In the Beginning …

Why do some people believe that the universe has always existed while others believe that it had a beginning? Why do some folk believe that the entire cosmos was created about 6,000 years ago while others believe it is over 4.54 billion years old? Why do some folk believe it started with “And God said” and others believe it started with a “big bang”?

There is only one answer, and it is wrapped up in the word “believe” because there is no empirical, over-riding proof on which to base our conclusions. We have the Bible which is the true Word of God, and is the basis for our Judeo-Christian faith. But it’s still a basis for FAITH – it isn’t empirical proof for the non-believing world.

Leon Lederman said in his book, The God Particle:

“In the very beginning, there was a void, a curious form of vacuum, a nothingness containing no space, no time, no matter, no light, no sound. A story logically begins at the beginning, but this story is about the universe and unfortunately there are no data for the very beginnings – none, zero. When you read or hear anything about the birth of the universe, someone is making it up–we are in the realm of philosophy. Only God knows what happened at the very beginning.”

I add to Lederman’s statement: “We are also in the realm of religion, and the Bible gives information about creation.”

However, even though Genesis chapters one and two give an overview of what God did in the beginning, there is still much speculation within Judeo-Christianity simply because God did not give us a definitive narrative of exactly what He did and exactly how He did it. For example, Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” We know that the word “heavens” means atmosphere. But does the phrase “In the beginning” apply to earth with atmosphere, our solar system, or to the entire cosmos? The Bible doesn’t specify, so we speculate (guess, reason, surmise, deduce, BELIEVE).

Another question: “If the entire cosmos was created and completed about 6,000 years ago, and if God has been here for AN EXTREMELY LONG FOREVER, did He do absolutely nothing until 6,000 years ago, or was He continuously a creator? The Bible doesn’t say, so we speculate. To clarify: postulating whether He continuously created for millions of years or didn’t create anything until 6,000 years ago is speculation and belief..

But the Bible does say: Jesus was born, died, rose from the dead [that has been verified historically], and returned to heaven in order to redeem man on this planet from sin. That means the Bible applies to mankind on this planet. But we cannot expect the Bible to address every question we might raise about the universe. However, speculation increases because mankind demands answers.

Arthur Eddington, who experimentally confirmed Einstein’s general theory of relativity in 1919, stated: “Philosophically, the notion of a beginning to the present order is repugnant to me and I should like to find a genuine loophole.” Eddington didn’t believe in “a beginning” because that infers a creator – God; and he rejected the concept of God to avoid accountability to God.

Albert Einstein eventually gave grudging acceptance to what he called “the necessity for a beginning” and to “the presence of a superior reasoning power.” But we don’t know if he actually accepted the reality of a personal God.

Jeffrey Burbidge, formerly an astrophysicist at the University of California at San Diego, favored the steady-state (the universe always existed) hypothesis and admitted that his view supported Hinduism, not Christianity. A steady-state universe, were it true, would support the endless-life-cycle belief taught by Hinduism; which means the steady-state hypothesis is a religious belief. Therefore, also a matter of faith.

That brings to mind, the cosmological argument: (a) Everything that exists must have a cause; (b) The universe does exist; therefore (c) The universe has a cause. And you can see the obvious conclusion of this concept: there is a Creator – God.

Why? To create something that does not exist, the creator must exist separately from the proposed creation; and the Bible tells us God created everything. Therefore, God existed prior to the creation episodes.

We have the privilege of believing what the Bible says because it has a proven historical track-record. Of course, some folk claim the Bible is very detailed and specific about creation while others say it is not. But rather than fighting about our interpretations or understandings, we should be encouraging each other to actively study the Bible.

Don’t fight or argue with non-Christians; it won’t prove anything. But discuss in a friendly manner. Don’t fight other Christians: that gives the world opportunity to blaspheme the Lord and defame the Church. After all, only God really knows when He created anything. Instead, agree where you can, build each other up in the faith, exalt the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And employ a maxim attributed to Saint Francis but probably originated by Marco Antonio de Dominis: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.