The 10 Things You Should Know About the Creation vs. Evolution Debate (19 page)

The big bang theory holds that 13 to 15 billion years ago,
a massive cosmic explosion marked the beginning of the
universe. We are told that the universe exploded into existence
from a tiny volume smaller than the period at the end of this
sentence.'

The big bang theory has made quite a "big bang" in the
scientific community, and many Christians-more specifically,
old-earth creationists-believe it is how God brought the
universe into being in the beginning (Genesis 1:1). Young-earth
creationists, however, are generally not impressed with the theory
and present good reasons (even scientific reasons) for rejecting
it. In what follows, I will first describe what many scientists say
about the big bang theory and then proceed to summarize how
old-earth creationists and young-earth creationists differ in their
views on the theory.

I think I am on safe ground in affirming that a majority of
astrophysicists and cosmologists today believe the big bang represents the beginning of our universe. A key component of the big bang theory is the claim by astronomers that galaxies are
moving away from the earth at a phenomenal speed. In his book
God and the Astronomers, Robert Jastrow notes that astronomers
Milton Humason and Edwin Hubble, using the 100-inch telescope on Mount Wilson, found that "the most distant galaxy
they could observe was retreating from the earth at the extraordinary velocity of 100 million miles an hour."2 Many have noted
that quite a big bang must have caused that kind of velocity.
Jastrow believes we are presently witnessing the aftermath of a
gigantic explosion.'

How long ago did this explosion occur? Does this explosion give us a hint as to how old the universe is? Many believe
so. Indeed, by retracing the movements of the galaxies and
accounting for their expansion speed, we can determine a point
where all these galaxies were packed together in a tiny "egg" that
was very hot and very dense. "Putting an expanding universe
in reverse leads us back to the point where the universe gets
smaller and smaller until it vanishes into nothing."4 Based on
such measurements, the universe may be 13 billion years old
(some say 15 billion) .5 In this scenario, every star, every planet,
every living creature is rooted in events set in motion at the
6
moment of that cosmic explosion so long ago.

Scientists believe that since this big bang explosion, the
universe has not only been expanding but has also been cooling. It had a hot beginning; it's been cooling ever since-something that is typical of a large explosion.

Theorists have speculated that specific galaxies with firstgeneration stars began to emerge about a billion years after the
big bang explosion. More recently, however, some scientists
believe such stars may have emerged as early as 200 million years
after the cosmic explosion.' About 12 billion years after the big
bang, life allegedly appeared on planet earth.'

Edwin Hubble, who postulated that the galaxies are moving
away from each other, also postulated that the farther away the galaxies are, the faster they are receding. Scientists use the term
"redshift" to describe the experimental finding that suggests this
increase in speed. As a galaxy moves away from earth, its color
becomes redder, and the degree of color change is supposedly
directly proportional to the speed of the galaxy moving away
from earth. This effect is called "redshift." Galaxies that are far
away from earth manifest this redshift.9 This is allegedly due
to the fact that "stars that move away from an observer emit
light of a slightly longer wavelength-the faster they move, the
greater the change in the wavelength.""

Some big bang advocates offer an analogy that makes the
concept more understandable. If a train passes by you and blows
its horn, the pitch of the horn goes from high to low. This change
in pitch occurs because as the train approaches you, the wavelength of the sound is compressed, whereas after it passes you
and is moving away from you, the reverse happens, and the
soundwaves expand, thus lowering the pitch of the horn. In
much the same way, the "redshift" in distant galaxies implies
they are moving away from us because red is the longest wavelength of visible light, and stars that move away from us emit
light of a longer wavelength. The degree of redness may indicate the speed at which the galaxies are moving away from us."

When scientists began grappling with the implications of
the big bang theory, many of them were disturbed-even
repulsed-to find the theory pointing toward certain Christian themes, such as the idea that the universe had a beginning."
Albert Einstein, for example, developed the theory of general
relativity, which implied that the universe was expanding, and
he was quite annoyed because this implied that the universe must
have had a beginning (and a Beginner). This was unpalatable
to Einstein's mind, so he came up with a "cosmological constant"
to maintain a static universe, thus avoiding the idea that the
universe was expanding and had a beginning. When other scientists proved to him that the universe was indeed expanding, he called his "cosmological constant" the biggest blunder of his
career. 13 He eventually gave in to the idea that a superior reasoning power must be responsible for bringing the universe into
being-though the god he acknowledged is not the personal
God of the Bible.

Many Christians-more specifically, old-earth creationistsbelieve the big bang theory is quite compatible with biblical
teaching. These creationists see significance in the fact that the
astronomers and cosmologists who discovered and wrote about
the big bang theory did not have a religious bias in favor of
Christianity and then go looking for scientific support for their
view. Rather, these were scientists doing science-with no religious intent-who postulated the big bang theory after evaluating the evidence from deep space. "Despite its religious
implications, the Big Bang was a scientific theory that flowed
naturally from observational data, not from holy writings or
transcendental visions."" Without even intending to, scientists
may have stumbled upon evidence for God-and this has
caused a number of scientists to take a second look at the possibility of a divine Creator.

Robert Jastrow thus speaks of the evidence for the beginning
of the universe as a starting point for faith for many people."
Astronomer Allan Sandage stated that "contemplating the majesty
of the big bang" helped make him "a believer in God, willing
to accept that creation could only be explained as a `miracle.""'
Hugh Ross likewise observes that "astronomers who do not draw
theistic or deistic conclusions are becoming rare, and even the
few dissenters hint that the tide is against them.""

Old-earth creationists point out that in view of the law of
cause and effect, a big bang explosion necessarily demands someone or something that "pushed the button" and caused the explosion to happen. The event could not have caused itself. Reason demands that whatever caused the universe must be greater than
the universe. That cause must be God-who Himself is the
uncaused First Cause. As Hebrews 3:4 puts it, "Every house is
built by someone, but God is the builder of everything." God,
who is beyond time altogether, is the one who brought the spacetime universe into being. He is not limited to the space-time
dimensions of this universe but is transcendent above it.

Some people suggest that the big bang is part and parcel of
the design that God built into the universe." As I noted in the
previous chapter, if the rate of expansion of our universe were
any different, life on earth would not be possible.'9 If it expanded
too rapidly, matter would disperse so fast that it could not clump
together to form galaxies (with stars and planets). If the universe
expanded too slowly, matter would end up clumping together
and collapse into a dense lump before individual stars could
form."° Apparently, old-earth creationists suggest, the big bang
was a very carefully controlled event, providentially designed
by God to allow for the formation of galaxies and the survival
of life on earth.'

This explosion, theorists say, marks the actual beginning of
the universe as well as the beginning of time itself. Hebrews 1:2
is sometimes cited regarding the beginning of time, for it tells
us that the Father "has spoken to us by his Son, whom he
appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the
universe" (italics added). The last part of this verse is rendered
more literally from the Greek, "through whom he made the ages."
Likewise, Hebrews 11:3 tells us that "by faith we understand
that the universe was formed at God's command" (italics added).
This is more literally from the Greek, "By faith we understand
that the ages were formed at God's command."

Scholars have grappled with what the term "ages" may mean
here. Bible scholar R.C.H. Lenski says the term means "not
merely vast periods of time as mere time, but `eons' with all that
exists as well as all that transpires in them."22 New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce says that "the whole created universe of space
and time is meant."23 From this verse, theologian John MacArthur concludes that God created not only "the physical earth
but also time, space, force, action, and matter."24

Church father and philosopher Augustine (A.D. 354-430)
held that the universe was not created in time, but that time
itself was created along with the universe.25 Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof agrees and concludes:

It would not be correct to assume that time was
already in existence when God created the world, and
that He at some point in that existing time, called "the
beginning," brought forth the universe. The world was
created with time rather than in time. Back of the
beginning mentioned in Genesis 1:1 lies a beginningless eternity.26

The idea that time had a beginning agrees with modern
science. Indeed, Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History
of Time, has argued that time must have a beginning.

Scripture not only points to a beginning of time but may
also give support to the idea of a big bang explosion. Old-earth
creationists typically point to the following verses (note the words
I have italicized):

• He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves
of the sea (Job 9:8).

• He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches
out the heavens like a tent (Psalms 104:2).

• He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its
people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens
like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in
(Isaiah 40:22).

• This is what God the LORD says-He who created the
heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it (Isaiah 42:5).

• This is what the LORD says-your redeemer, who formed
you in the womb: I am the LORD, who has made all
things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread
out the earth by myself (Isaiah 44:24).

• It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon
it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled
their starry hosts (Isaiah 45:12).

• My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my
right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them,
they all stand up together (Isaiah 48:13).

• God made the earth by his power; he founded the world
by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding (Jeremiah 10:12).

• He made the earth by his power; he founded the world
by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding (Jeremiah 51:15).

• This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The
LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth... (Zechariah 12:1).

The phrase "stretched out" in these verses comes from a
Hebrew word that carries the idea "spread out," "extend out,"
to "outspread," or "to extend something outward." In view of
these verses, God's "stretching out" of the stars may be a scriptural way of describing the big bang.

Not all Christians agree that the big bang theory explains
the origins of the universe-especially if this big bang
occurred some 13 to 15 billion years ago. I am referring to
young-earth creationists, who view the earth as being not billions of years old but rather less than 10,000 years old. On the one
hand, some young-earth creationists allow for the possibility that
galaxies are moving away from us at high speed and acknowledge that if that is indeed the case, the Scripture verses mentioned
previously may be interpreted as going along with this expansion (see also job 26:7; Isaiah 51:13). But these verses could
just as easily refer to a static (non-expanding) universe that God
originally spread out (all at once) at the time of the creation.27

Young-earth creationists also note some rather serious scientific problems with the idea that the universe is expanding. For
example, this expansion is not directly observable but is rather
an inference from the observation that light from distant galaxies has a longer wavelength (it is red). In recent years, some have
questioned whether this redshift proves that galaxies are in fact
moving away from each other. They suggest that perhaps the
redshifts are due to something far simpler-such as light losing
some of its energy as it crosses billions of miles of space."H

If the universe indeed is expanding, young-earth creationists suggest that perhaps God brought the universe into being
at some ongoing stage in the process of expansion .21 If I am
understanding this suggestion correctly, instead of a "big bang"
deriving from a tiny, hot, extremely dense cosmic egg, perhaps
God in His mighty power initially "spread out" the galaxies at
a great distance from each other, with a continuing ongoing
expansion from that distant outer point. If this scenario is
correct, it would give the appearance that this expansion has
been going on for billions of years when in reality a far shorter
time period may be involved (a period more compatible with
young-earth creationism).