Question (from Yuchen):

 

Can you please tell me why scientists believe so much in the Big Bang, and why did they come out with this

 theory?

Answer:

 

Hello Yuchen. Thank your for your question. In short, the plainest answer as to why so many scientists evangelize the big bang is because the have no other explanation. There is a common misconception about what the big bang is and what supposedly happened during the bang. It is *not* the case that the singularity of matter exploded INTO space, but that matter and the fabric of space itself somehow came into existence during the explosion. There are many problems with this theory. I will mention a few…

- You cannot get something from nothing. Before the big bang, there was nothing - at all. After the big bang, there was something. This does not even make sense, although there are elaborate explanations that attempt to explain it - they all fall into the same basic problem. Namely, that out of nothing, nothing comes. Things just do not pop into existence. If the big bang actually popped into existence out of nothing, then what is keeping this process from happening all around us? Why don't houses pop into existence? Why do we not see toasters pop into existence out of nowhere? Our observations enforce what we already know - that things just do not come into being without cause. 

- The big bang theory violates known laws of physics (if it really happened). The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. But, somehow the big bang violated this well known law of physics and created all of the energy in the entire universe - out of nothing. We have never observed a process which is not subject to this law - ever. So why should we believe that somehow this law was violated in the past through natural causes?

- The big bang theory violates the second law of thermodynamics which states that a closed system (i.e. the universe) will increase in entropy over time (order becomes disorder). Yet, somehow, the bang reversed this process to create a maximum level of order - out of nothing. Observation to processes in the universe validates that everything is slowly becoming disorderly (or breaking down etc). This law has ties to the first law in that all the useable energy is becoming unusable. It stretches the imagination to think of unguided, unintelligent, mindless forces somehow creating order in the initial moments of the big bang. 

- The big bang violates the principle of first or primary cause. To put it simply, everything that has a beginning - has a cause. The universe has a beginning, therefore the universe has a cause. Whatever "caused" the universe must itself be outside of the universe in order to cause it. In other words, the cause of the universe must be OUTSIDE of space, time, and matter in order to be able to bring it into being. The atheist has nothing to appeal to that can be said to have "caused" the universe to pop into being. So, they cling to the big bang - which itself does nothing to explain the actual origin of space, time, and matter. It is an attempt to explain what happened the moment after space, time, and matter came into existence. It has become an embarrassment to many secular scientists (as explained below). 

- The big bang theory requires miracle after miracle after miracle in terms of the universal constants observed throughout the universe. There are around 100 universal laws that are so finely tuned that if you were to change the value of any one of them by a factor of 100 million, million, million that life would not be possible. It is not just that life would not be possible, but matter itself could not exist! The laws are not only fine tuned individually, but many are also finely tuned to each other. These laws consist of things like the strong nuclear force, gravity, the electromagnetic coupling constant which binds electrons to protons in atoms etc. If you were the change the value of the electromagnetic coupling constant, for example, then it would not even be possible to have a single atom in our universe. Former atheist Sir Fred Hoyle states, "commonsense interpretation of the facts is that a super-intelligence has monkeyed with physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces in nature". It takes more faith to believe that all of these forces, constants, and incredible tuning are the product of luck and chance from the aftermath of an explosion. 

- Not all scientists agree that the Big Bang Theory is the best explanation of where space, time, and matter come from. There are thousands of scientists who believe in God and a six-day creation as historically recorded in Genesis. In addition, there are also thousands of scientists who do not believe in God at all, and do not subscribe to the big bang. There is a growing number of cosmologists who want funding to explore other possibilities. They have a website where they are obtaining signatures from prominent scientists and institutions around the world in order to make a statement that the big bang is just not a useful theory. You can read the statement and see the signatures here: http://www.cosmologystatement.org/. Note, that creation scientists are not signing this document - the signatures belong to secular scientists and secular institutions. It would not help the cause of this document if thousands of creation scientists got involved. This is strictly a secular movement. But the document itself is good to show that not all scientists are tied to the big bang and in fact would like to see funding go to other research.

These are just a few problems that the big bang theory faces. But when a scientist, or anyone else for that matter, eliminates God as a part of their worldview, they will likely be forced to put their faith in theories which have many physical and philosophical issues. To an atheist, all that exists is space, time, and matter. Therefore, any explanation of origins that they derive is forced to fit within a purely naturalistic framework. But as Christians, we have the better explanation. It is logical, it is rational to believe that an omnipotent God, who is outside of space, time, and matter brought these things into existence. It is impossible for "nothing" to create "everything".

To learn more:

Do Creationists Deny the Laws of Nature?

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/creationists-deny-laws-of-nature

Does the Big Bang fit within the Bible?

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/wow/does-the-big-bang-fit

WMAP 'proof' of big bang fails normal radiological standards

http://creation.com/wmap-proof-of-big-bang-fails-normal-radiological-standards

Secular scientists blasts the big bang

http://creation.com/secular-scientists-blast-the-big-bang

The Big Bang Theory Collapses

http://www.icr.org/article/big-bang-theory-collapses/

Quasars Quash Big Bang Assumption

http://www.icr.org/article/quasar/

Cosmic Energy: Creative or Destructive?

http://www.icr.org/article/cosmic-energy-creative-or-destructive/

The Big Bang, Multiverse, and Other Tales about Outer Space

http://www.icr.org/article/big-bang-multiverse-other-tales-about-outer-space/