3.1 The Origin of the Universe (OB10)

British professor of theoretical physics Paul Davies clearly outlined the problematical questions concerning the origin of the universe [D1, p. 10]:

If the universe had no origin in time—if it has always existed—then it is of infinite age. The concept of infinity leaves many people reeling. If there has been an infinite number of events already, why do we find ourselves living now? Did the universe remain quiescent for all of eternity only to spring into action relatively recently, or has there been some activity going on forever and ever? On the other hand, if the universe began, that means accepting it appeared suddenly out of nothing. This seems to imply that there was a first event. If so, what caused it?

Evolution: According to the standard cosmological model, the universe originated in the so-called “big bang.” It follows from present observations that the Hubble constant,

H = 55 (km/s)/Mpc = 1.78 · 10^-18 s^-1,

represents the initial rate of expansion of the universe. On assuming a constant rate of expansion, the inverse value 1/H = 18 · 10⁹ years gives the moment in time when all matter was supposedly compressed in one point. The age of the universe is defined by means of this extreme extrapolation. The chronology of evolutionary cosmology is based on Table 1, according to R. Breuer [B8, p. 86].

In this scheme, the earth is very much a latecomer in our universe. Allegedly, it split off from the sun or from the mass surrounding the sun. Astronomer O. Heckmann cautions [H4, p. 132]: “The conclusions could eventually become so inaccurate that the connection with the empirical origin of the chain may be practically lost. This is common to all scientific deductions, and holds in particular in cosmology where infinite extrapolations abound.”

Table 1: Chronology of evolutionary cosmology (according to R Breuer)

Scientific Objections: The assumption that the rate of expansion has ALWAYS been the same (see basic evolutionary assumption E10) is purely arbitrary. Furthermore, it is assumed that the calculated time spans really occurred. What will happen if such a long time span before the present was not available? The question of the origin of matter has in any case not been answered. In his book The First Three Minutes [W2, p. 119] Steven Weinberg concedes that the big-bang theory is pure speculation:

In following this account of the first three minutes, the reader may feel that he can detect a note of scientific overconfidence. He might be right. . . . It is often necessary to forget one’s doubts and to follow the consequences of one’s assumptions wherever they may lead. . . . This does not mean that it is true. . . . Nevertheless, there is one great uncertainty that hangs like a dark cloud over the standard model (= the big bang).

The declared purpose of cosmology is to understand the structure, operation, and origin of the universe and the earth only “in the framework of natural laws.” This restriction precludes the planning and purposeful acts of a Creator God; furthermore, we find ourselves outside the scope of science (see basic assumption C6). The purely materialistic constraint posed by Wuketits [W5, p. 98], has no scientific basis: “No ‘a priori’ purpose exists. . . . There is no planning Spirit, since evolution itself is the planner and creates its own laws.” Many scientific objections can be raised against the above model; we mention only two:

1. Ninety-eight percent of the rotational energy of the solar system is found in the planets, although they only comprise one percent of the total mass. This exceptional ratio excludes the possibility that the earth and the other planets could have been formed from the mass of the sun.
2. The earth possesses a large number of astronomical and physical peculiarities which make life on earth possible. In addition, the exact values of very many properties must fall inside very restricted bounds, all at the same time. The following prerequisites are exceedingly improbable in the light of the nebular hypothesis (discussed more fully in [G8]):
   • the correct distance between earth and sun
   • the elliptical orbit of the earth around the sun with its small eccentricity
   • the constant energy output of the sun
   • the correct rate of rotation of the earth
   • the optimum tilt angle between the axis of the earth and the ecliptic
   • the correct size and mass of the earth
   • the correct quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the earth
   • the correct quantity of oxygen in the atmosphere of the earth
   • the correct distance of the moon from the earth.

The Bible: The Bible describes the universe (cosmos) in various terms. In the New Testament, the Greek word kosmos mostly refers to the earth itself (e.g., John 3:16; Heb. 10:5), but often the entire universe is also meant (e.g., Matt. 24:31; Acts 17:24). The term ta panta also encompasses the entire universe (Eph. 1:23). The first use of a specific word for the universe in the Old Testament (Hebrew hakkol) is in Jeremiah 10:16: “. . . for he is the Maker of all things.” In the creation account, the terms “heaven” (Hebrew “shamayim”) and “earth” (Gen. 1:1, KJV) are synonyms for the entire universe. Not only the first verse of the Bible, but also many other passages (e.g., Neh. 9:6; Ps. 102:5) describe God as the Creator of a completed universe, in which the stars did not develop in a process lasting for billions of years, but they were complete right from the beginning (Heb. 4:3). This is an incontrovertible answer to Davies’ question about the origin.

The physical law of the conservation of energy states that in our universe energy cannot be created out of nothing, neither can it be destroyed. Now what was the origin of the energy in the universe? The only possibility is an act of creation.

The earth and all the stars in the universe did not originate in a big bang; they were created independently and on different days. On the first day, God created the universe containing no stars, but only the earth. Only on the fourth day—when plants already existed—the stars and other planets were created. Thus, all stars are of the same age, excluding the three creation days. This differs completely, conceptually, and fundamentally, from the evolutionary model. The earth did not start its career as a glowing ball of fire, but it originally had water on its surface (Gen. 1:2). It is not the accidental by-product of a cosmic explosion, but—as is the case for the entire universe—it was made for a purpose: “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands” (Ps. 102:25). During a conversation with Job, God clearly explained to him the conceptual (the foundation of all astronomical and physical data) and the geometrical dimensions of the establishment of the earth: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? [or: drew up its constructional plans] Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?” (Job 38:4). In the light of the biblical revelations, the evolutionary view of the origin of the earth and the universe is proved to be a series of false statements.