of the Big Bang Theory:
- 12-14 billion years ago the Universe was incredibly dense, hot, singular point in space (known as a singularity)
- There was a sudden expansion (not explosion, rather a rapid expansion of heat and energy), called inflation
- Over time this matter (mostly hydrogen and helium) condensed due to gravity and formed today's earliest stars, planets, and galaxies
- Scientists have traced back the history of the Universe to a minuscule age (when the Universe was less than 10–12 seconds old...) and the formation of the first matter (particles)
- As it expanded, it cooled
- There is a remnant of this heat left over (about 2.73 K) that is still cooling, called Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (similar to how a fire is left out over night, and you feel the warm, grey coals leftover in the morning)
- No one agrees what 'sparked' the big bang
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| A satellite image of the CMB radiation |
One piece of evidence that led to the big bang was what we call the Cosmological Principle. It states that the Universe looks the same no matter who, or where, you are. Simply put - one side of the Universe isn't lumpier than the other. Its density is fairly uniform (signifying it has expanded evenly): about 6 hydrogen atoms per cubic meter. It also has a fairly uniform (taking an average) temperature throughout. So, it has expanded evenly in all dimensions.
Another piece of evidence is lighter elements are much more common than heavier ones. This signifies that the Universe started with very light elements, and as time went on, began to form heavier (and more complex) ones due to heat and gravity.
The last one I will mention is the biggie. Since the Hubble Telescope was placed in space, we've been able to easily predict, and then observe and confirm the cosmic microwave background radiation. Not only that, but the Universe is indeed expanding! Specifically, the empty space between distant objects is getting bigger. And, the farther away an object is (galaxy, star, etc.), the faster it is traveling away from us. And as it is expanding, it is continuing to cool off. Interesting... The conclusion is as follows: if the Universe is expanding today, it must have been smaller, and hotter, yesterday - eventually starting from a super-hot, finite point in space.
There's the Big Bang Theory, as I teach it to my high school students! Ha... I love this stuff.
Now what's interesting to me is that scientists have miraculously been able to trace back the stages of life of the early Universe, but are baffled as to what may have begun it. Do you think Christians have anything to say about this?
I think so! (However, this does not and should not provide a crutch or stopping point of which we become content. Curiosity and creative problem solving reveal the nature of God and the world around us, so let's keep on learning!)
You see this is where we come in. If we would only put aside our preconceived notions, and imagine what it would look like for a science that belongs to God, we would see that there is so much mystery to the vastness of the world we live in that can only be explained by a Divine Creator. Sadly though, the overwhelming majority of Christians stop at 12-14 billions years old to even consider what a miracle even the Big Bang is!
"But doesn't the Bible give a 7-day account of creation? There's no way Earth is the product of a billions-year old process!"
There are many possible explanations for this.
- First of all, much of the Bible includes various forms of literary techniques: poetry, narratives, historical facts, etc. It's possible (not that it has to be true) that the story of a 7-day creation is one of those forms other than historical fact.
- Also, just as God created Adam and Eve (as Genesis records) not as babies and infants, but already in adolescence, is it possible that God created the Earth and the Universe with age (and beyond infancy)? And all the evidence we find prior to the beginning of humanity is similar to viewing Adam and Eve as infants, prior to their adolescence.
- And yes, isn't 1 day as 1000 years to the Lord, and 1000 years as a day? (2 Peter chapter 3) It is my belief that this scripture is not showing that an equation for how God sees time (1 day = 1000 yrs and vice-versa), but rather Peter is trying to get the idea across that just because you think God seems slow to keeping promises, doesn't mean He actually is slow - for His timing is different than our own!
- And for that matter, when you look at the Genesis account of Creation, the first thing that God creates (after the heavens and the earth) is light. And those of you who've studied physics immediately recall a concept known as time-dilation. According to Einstein and special relativity, time-dilation states that: "clocks that are moving with respect to an inertial system of observation are measured to be running slower. This effect is described precisely by the Lorentz transformation." This basically means that for objects moving really, really fast (close to and at the speed of light) time is warped for observers at different reference points (and this has been experimentally observed). So our time and God's time is thrown off right from the third verse of Genesis 1!
The truth is virtually every academic, educated individual that I know of that has looked at the evidence supporting the Big Bang could not deny it. There's so much evidence sitting right in front of us, that to completely refute it makes us just look silly in the eyes of intellectuals. Those of us in the realm of science have painstakingly read, dissected, and expanded our mind to accept things that we weren't comfortable with, and when Christians who haven't taken a fraction of the time to read anything that opposes their preconceived notions (or even opposite a Christian's point of view for that matter) speak out against it, it shuts us off.
I live in a world in which God is richly complimented by the existence and discoveries of science. Just as science betters technology and helps us to appreciate life a bit more, science also adds to my faith, tremendously. I love learning about the most detailed organisms, the smallest particles, the vastness of the billions of galaxies that exist! And I see it all as the hand of God. For I see science confirming the validity of God rather than disproving Him.
Will my brothers and sisters join me in exploring the realm of science without fear? I'm confident this is a journey not ending in a conclusion apart from God, but rather ending in a conclusion in which God is the only explanation for the mysteries of the Universe!
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| Cosmological Timeline |
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For a quick word on this from one of today's leading and most outspoken astrophysicist, watch the video below:
And for further reading, be sure to check out these resources:
And for further reading, be sure to check out these resources:
- The Science of God - by Gerald Schroderer
- HowStuffWorks article on The Big Bang Theory
- ScientificAmerican article by Erik Leitch on Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
- The Expanding Universe article from Sloan Digital Sky Observer
Great post, bro! Get the word out there.
ReplyDeleteI look at the natural laws (as defined by science) as the framework that God laid down to create a functional, physical universe. So many people get tied up in which law/theory is which and not on WHO made the laws and WHY they work the way they do. To say objects with mass have gravity shouldn't end there, but the question should evolve to WHY objects with mass have gravity and WHO determined it to be that way. In that sense, I don't really think science and God are completely separate and disparate things.
I mean, I've read fantasy novels where people describe magic as accelerated manipulation of mass and energy - surely we Christians should be able to think more outside of the box than them!
Haha, thanks Larry, I totally agree! One thing I often teach my students is that science usually seeks to answer the question HOW, whereas religions seeks to answer the question WHY. Academically, we are instructed to keep science and religion separate and for most people, this brings them closure when things don't seem to line up. But, for the mature believer, it takes serious study and prayer to bridge the gap between the two.
DeleteGreat point about seeking the origins of these laws. Living in a world in which our laws exist is another question to many scientists, and its one that keeps them searching.
Chris,
DeleteFirst of all, what’s up?! It’s clear that this is important to you. As you know, I am not a scientist, but I do approach your post theologically. I have some thoughts and questions. First, I appreciate your desire to not break down the potential witness between scientifically minded people who are Christians and those who are not Christians.
“It was the Christians who started the "fight"... not the other way around.”
I think there would probably be quite a few people that would disagree with this. I am assuming you are referring to Darwin when you are talking about the beginnings of adaptation and evolution. From a historical perspective, Darwin could be seen as the instigator in terms of the implications of his “discoveries.”
Your defense of the Big Bang Theory feels a bit as though our theology or our understanding of God should be shaped by science, rather than science being shaped by our theology. God created us with minds to think, the ability to have a “scientific method,” and the ability to minimally grasp who He is and what His universe is like. I think we have to view science through our understanding of God through His word.
Are you suggesting that God created through or with the Big Bang Theory? It seems as though Genesis 1 and 2 point to the fact that He simply speaks and things are created from nothing. Now I am confident that I have no idea what that looks like. Some very intelligent men and women have surmised or attempted to understand what that might have looked like, but is anyone sure? Do they have a picture of it? I guess I am curious how you marry creation with the Big Bang Theory?
I have no idea how old the earth or the universe is. I know that God’s word says that He created everything in 7 days. Through some study of the word behind “day” I am confident that it means what it says. That’s all I know.
“So our time and God's time is thrown off right from the third verse of Genesis 1!”
I’ll be honest, this statement concerns me. God’s time literally cannot be thrown off, because He created it and He sustains it. This is a slippery slope and where does it stop? It stops at Open Theism, which is simply not what the Bible teaches. I know what you are getting at in your presentation of the possibility in regards to time-dilation, but the statement you made could be theologically misunderstood in the wrong direction.
“…science also adds to my faith, tremendously… And I see it all as the hand of God.”
Yes and Amen! The question I ask myself from a pastoral perspective and from a theological perspective is what implication does what you are discussing have on our understanding and growth in Jesus Christ? The Bible is not a science textbook, nor is it primarily meant to be. However, that does not mean that what it says is not true or reliable, despite the “intelligence” of many finite, sinful humans like myself.
What a big topic and what a testament to the otherness of God who not only gets all this, but also created all this! I would say as a response to your desire for scientifically minded Christians to be open-minded, that science should be seeking to support theology and glorify God. It’s a two-way street. If it does not glorify God or seek to, but rather try to win an argument, what eternal value does it have? That goes for anything that we do or work at, if it doesn’t glorify God, it’s a waste of time, a chasing of the wind and ultimately, who cares?
Now my brother, you know that this comes from a place of love and a shared desire for the glory of Christ and the renown of His name. The great thing about community (though existing through this impersonal, online experience) is that the sharing of ideas, thoughts and convictions can be hammered out. As Christians, we have the responsibility to always bring ourselves back to the authority of God’s word. I look forward to some more conversation about this over some good coffee!
In Christ,
Nick
Nick!
DeleteFirst of all, its so good to hear from you! Second of all, let's do this... haha I want to be careful of playing the game of picking apart words, so I'm not going to get meticulous. But there are a few things I want to address.
First, in the end it doesn't really matter. I don't think this is a core-doctrinal issue. For me, the conclusions do not have implications that speak down to the divinity, or person of Christ. It doesn't affect any idea of sin or salvation or my personal walk with God. The question for me, is, did God create the Universe in 7-days, or did it take much longer? In my opinion, any church that builds a doctrine around this is just foolish. If they do, then they better take every part of scripture literally for today's society, and women shouldn't be permitted to speak in church either (1 Corinthians 14)...!
Now, I am not saying that we begin with science, and see how the Bible unfolds through that lens - as this is not what I have done. Actually, I was a Christian long before a student of science. With that being said, it created a rather large conflict and struggle for me as I began taking science courses at university. It wasn't presented in a way that stirred conflict, but for me, I couldn't simply ignore the evidence that was shown, and then separately assume what I was taught as a Christian was totally correct. It was obvious to me at this point that many of my previous Christian teachers had not taken a deep look at this situation, yet spoke from a place as if they'd had (this is what I'm seeking to address in this post).
It may seem like I do have that lens [first] because I will take what I find right in front of me as 'more true' (in a sense) than words written thousands of years ago that we are all still struggling to understand. Time has shown that our interpretation of scripture changes as we gain new experiences and study the background and history and technology more. I'm not at all saying that scripture isn't divine or full of errors. In fact, I have the utmost regard for scripture (as do many scientists!) and its inerrancy. My challenge is that maybe our interpretation of it is wrong (which wouldn't be the first time...).
And so in conclusion, yes, I believe that God created the world through the Big Bang. I think it may be described through the picture of a 'day,' but then I would ask how can you actually have a literal 'day', when the Sun (according to a literal interpretation) wasn't created until the 4th day? Already there is conflict right from the start - which causes me, not to challenge scripture's inerrancy, but rather to challenge the motive and original meaning of the author.
I don't want to provide an answer for every controversy, but I do want to challenge the initial rejections of many Christians. It seems a common argument I've received from this post is that I look at my faith through the eyes of science - not totally true. I believe that God is, in actually, very proud of the study I've conducted and conclusions I've drawn, for my faith has been drawn deeper. I would also challenge many Christians... if you want all science-minded people to take a deeper look at scripture, have you actually taken a deeper look at science (and the Big-Bang) to see what it actually says? Or do you fear what you might find on the other end, and so just avoid it?
Let's talk soon, brother!
Shalom
Dear Everybody,
ReplyDeleteSo, I’m not a scientist by any means, and I believe myself to be blessed with a very vivid imagination and ability to see God work in outrageous, awe-inspiring ways. I, in no way, doubt God’s ability to create the world in the exact, literal interpretation that is given in Genesis. But why would God do one thing and leave the exact opposite evidence behind?
We as Christians so quickly accept the Book of Revelation as symbolic because we know that our limited minds cannot comprehend and express properly a prophetic declaration as magnificent and glorious as the End Days, the Second Coming of Christ, and the New Heaven and New Earth. Some Christians steer clear of Revelation because of its complexity and others are completely fascinated by it, knowing that much of it is not translated literally, but symbolically.
My question is…. Is it possible that something as complex, intricate, and colossal as the Creation of the UNIVERSE could have been too complex to literally fit into such a small segment of the Bible?
I don’t understand all the scientific jargon that Chris used, and I don’t think that God is limited by the Big Bang Theory OR by the finite words that He chose to write in the Bible. He’s so much bigger than all of that! But I do believe that the majority of Christians are missing out on a beautiful opportunity to use our God-given gift of curiosity to begin to unravel a miniscule piece of how great our God truly is!
Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
A beloved daughter of the Most High God,
Shelli Mitchell