Why belief in The Big Bang is a Stretch! Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.
A few excerpts from a recent review of Hawking's latest book:
"Philosophy is dead," Stephen Hawking declares in the introduction to his new book. "Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics."
From which point he expounds upon his own philosophy! - Radar
Traditionally, science has concerned itself with questions of how, leaving inquiries into why to priests and poets. But as tantalizing outlines of a web of rules uniting all nature's forces comes into focus, Hawking now feels confident enough to trespass in philosophy's sacred garden.
It's a confidence born of "M-theory," a still-evolving concept that Hawking and others have been working on for about a decade. No one seems to know the origin of the "M"; it could stand for "meta," "master," "miracle" or even "mystery."
Or why not go all the way and suggest it stands for "Magic?" - Radar
Gradually, Hawking and other physicists have started to realize that supergravity and string theory seem to be two sides of the same coin -- a concept they've come to call M-theory. It's a supremely strange model, with 11 space-time dimensions (most of them so tiny and curled-up that they're undetectable), and populated not only by vibrating strings and particles, but two-dimensional membranes, three-dimensional blobs and multidimensional objects called p-branes.
Under M-theory's tenets, Hawking contends, it is possible for the universe -- actually multiple, coexisting universes -- to pop into being from nothing. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," he writes.
~~~~~~~~
...Hawking contends, it is possible for the universe -- actually multiple, coexisting universes -- to pop into being from nothing.
"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," - Hawking, The Grand Design
"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - God, Psalm 14:1
Thus we expose Hawking for the educated charlatan that he is. He offers you a scientific shell game and I promise you that you will never find the pea under the shell.
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1
The very first verse of the Bible declares the work of the Creator. Like a giant canvas, the vast cosmos was stretched forth ready to receive the Grand Artist's further brush strokes. By His design, this first verse simply states the fact, with no scientific details provided which would render the need for faith null or void. (1)
However later narratives by biblical Prophets provide insight which are, I believe, illustrative of the very first moment of Creation.
This vignette is an introduction to a deeply profound subject--REALITY. Its purpose is to challenge conventional thinking about the origin of the universe and how we understand its chronological age. I’ve intentionally avoided technical scientific discussions of physics and cosmology, leaving readers to mostly explore on their own. Further, I avoid over-academic treatments of those relevant portions of the Bible.
However, to follow the remainder of this discussion, it will be absolutely necessary for you to watch the PBS/NOVA, 52-minute video entitled FABRIC OF THE COSMOS: What is Space? narrated by Physicist Brian Greene. Greene explains and contrasts the cosmological views of Isaac Newton with Albert Einstein's more recent discoveries. Copy and paste -> http://goo.gl/HFKm3 into your browser's address window, then click the center picture to start the video. (2)
Or go here. (have your critical thinking cap on when you watch. If you do not watch the NOVA video you will not completely comprehend this post. Quantum Mechanics is not a fully comprehended discipline by even the most dedicated of scientists. No one has been able to assert that the Laws of Thermodynamics are violated. Keep in mind much of the content is theoretical or even hypothetical.. - Radar.)
My goal is for average people with average intelligence to reconsider how they view the world around them and to build an intellectual "bridge" from the common naturalistic understanding of the cosmos to a new Christian worldview which reconciles both genuine scientific discovery and Biblical revelation.
Modern media (radio, television, movies, internet, etc.) as well as public schools, newspapers, and placards in natural history museums, continuously bombard us with the seemingly self-evident fact that the universe is billions of years old--13.7 billion to be specific. Modern science has used observation, logic/reason, and technology to affirm that the cosmos is...HUGE. By simply using mathematical equations, light being received from the farthest distant stars, and the current speed of light, scientists then calculate the apparent time necessary for light to have traveled the vast expanses of the cosmos. (3)
Up until the recent discovery of the remnants of the Big Bang (4), many scientists assumed the cosmos had no beginning (eternally existed) and that nothing was capable of traveling faster than the speed of light--approximately 186,282 miles per second. In our post-Big Bang universe, the upper limit appears to be the current speed of light. However, scientists postulate the Big Bang hyper-expansion occurred at near infinite speed. "The size of the universe increased by a factor larger than a million trillion trillion in less than a millionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second" -Greene. (5)
Using Einstein's conceptual model of spacetime (6) which you learned from the video together with the fact of the Big Bang, we can now imagine how BOTH the vast expanses of space along with 13.7 billions years of time were jointly stretched into existence in a fraction of a second. The universe did not 'evolve' over 13.7 billions years according to our present experience of the flow of time. It is this perspective difference that explains why a large number of scientists as well as the public are trapped in a Newtonian scientific worldview. Again, the integrated fabric of spacetime was stretched into existence in the Big Bang. Condensed space expanded and condensed time was elongated together as at least a four-dimensional fabric of reality. From the biblical account, the Big Bang occurred just prior to Genesis 1:2. The Spirit of God moved the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah in their written revelations to illustratively describe that moment, as referenced above.
This explanation, which offers coherence of both science and the biblical record, is both simple and profound...and one Einstein could admire. From the big picture perspective, God's universe is BOTH young and old. Young if the Big Bang is ignored as it is in Genesis, old if it's taken into account by the modern scientific mind. (Note: this Creation-based model of cosmology also offers an alternative to both progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism, e.g., Hugh Ross or Gerald Schroeder.)
"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
The scientific details of the hyper-distention of space and elongation of time (Big Bang) is not specifically stated in the Genesis narrative. However, nothing stands in the way of Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.") from implicitly containing the scientific reality of the Big Bang, sans naturalistic assumptions. Genesis 1:2 records the second moment of Creation, the beginning of a potential 'quantum' day in which time has 'normalized' according to our common experience and understanding of time. (NOTE: This model should not be confused with the 19th-century "Gap Theory," which posits eons of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. In this model, no 'time gap' between these two verses of the Bible is necessary.) Here's a graphic which seeks to capture what I've just described.
(Note: The two bars [top blue and bottom red] in the graph are two different representations of cosmic history. The top blue is history as recorded in the biblical narrative, while the bottom red is the history of the scientific record. The small, dark red rectangle in the upper left represents the super-condensed *spacetime* from which God created the "heavens and the earth" ex-nihilo, which then was "stretched" into the multidimensional, spacetime fabric. The six literal, 24-hour periods recorded in Genesis 1:2-2:1 follow this space hyper-distention/time elongation of the Big Bang. Various quantum and cosmological changes potentially occur in the early Genesis 1:2-8 narrative. The small, dark blue rectangle in the lower right corner represents biblical and contemporary history, dwarfed by the "spacetime eruption," which did not 'evolve', but rather came into existence in an instant. The perspective of scientific discovery is from the platform of that small, dark blue rectangle...looking back through the corridor of elongated time.)
(1) The special revelation found in the 46th book of the Bible, First Corinthians, also provides insight as to why empirical evidence gathered by humankind cannot be substituted for biblical faith. "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate'. Where is the wise man (scientist)? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (have faith)." "He [God] chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the tings that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him." Pride is the universal obstacle. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly see Him." 1 Cor. 1:19-21, 28-29. Hebrews 11:6
(2) The various books by author Brian Greene provide in-depth detail regarding 20th-century discoveries in physics, e.g. The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Greene. Follow the newest PBS NOVA series for Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos - http://goo.gl/NDBOC. These books and videos are a great help in making the necessary mental transition from a Newtonian worldview to Einstein's 20th-century view of spacetime reality. Understanding the concept of spacetime is necessary for reconciling modern cosmology with the biblical view of Creation. Also, don't miss Dr. Walt Brown's IN THE BEGINNING: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, 8th Edition.
(3) The apparent age of the universe is the corresponding basis for the fallacious theory of macro-evolution—all complex life was spawned and developed from small biological mutations over very long--billions, maybe even trillions of years--for those evolutionists who reject the Big Bang.
(4) A distinction must here be made in my use of the term "Big Bang." By "Big Bang" I simply mean the physical phenomenon (event), irrespective of its cause. Those scientists who claim the Big Bang had "no cause" are making a philosophic/religious statement which go beyond the limits of science.
(5) Many scientists who study the cosmos (cosmologists), understandably use naturalistic presuppositions in their work. While Einstein and many of today's physicists posit "the fabric of spacetime," their application of the concept seems inconsistent. For me, one of the biggest is their conceptualization of the Big Bang, as seen in the graphic below. The illustration shows a separation of the initial hyper-distention "inflation" of 3D space (Bang) from subsequent 4th dimensional time. I can find no explanation for this. Why do physicists imagine an initial Big Bang "inflation," involving space, then ADD ON 13.7 billion years of time. Why? Why can't 99.9 percent of time be folded back into the initial inflation? (I've written both Brian Greene and Alan Guth asking for an explanation. To date, neither has responded but I'm still hopeful.) Is it possible that cosmologists are using a Big Bang model which coincides with the biological evolutionary model?
(6) Einstein's concept of the "consolidated fabric of space AND time" has been questioned, challenge, accepted, confirmed, yet rejected by some in the scientific community. A recent scientific experiment confirmed the premise of Einstein's theories. Read about it here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If I was in an empty jet and began running five miles per hour in the direction the jet was moving, and the jet is moving at 575 miles per hour then I would be moving at 580 miler per hour. Yet the speed of light seems constant to us. Newtonian space/time was challenged by Einstein and led us to understand that supposedly empty space is actually some kind of fabric. If God stretched out the fabric of space at an amazing speed so that the perceivable Universe is now apparently very old if we use the speed of light as a calculation and yet this is only because we are measuring distance by the speed of light and not taking the fabric of space into account and the asserton made by God that He stretched space out. Funny how God knew that planets were like balls apparently hung on nothing and that God knew that space had properties that could be stretched while mankind took a very long time to observe all of this, is it not?
Yes, commenters, Big Bang proponents suggest that something comes from nothing. Meanwhile thoughtful Creation scientists are logically and reasonably developing a premise into a promise that you will be able to understand within the limits of your finite mind that God created ex nihilo and no other cause can be logically defended.
God stretched space and stretches space. Dark Energy and Dark Matter are fudge factors. God is exerting the force by stretching the Universe. This is an explanation which makes it possible to comprehend that God could create the Universe in six days and yet there is an apparent age of the Universe of 13.7 billion years by the measurement of light years. There is no naturalistic explanation for the singularity, the Big Bang or the accelerating expansion of space.
Silly scientists, space is for God! He stretched it rapidly to provide an interesting home for mankind and He continues to stretch it, as His Word asserted long before mankind could begin to detect this. The fabric of space is real. Yet it had to be created, just as matter and energy had to be created.
Think! We know we see, feel and use things that are actually mostly emptiness and consist of a small percentage of rapidly moving tiny atoms which consist of mostly emptiness and rapidly moving tiny subatomic particles and so on and so forth. If we do perceive existence in the way that our eyes can view a hologram, it simply supports the idea that God made the Universe as a home for mankind and made all that lives able to perceive existence in simple and useful ways. Keep in mind that some organisms can see and feel and hear and smell and touch in ways that differ from mankind and so can perceive existence in different ways than we can.
If existence is like a hologram with which we interact, then God designed the equipment that projects it, we who perceive it and all that powers it. Naturalism cannot explain existence and the more we find out about the Universe the more obvious that becomes and that the naturalistic explanations will keep piling up fudge factors because they will not acknowledge God.
Funny how a songwriter can zero in on truth Stephen Hawking and the late Christopher Hitchens could not see? You simply cannot get something from nothing within material existence.
Billy Preston's lyrics (composed by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher)
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
I'm not tryin' to be your hero
'Cause that zero is too cold for me, Brrr
I'm not tryin' to be your highness
'Cause that minus is too low to see, yeah
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
And I'm not stuffin'
Believe you me
Don't you remember I told ya
I'm a soldier in the war on poverty, yeah
Yes, I am
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
You gotta bring me somethin' girl
If you wanna be with me
"Philosophy is dead," Stephen Hawking declares in the introduction to his new book. "Philosophy has not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics."
From which point he expounds upon his own philosophy! - Radar
Traditionally, science has concerned itself with questions of how, leaving inquiries into why to priests and poets. But as tantalizing outlines of a web of rules uniting all nature's forces comes into focus, Hawking now feels confident enough to trespass in philosophy's sacred garden.
It's a confidence born of "M-theory," a still-evolving concept that Hawking and others have been working on for about a decade. No one seems to know the origin of the "M"; it could stand for "meta," "master," "miracle" or even "mystery."
Or why not go all the way and suggest it stands for "Magic?" - Radar
Gradually, Hawking and other physicists have started to realize that supergravity and string theory seem to be two sides of the same coin -- a concept they've come to call M-theory. It's a supremely strange model, with 11 space-time dimensions (most of them so tiny and curled-up that they're undetectable), and populated not only by vibrating strings and particles, but two-dimensional membranes, three-dimensional blobs and multidimensional objects called p-branes.
Under M-theory's tenets, Hawking contends, it is possible for the universe -- actually multiple, coexisting universes -- to pop into being from nothing. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," he writes.
~~~~~~~~
...Hawking contends, it is possible for the universe -- actually multiple, coexisting universes -- to pop into being from nothing.
"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," - Hawking, The Grand Design
"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." - God, Psalm 14:1
Thus we expose Hawking for the educated charlatan that he is. He offers you a scientific shell game and I promise you that you will never find the pea under the shell.
Naturalism’s ignorance that invokes the Big Bang is almost painful. Don't fool yourself, the singularity is entirely inexplicable from a naturalist perspective. Hawking's wishful thinking is philosophically and scientifically wrong. I have no doubt his IQ exceeds mine, but his steadfast adherence to naturalism precludes his ability to reason correctly about origins.
Gravity cannot operate without existence to already be. The singularity is an unexplained substance from nowhere by no means and naturalists accept this miracle because their only alternative is God.
M-theory is not a theory, really, and honest astrophysicists will admit this.
Multiverses that fit every conceivable possibility must therefore include one with the Creator God who transcends existence and then He would be the Creator of all universes and a naturally occurring one is then not possible.
The idea that nothing consists of equal parts of matter and anti-matter and equal parts of energy and anti-energy or however it is presented to the public is dishonest. A nothing that has the potential of becoming something is by definition part of existence and such existence still requires a source.
Our Universe is finite and it is running downhill from a starting point and heading towards an end, which we call "heat death." It had to be created. Big Bang is nonsense as presented as naturalism because it requires multiple miracles without a miracle-provider.
A Transcendent Self-Existent God is the only logical Creator of the Universe ex nihilo. All other suggestions are simply wishful thinking of those who do not prefer the concept of God.
Now let us consider the fabric of space (You may recall I presented Carmelian Theory awhile back which takes the fabric of space as a reality and expands upon that principle?) Pardon the pun.
Now let us consider the fabric of space (You may recall I presented Carmelian Theory awhile back which takes the fabric of space as a reality and expands upon that principle?) Pardon the pun.
God's Creation is BOTH YOUNG AND OLD
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1
The very first verse of the Bible declares the work of the Creator. Like a giant canvas, the vast cosmos was stretched forth ready to receive the Grand Artist's further brush strokes. By His design, this first verse simply states the fact, with no scientific details provided which would render the need for faith null or void. (1)
However later narratives by biblical Prophets provide insight which are, I believe, illustrative of the very first moment of Creation.
"He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south." Job 9:8-9
"He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent." Psalm 104:2
"To Him who by wisdom made the heavens...who stretched out the earth above the waters...who made great lights...the sun to rule by day...moon and stars to rule by night; His mercy endures forever." Psalm 136:5-9
"He stretches out the heavens like canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in." Isaiah 40:22b
"This is what God the Lord says--He who created the heavens and stretched them out..." Isaiah 42:5a
"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
"Who are you...that you forget the Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth..." Isaiah 51:12-13
"But 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
"The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him." Zechariah 12:1
Similar language is found in: 2 Samuel 22:10; Job 26:7, 37:18; Psalm 18:9, 144:5; Isaiah 44:24, 48:13, 51:13; and Ezekiel 1:22.
This vignette is an introduction to a deeply profound subject--REALITY. Its purpose is to challenge conventional thinking about the origin of the universe and how we understand its chronological age. I’ve intentionally avoided technical scientific discussions of physics and cosmology, leaving readers to mostly explore on their own. Further, I avoid over-academic treatments of those relevant portions of the Bible.
However, to follow the remainder of this discussion, it will be absolutely necessary for you to watch the PBS/NOVA, 52-minute video entitled FABRIC OF THE COSMOS: What is Space? narrated by Physicist Brian Greene. Greene explains and contrasts the cosmological views of Isaac Newton with Albert Einstein's more recent discoveries. Copy and paste -> http://goo.gl/HFKm3 into your browser's address window, then click the center picture to start the video. (2)
Or go here. (have your critical thinking cap on when you watch. If you do not watch the NOVA video you will not completely comprehend this post. Quantum Mechanics is not a fully comprehended discipline by even the most dedicated of scientists. No one has been able to assert that the Laws of Thermodynamics are violated. Keep in mind much of the content is theoretical or even hypothetical.. - Radar.)
My goal is for average people with average intelligence to reconsider how they view the world around them and to build an intellectual "bridge" from the common naturalistic understanding of the cosmos to a new Christian worldview which reconciles both genuine scientific discovery and Biblical revelation.
Modern media (radio, television, movies, internet, etc.) as well as public schools, newspapers, and placards in natural history museums, continuously bombard us with the seemingly self-evident fact that the universe is billions of years old--13.7 billion to be specific. Modern science has used observation, logic/reason, and technology to affirm that the cosmos is...HUGE. By simply using mathematical equations, light being received from the farthest distant stars, and the current speed of light, scientists then calculate the apparent time necessary for light to have traveled the vast expanses of the cosmos. (3)
Up until the recent discovery of the remnants of the Big Bang (4), many scientists assumed the cosmos had no beginning (eternally existed) and that nothing was capable of traveling faster than the speed of light--approximately 186,282 miles per second. In our post-Big Bang universe, the upper limit appears to be the current speed of light. However, scientists postulate the Big Bang hyper-expansion occurred at near infinite speed. "The size of the universe increased by a factor larger than a million trillion trillion in less than a millionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second" -Greene. (5)
Using Einstein's conceptual model of spacetime (6) which you learned from the video together with the fact of the Big Bang, we can now imagine how BOTH the vast expanses of space along with 13.7 billions years of time were jointly stretched into existence in a fraction of a second. The universe did not 'evolve' over 13.7 billions years according to our present experience of the flow of time. It is this perspective difference that explains why a large number of scientists as well as the public are trapped in a Newtonian scientific worldview. Again, the integrated fabric of spacetime was stretched into existence in the Big Bang. Condensed space expanded and condensed time was elongated together as at least a four-dimensional fabric of reality. From the biblical account, the Big Bang occurred just prior to Genesis 1:2. The Spirit of God moved the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah in their written revelations to illustratively describe that moment, as referenced above.
This explanation, which offers coherence of both science and the biblical record, is both simple and profound...and one Einstein could admire. From the big picture perspective, God's universe is BOTH young and old. Young if the Big Bang is ignored as it is in Genesis, old if it's taken into account by the modern scientific mind. (Note: this Creation-based model of cosmology also offers an alternative to both progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism, e.g., Hugh Ross or Gerald Schroeder.)
"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
The scientific details of the hyper-distention of space and elongation of time (Big Bang) is not specifically stated in the Genesis narrative. However, nothing stands in the way of Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.") from implicitly containing the scientific reality of the Big Bang, sans naturalistic assumptions. Genesis 1:2 records the second moment of Creation, the beginning of a potential 'quantum' day in which time has 'normalized' according to our common experience and understanding of time. (NOTE: This model should not be confused with the 19th-century "Gap Theory," which posits eons of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. In this model, no 'time gap' between these two verses of the Bible is necessary.) Here's a graphic which seeks to capture what I've just described.
(Note: The two bars [top blue and bottom red] in the graph are two different representations of cosmic history. The top blue is history as recorded in the biblical narrative, while the bottom red is the history of the scientific record. The small, dark red rectangle in the upper left represents the super-condensed *spacetime* from which God created the "heavens and the earth" ex-nihilo, which then was "stretched" into the multidimensional, spacetime fabric. The six literal, 24-hour periods recorded in Genesis 1:2-2:1 follow this space hyper-distention/time elongation of the Big Bang. Various quantum and cosmological changes potentially occur in the early Genesis 1:2-8 narrative. The small, dark blue rectangle in the lower right corner represents biblical and contemporary history, dwarfed by the "spacetime eruption," which did not 'evolve', but rather came into existence in an instant. The perspective of scientific discovery is from the platform of that small, dark blue rectangle...looking back through the corridor of elongated time.)
“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” Dr. Robert Jastrow - astronomer, physicist and cosmologist.
"Now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the world....the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same. Consider the enormousness of the problem : Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment. It asks: 'What cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter or energy into the universe?' And science cannot answer these questions.
"There is a strange ring of feeling and emotion in these reactions [of scientists to evidence that the universe had a sudden beginning]. They come from the heart whereas you would expect the judgments to come from the brain. Why? I think part of the answer is that scientists cannot bear the thought of a natural phenomenon which cannot be explained, even with unlimited time and money. There is a kind of religion in science, it is the religion of a person who believes there is order and harmony in the universe, and every effect must have its cause, [but still believes that] there is no first cause..._________________________________________
"This religious faith of the scientist is violated by the discovery that the world had a beginning under conditions in which the known laws of physics are not valid, and as a product of forces or circumstances we cannot discover. When that happens, the scientist has lost control..." Dr. Robert Jastrow - astronomer, physicist and cosmologist.
(1) The special revelation found in the 46th book of the Bible, First Corinthians, also provides insight as to why empirical evidence gathered by humankind cannot be substituted for biblical faith. "For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate'. Where is the wise man (scientist)? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (have faith)." "He [God] chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the tings that are not--to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him." Pride is the universal obstacle. "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly see Him." 1 Cor. 1:19-21, 28-29. Hebrews 11:6
(2) The various books by author Brian Greene provide in-depth detail regarding 20th-century discoveries in physics, e.g. The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Greene. Follow the newest PBS NOVA series for Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos - http://goo.gl/NDBOC. These books and videos are a great help in making the necessary mental transition from a Newtonian worldview to Einstein's 20th-century view of spacetime reality. Understanding the concept of spacetime is necessary for reconciling modern cosmology with the biblical view of Creation. Also, don't miss Dr. Walt Brown's IN THE BEGINNING: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, 8th Edition.
(3) The apparent age of the universe is the corresponding basis for the fallacious theory of macro-evolution—all complex life was spawned and developed from small biological mutations over very long--billions, maybe even trillions of years--for those evolutionists who reject the Big Bang.
(4) A distinction must here be made in my use of the term "Big Bang." By "Big Bang" I simply mean the physical phenomenon (event), irrespective of its cause. Those scientists who claim the Big Bang had "no cause" are making a philosophic/religious statement which go beyond the limits of science.
(5) Many scientists who study the cosmos (cosmologists), understandably use naturalistic presuppositions in their work. While Einstein and many of today's physicists posit "the fabric of spacetime," their application of the concept seems inconsistent. For me, one of the biggest is their conceptualization of the Big Bang, as seen in the graphic below. The illustration shows a separation of the initial hyper-distention "inflation" of 3D space (Bang) from subsequent 4th dimensional time. I can find no explanation for this. Why do physicists imagine an initial Big Bang "inflation," involving space, then ADD ON 13.7 billion years of time. Why? Why can't 99.9 percent of time be folded back into the initial inflation? (I've written both Brian Greene and Alan Guth asking for an explanation. To date, neither has responded but I'm still hopeful.) Is it possible that cosmologists are using a Big Bang model which coincides with the biological evolutionary model?
(6) Einstein's concept of the "consolidated fabric of space AND time" has been questioned, challenge, accepted, confirmed, yet rejected by some in the scientific community. A recent scientific experiment confirmed the premise of Einstein's theories. Read about it here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If I was in an empty jet and began running five miles per hour in the direction the jet was moving, and the jet is moving at 575 miles per hour then I would be moving at 580 miler per hour. Yet the speed of light seems constant to us. Newtonian space/time was challenged by Einstein and led us to understand that supposedly empty space is actually some kind of fabric. If God stretched out the fabric of space at an amazing speed so that the perceivable Universe is now apparently very old if we use the speed of light as a calculation and yet this is only because we are measuring distance by the speed of light and not taking the fabric of space into account and the asserton made by God that He stretched space out. Funny how God knew that planets were like balls apparently hung on nothing and that God knew that space had properties that could be stretched while mankind took a very long time to observe all of this, is it not?
Yes, commenters, Big Bang proponents suggest that something comes from nothing. Meanwhile thoughtful Creation scientists are logically and reasonably developing a premise into a promise that you will be able to understand within the limits of your finite mind that God created ex nihilo and no other cause can be logically defended.
God stretched space and stretches space. Dark Energy and Dark Matter are fudge factors. God is exerting the force by stretching the Universe. This is an explanation which makes it possible to comprehend that God could create the Universe in six days and yet there is an apparent age of the Universe of 13.7 billion years by the measurement of light years. There is no naturalistic explanation for the singularity, the Big Bang or the accelerating expansion of space.
Silly scientists, space is for God! He stretched it rapidly to provide an interesting home for mankind and He continues to stretch it, as His Word asserted long before mankind could begin to detect this. The fabric of space is real. Yet it had to be created, just as matter and energy had to be created.
Think! We know we see, feel and use things that are actually mostly emptiness and consist of a small percentage of rapidly moving tiny atoms which consist of mostly emptiness and rapidly moving tiny subatomic particles and so on and so forth. If we do perceive existence in the way that our eyes can view a hologram, it simply supports the idea that God made the Universe as a home for mankind and made all that lives able to perceive existence in simple and useful ways. Keep in mind that some organisms can see and feel and hear and smell and touch in ways that differ from mankind and so can perceive existence in different ways than we can.
If existence is like a hologram with which we interact, then God designed the equipment that projects it, we who perceive it and all that powers it. Naturalism cannot explain existence and the more we find out about the Universe the more obvious that becomes and that the naturalistic explanations will keep piling up fudge factors because they will not acknowledge God.
Funny how a songwriter can zero in on truth Stephen Hawking and the late Christopher Hitchens could not see? You simply cannot get something from nothing within material existence.
Billy Preston's lyrics (composed by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher)
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
I'm not tryin' to be your hero
'Cause that zero is too cold for me, Brrr
I'm not tryin' to be your highness
'Cause that minus is too low to see, yeah
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
And I'm not stuffin'
Believe you me
Don't you remember I told ya
I'm a soldier in the war on poverty, yeah
Yes, I am
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin'
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
You gotta have somethin'
If you wanna be with me
You gotta bring me somethin' girl
If you wanna be with me