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The Universe is Not Eternal, But Had A Beginning
by Rich Deem
I recently received an e-mail claiming that most scientists do not believe that the Big Bang
represents the beginning of the universe. Other visitors to the site have made similar claims in
the past, so I thought it would be a good idea to set the record straight about the origin of
the universe. Although there are atheistic scientists who believe that the universe existed
before the Big Bang, I must make it clear that they present no evidence for this belief, since
none exists! This kind of belief is metaphysical in nature as indicated in an article from the The
Origin-of-Life Foundation, Inc.:
"Appeals to multiple or 'parallel' cosmoses or to an infinite number of cosmic 'Big
Bang/Crunch' oscillations as essential elements of proposed mechanisms are not
acceptable in submissions due to a lack of empirical correlation and testability.
Such beliefs are without hard physical evidence and must therefore be considered
unfalsifiable, currently outside the methodology of scientific investigation to
confirm or disprove, and therefore more mathematically theoretical and
metaphysical than scientific in nature. Recent cosmological evidence also suggests
insufficient mass for gravity to reverse continuing cosmic expansion. The best
cosmological evidence thus far suggests the cosmos is finite rather than infinite in
age."
1
Such metaphysical beliefs are often incorporated in popular books about
cosmology, although it is seldom stated that those beliefs are without any evidence. Here are
some quotes from university websites by scientists who know that the universe had a
beginning:
"The conclusion of this lecture is that the universe has not existed forever. Rather, the
universe, and time itself, had a beginning in the Big Bang, about 15 billion years ago."
Stephen Hawking The Beginning of Time
"Scientists generally agree that "the Big Bang" birthed the universe about 15 billion years
ago." Tom Parisi, Northern Illinois University
"As a result of the Big Bang (the tremendous explosion which marked the beginning of our
Universe), the universe is expanding and most of the galaxies within it are moving away
from each other." CalTech
"The Big Bang model of the universe's birth is the most widely accepted model that has
ever been conceived for the scientific origin of everything." Stuart Robbins, Case
Western Reserve University
"Many once believed that the universe had no beginning or end and was truly infinite.
Through the inception of the Big Bang theory, however, no longer could the universe be
considered infinite. The universe was forced to take on the properties of a finite
phenomenon, possessing a history and a beginning." Chris LaRocco and Blair Rothstein,
University of Michigan
"The scientific evidence is now overwhelming that the Universe began with a "Big Bang"
~15 billion (15,000,000,000 or 15E9) years ago." "The Big Bang theory is the most widely
accepted theory of the creation of the Universe." Dr. van der Pluijm, University of
Michigan
"The present location and velocities of galaxies are a result of a primordial blast known
as the BIG BANG. It marked: THE BEGINNING OF THE UNIVERSE! THE BEGINNING OF
TIME!" Terry Herter, Cornell University
"That radiation is residual heat from the Big Bang, the event that sparked the beginning
of the universe some 13 billion years ago." Craig Hogan, University of Washington
"Most scientists agree that the universe began some 12 to 20 billion years ago in what
has come to be known as the Big Bang (a term coined by the English astrophysicist Fred
Hoyle in 1950." University of Illinois
"The universe cannot be infinitely large or infinitely old (it evolves in time)." Nilakshi
Veerabathina, Georgia State University ()
"The universe had a beginning. There was once nothing and now there is something."
Janna Levin, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Cambridge
University
"Today scientists generally believe the universe was created in a violent explosion called
the Big Bang." Susan Terebey, Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State
University Los Angeles
"Evidence suggests that our universe began as an incredibly hot and dense region
referred to as a singularity." Stephen T. Abedon, Ohio State University
"A large body of astrophysical observations now clearly points to a beginning for our
universe about 15 billion years ago in a cataclysmic outpouring of elementary particles.
There is, in fact, no evidence that any of the particles of matter with which we are now
familiar existed before this great event." Louis J. Clavelli, Ph.D., Professor of Physics,
University of Alabama
"Now, after decades of observing and thinking, we have come to answer confidently the
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question of the origin of our universe... with what is known as the "big bang"." Yuki D.
Takahashi, Caltech
"The theory is the conceptual and the calculational tool used by particle physicists to
describe the structure of the hadrons and the beginning of the universe." Keh-Fei Liu,
University of Kentucky.
"The three-part lecture series includes: "How the Universe Began," "The Dark Side of the
Universe: Dark Matter and Dark Energy" and "Cosmic Inflation: The Dynamite Behind the
Big Bang?" (Lectures by Michael S. Turner, Bruce V. and Diana M. Rauner at Penn State
University)
"Travel back in time to the beginning of the Universe: The Big Bang" Douglas Miller,
University of Arizona
"Beginning of the Universe 20.0 billion yr ago" Charly Mallery, University of Miami
"At the beginning the universe was extremely hot and dense (more about this later) and
as it expanded it cooled." Syracuse University
"THE UNIVERSE AND ALL OF SPACE ARE EXPANDING FROM A BIG BANG BEGINNING" Center
for Cosmological Physics, University of Chicago
"Gamow realized that at a point a few minutes after its beginning, the universe would
behave as a giant nuclear reactor." Valparaiso University, Department of Physics and
Astronomy
"I'll also include what the time is since the creation of the Universe, and an estimate of
the temperature of the Universe at each point." Siobahn M. Morgan, University of
Northern Iowa.
"The Universe is thought to have formed between 6-20 billion years ago (Ga) as a result
of the "Big Bang" Kevin P. Hefferan, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
"The dominant idea of Cosmology is that the Universe had a beginning." Adam Frank,
University of Rochester Department of Physics & Astronomy
"The hot dense phase is generally regarded as the beginning of the universe, and the
time since the beginning is, by definition, the age of the universe." Harrison B. Prosper,
Florida State University
"One of the major hypotheses on which modern cosmology is based is that the Universe
originated in an explosion called the Big Bang, in which all energy (and matter) that
exists today was created." Eric S. Rowland, UC Santa Cruz
"Together with Roger Penrose, I developed a new set of mathematical techniques, for
dealing with this and similar problems. We showed that if General Relativity was correct,
any reasonable model of the universe must start with a singularity. This would mean that
science could predict that the universe must have had a beginning, but that it could not
predict how the universe should begin: for that one would have to appeal to God."
Stephen W. Hawking "Origin of the Universe" lecture
El Universo no es Eterno, Sino que Tuvo un Principio
RELATED PAGES
Book Review: Why the Universe Is the Way It Is by Hugh Ross
The Hope of Atheism and Humanism: The Ultimate Fate of Life, the Universe, and
Everything
Extreme Fine Tuning - Dark Energy or the Cosmological Constant
Evidence for the Fine Tuning of the Universe
The Incredible Design of the Earth and Our Solar System
If God Created Everything, Who Created God?
REFERENCES
1. The Origin-of-Life Prize from the The Origin-of-Life Foundation, Inc..
Today's New Reason to Believe
Integrating Science and Faith
05/13/2011 12:11 AM
Understated Elegance: The Uniqueness of Human Biology
During the international coverage of Prince William and Kate Middletons wedding, I
heard a commentator describe the style of the brides gown as understated
elegance. This phrase is also an apt description of the subtle cellular mechanisms used
to create the extraordinary uniqueness of human biology. Before 2001, scientists
thought human genes would be sufficiently Read more
()
05/11/2011 09:40 AM
Manufacturing the Case for Intelligent Design
I worked for a number of years in research and development for a Fortune 500 company.
Visits to our manufacturing facilities stand out as some of the most memorable
experiences during my tenure. It was truly astounding to watch the massive assembly
lines in operation, generating products I had helped develop in the lab and Read more
()
05/09/2011 09:20 AM
Interpreting Creation, Part 4: Hermeneutical Principles
Both friends and adversaries raise questions about Reasons To Believes apologetics
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methods and hermeneutical principles. This five-part series has been intended to address
those questions. In part 1, I reviewed the different apologetics methods Christian
leaders use and explained why I believe all these methods need to be fully integrated in
apologetics and evangelism ministries. Read more
()
05/06/2011 11:46 AM
Junk DNA: An Outdated Concept, Part 6 (of 6)
I started this article series by retelling an evolutionists claim that the existence of
Alu elements in the human genome is proof of evolution. His hypothesis could be stated
as follows: Supporting statements: Nonfunctional DNA sequences that have the same
location in many species prove that their DNA was inherited through the process
of evolution. Read more
()
05/04/2011 09:25 AM
A Cornucopia of Evidence for Intelligent Design: DNA Packaging of the T4 Virus
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love the food, fellowship, and the chance to reflect
on the abundance of blessings in my life. Im filled with a spirit of gratitude. I
experienced this same feeling of thankfulness after thinking about recent scientific
research from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. These scientists
have Read more
()
05/02/2011 12:01 AM
Interpreting Creation, Part 3: The Scientific Method
In part 1 of this four-part series on Reasons To Believes interpretation methods, I
reviewed the different apologetics methods used by Christian leaders and explained why
I believe all the methods need to be fully integrated in apologetics and evangelism
ministries. In part 2, I described four different classes of models used across the
creation-evolution Read more
()
04/29/2011 01:36 PM
Junk DNA: An Outdated Concept, Part 5 (of 6)
For the last four weeks, this article series has detailed the junk DNA argument against
intelligent design and shown why this argument no longer holds water. Last week, I
focused exclusively on transcription factor binding to Alu elements (a type of so-called
junk DNA once thought to be functionless) because of the critical functions and
Read more
()
04/27/2011 04:36 PM
ATP Synthase Ratchets Up the Case for Intelligent Design
I love reading Shakespeares plays and seeing them performed. One of the things
that fascinates me about the Bards work is his use of dramatic devices such as a
play within a play. He effectively employed this technique in both A Midsummer
Nights Dream and Hamlet as a way to advance the plot, with each Read more
()
04/25/2011 12:01 AM
Interpreting Creation, Part 2: Science-Faith Models
In part 1 of this four-part series on Reasons To Believes apologetics and
hermeneutical methods I reviewed the different apologetics methods used by Christian
leaders. I also explained why I believe all these methods should be used and fully
integrated in our apologetics and evangelism. Here, in part 2, I will briefly describe four
different Read more
()
04/22/2011 09:22 AM
Junk DNA: An Outdated Concept, Part 4 (of 6)
In this series, weve been discussing the use of so-called junk
DNAspecifically Alu elementsas an argument for evolution. In part 1, I explained
why evolutionists might believe that junk DNA is a sound argument and gave an
overview of where we would be going in this series. In part 2, I covered the structure
of Read more
()
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