The remarkable discovery, announced this week, of ripples in the space-time fabric of the universe rocked the world of science – and the world of religion.
Touted as evidence for inflation (a faster-than-the-speed-of-light
expansion of our universe), the new discovery of traces of gravity waves
affirms scientific concepts in the fields of cosmology, general
relativity, and particle physics.
The new discovery also has significant implications for the
Judeo-Christian worldview, offering strong support for biblical beliefs.
Here's how.
The prevalent theory of cosmic origins prior to the Big Bang theory
was the “Steady State,” which argued that the universe has always
existed, without a beginning that necessitated a cause.
However, this new evidence strongly suggests that there was a beginning to our universe.
If the universe did indeed have a beginning, by the simple logic of
cause and effect, there had to be an agent – separate and apart from the
effect – that caused it.
That sounds a lot like Genesis 1:1 to me: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.”
So this latest discovery is good news
for us believers, as it adds scientific support to the idea that the
universe was caused – or created – by something or someone outside it
and not dependent on it.
Atheist-turned-agnostic astronomer Fred Hoyle, who coined the term
“Big Bang,” famously stated, “A common sense interpretation of the facts
suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics."
As Hoyle saw it, the Big Bang was not a chaotic explosion, but rather
a very highly ordered event – one that could not have occurred by
random chance.
We also need to remember that God reveals himself both through
scripture and creation. The challenge is in seeing how they fit
together. A better understanding of each can inform our understanding of
the other.
It’s not just about cracking open the Bible and reading whatever we
find there from a 21st-century American perspective. We have to study
the context, the culture, the genre, the authorship and the original
audience to understand the intent.
The creation message in Genesis tells us that God created a special
place for humans to live and thrive and be in communion with him; that
God wants a relationship with us, and makes provisions for us to have
fellowship with him, even after we turn away from him.
So, we know that Genesis was never intended to be a detailed
scientific handbook, describing how God created the universe. It imparts
a theological, not a scientific, message.
(Imagine how confusing messages about gravity waves and dark matter might be to ancient Hebrew readers.)
As a modern believer and a scientist, when I look up at the sky on a
clear starry night, I am reminded that “the heavens declare the glory of
God” (Psalm 19:1). I am in awe of the complexity of the physical world,
and how all of its pieces fit together so perfectly and
synergistically.
In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, the writer tells us that God
“established (his) covenant with day and night, and with the fixed laws
of heaven and earth.”
These physical laws established by God to govern interactions between
matter and energy result in a finely tuned universe that provides the
ideal conditions for life on our planet.
As we observe the complexity of the cosmos, from subatomic particles
to dark matter and dark energy, we quickly conclude that there must be a
more satisfying explanation than random chance. Properly practiced,
science can be an act of worship in looking at God’s revelation of
himself in nature.
If God is truly the creator, then he will reveal himself through what
he’s created, and science is a tool we can use to uncover those
wonders.
Leslie Wickman is director of the Center for Research in Science at Azusa Pacific University.Wickman
has also been an engineer for Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space,
where she worked on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and International
Space Station programs. The views expressed in this column belong to
Wickman.
-CNN
0 Comment:
Post a Comment