How did the universe begin?

The Big Bang Theory is the idea that the universe began as a single point and has been expanding out ever since. The Bible also aligns with this perspective, telling us the following.

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:1-2

You will be quick to realise of course that scientific consensus makes no note of the Christian God being the source of the big bang. But the Big Bang Theory does bring with it a worldview that includes the idea of God. Let’s examine why.

Nothing can create itself

We’re all aware of the reality that nothing has the ability to bring itself life. Living beings (such as a parents) are able to bring the next generation into existence. And through the wonders of science and human knowledge, we can play with some of the parameters of life itself. But no one can bring themselves into existence, no more than an egg can lay itself.

So Nature (aka the universe) could not have brought itself into existence. It is a conceptual impossibility.

If Nature did not create itself then the only other answer is that it has always existed. If we assert that Nature has always existed then surely in some sense we are simply stating that Nature is a form of God.

Of course, not directly or necessarily the Christian God. But something divinely powerful that has the ability to bring forth life in such volume and wonder? What other word could we use?

The naturalistic worldview does not remove God, it simply designates Nature as God.

What do we know about Nature as God?

If Nature is God then it must be a very bad one, even evil. All of the world’s atrocities, pains, wars, genocides, murders, abuses and so on have taken place as a result of Nature.

How can we expect justice, peace or comfort at the hand of such a merciless monster of affliction? We cannot.

And yet in a strange twist of events, Nature also has the capacity for great beauty. The wonder of the sun and the sea. The delight of good food, friendship and music. And of course sex. The list goes on and on.

Nature behaves more like a broken vehicle than a divine being

This strange mix of both beauty and brokenness makes no sense from a naturalistic point of view. The only way we can get around this philosophical constraint if we abandon all sense of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Then we can say that these categories are meaningless and arbitrary and Nature itself is neither good or evil. And yet most naturalists are kind, wonderful and generous souls. Perhaps they betray their Christian roots.

What is the Christian worldview of the universe?

The Bible tells us that Nature did not bring itself into existence (a purely nonsensical notion) nor did it always exist but that Nature was created by a Supernature we call God.

God has always existed and nothing created him just as we supposed with Nature earlier. But this is what we should expect to find with a divine Supernature such as God.

How do we explain good and evil with God?

God created Nature and it was good. He also created man to take care of Nature. Man rebelled against God and caused Nature to become spoilt and broken. The rest of the story is about God himself coming in the form of a man to deal with the mess and to offer a means of redemption.

This is the good news about Jesus.

You might also like our article: Did God Use Evolution?

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