The blog is back... with deeper writings, strong topics, interviews, and more; Casey Foster starts by equipping us from where it all started off... BANG!
Do you think that the universe exists? Do you really KNOW for sure how it came into existence? Wouldn’t that be a good thing to know? Either if you are not sure what started the universe or to have evidence that backs up your viewpoint? Haven’t you ever wondered how everything we see today came into existence? Haven’t you ever been left with more questions after hearing your middle school science teacher’s explanation of the “Big Bang Theory”? – And no I’m not talking about the TV show.
As a college student, or just fellow human being, I have asked myself the same cosmological question, investigated the options, and have decided that God created the universe. Wouldn’t it be great to be done reading this blog and know 3 things: 1) What created the universe 2) Why that makes sense 3) What it means for your life? Let’s start where science left us hanging…
We have all heard of that “Big Bang Theory” right? Most scientists today accept this theory as the best explanation for how the universe began (according to Chris LaRocco of the University of Michigan). So there was a “Big Bang”. The universe did have a beginning. If it had a beginning, it had a beginner, or some cause that set everything else in motion. Like if I took your computer and threw it across the room into the trash…how did your computer get in the trash? It got there…cause I moved it. So yeah, I believe in the Big Bang; I just know who started it.
Just like that computer example, every effect has a cause. To believe that a God created the universe takes less faith than to believe that NOTHING created the universe. In the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, it says that there is an IRREVERSIBLE physical process where the universe is running down and the sun is going out. If the universe is eternal the sun would have gone out a long time ago. BUT the sun is still up there, we still get energy, so the universe MUST have had a beginning. Ordered things must go towards disorder. We have to put new paint on the walls, gas in our car, and our bodies wear down over time. The universe is not eternal.
The universe is also expanding. If we watched it in reverse, we would see it all collapse back to a starting point of nothing. If you can imagine a grenade exploding in the middle of outer space, you would see all the little pieces flying away from the starting point (much like a cone shape). But like that cone you can trace each piece back to that starting point where the universe began. It exploded out of nothing.
Einstein’s theory of general relativity according to NASA’s website describes “time, space and matter as co-relative. The universe came into existence WITH space and time together. Before time, before space, before matter – out of NOTHING, the universe exploded into existence. Nothing. Literally NO-THING. There was not positive and negative energy; there was no vacuum, no swirling, no gas, and no molecules! Steven Hawking said in his lecture on The Beginning of Time that “all the evidence seems to indicate, that the universe has not existed forever. Rather, the universe and time itself, had a beginning in the Big Bang.” Agnostic astronomer Dr. Robert Jastrow said in his book God and the Astronomers that astronomers have proven by their own methods that creation was caused by supernatural forces.
WHY in the world…would and AGNOSTIC astronomer say that super natural forces are at work?! Why couldn’t nature have created the universe? Because there was no nature! If it is not a natural cause, then by definition, it must be a supernatural cause. Something beyond the natural, This leaves us with one question….
Either no one created something out of nothing, or someone created something out of nothing…
So what can we learn from the cosmological argument? That this being must be space less, timeless, and immaterial. Why? Because it created space, time, and material. It must be powerful because it created out of nothing. It must be personal, because you cannot go from a state of existence to a state of non-existence without making a choice. And only personal beings make choices. It must be intelligent because it created such a highly designed universe. And it must be a creator because all of these characteristics are attributes of a God. A God creating the universe is the best explanation for how the universe began.
By showing you that what started the Big Bang was something space less, timeless, immaterial, powerful, personal, intelligent, and a creator, it points directly to a God. Revealing evidence to make the case that the universe is not eternal (it had a beginning), because the universe is expanding you can point it back to a starting point, and once there was no time, space, or matter, and then bang out of NOTHING the universe exploded into being.
So what – I just told you that a God created the universe. Does that in any way change how you see the world? Go figure it out for yourself! Is what I am saying the truth or a bunch of nonsense? Do your research! Don’t just make assumptions based on nothing. Does science really have all the answers you need or not? Read a book like The Case for a Creator and judge for yourself if it’s reliable. Go check out a small group discussion, and ask questions. Because whether you believe that a God created the universe of not, the BEST thing you can do for your faith (or unbelief) is to question it. As far as science has gotten us, it has never disproved the idea of a God creating the universe. So whether you like it or not, it’s a theory that needs to be tested. But are you brave enough to search for the truth of your very existence?
Casey Foster
Casey is both an Intervarsity leader and small group leader at the University Of Tampa where she leads freshman to knowing and falling in love with Jesus. Her knowledge, love for people, and friendly character helps people open up to the struggles that one may have while learning that as freshman they can strongly impact there campus through the power of Jesus.
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