Summary:
The claim that the universe had a beginning is founded on credible, empirical evidence.
Due to the overwhelming amount of evidence, many consider this claim the final word in cosmology[REF-PUR01].
Description:
The claim that the universe had a beginning is founded on credible, empirical evidence from a largely secular scientific community.
This evidence covers a broad range of cosmological areas including cosmic background radiation, energy dispersion and conservation, and residual light waves.
Summary of Key Evidence
The discoveries of the late 19th and 20th centuries demonstrate that the universe has a
singularity beginning.
These discoveries are depicted in the following timeline.
Cosmological Timeline of Key Discoveries
The following is a summary of the key evidence.
Singularity Beginning -
The universe had a singularity beginning when time, space, and matter came into existence simultaneously.
This fact is evidenced by the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson [COS-EV10].
This singularity beginning is further evidenced by numerous mathematical theories, models, and proofs.
Most notable are Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity [COS-EV05],
Alexander Friedman and Georges LeMaître's Big Bang model [COS-EV03], and finally,
Arvind Borde, Alan Guth and Alexander Vilenkin's mathematical proof [COS-EV01].
This singularity beginning of time, space, and matter is described in the book of Genesis.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
In other words, at the beginning of time God created space and matter.
In the book of Hebrews, the author makes clear that God supernaturally
created time, space, and matter out of nothing.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God,
so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3 ESV)
Universe Expansion -
The universe is expanding in terms of space.
This fact is evidenced by the discovery of the Red Shift Distance
where light waves from distant galaxies appeared to be redder than expected [COS-EV02].
Hubble discovered that the red shift of light waves increased in direct proportion to the distance the
galaxies are located away from the original cosmic explosion or singularity point.
This discovery demonstrates that the physical boundaries of space are continually expanding.
This expansion of the universe is described in the book of Psalms.
You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens. (Psalm 104:2)
Expansion is likened to stretching the starry curtain or outer boundary of space, much like stretching the
skin of a balloon as it is inflated.
Fine Tuning -
The universe is precisely fine tuned.
This fact is evidenced by the discovery of the Great Galaxy Seeds
where matter coalesced over time to form planetary objects and galaxies [COS-EV14].
The gravitational attractions in the universe are so fine tuned that matter neither implodes nor explodes.
This fine tuning of the universe is described in the book of Psalms.
This is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change
my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky. (Psalm 104:2)
This passage make it clear that God instituted physical laws that govern and sustain the universe.
It also states that these laws are constant and immutable, as are the promises God
made to the nation of Israel.
Progressive Change -
The universe is marked by progressive change since the singularity beginning.
With the discovery of the Second Law of Thermodynamics [COS-EV06],
scientists have observed that matter is becoming disordered or unstructured.
More specifically, the energy that binds matter together is dispersing over time resulting in an increase in heat
throughout the universe.
This implies that the universe is trending toward a final state of heat death.
Progressive change is also seen in the gradual shift in light waves as the universe continues
to expand.
The more the universe expands, the more the waveforms of light increased.
Most notable is the relationship between the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR) and
the Hubble cosmological Red Shift Distance discoveries [COS-EV10][COS-EV02].
Taken together, these discoveries are regarded as the best available evidence for the Big Bang theory.
CMBR bears witness to the remnant radiation of a dense and hot phase in the early universe.
Red shift bears witness to the expansion of the space boundaries in the universe..
Measurements of the CMBR have made the Inflationary Big Bang theory the standard model of cosmology in most scientific circles [REF-SCT01].
This further curtailed any interest in alternative theories such as the Steady State Theory[REF-PUR01][REF-SSM01].
Observations
Collectively, this evidence demonstrates unequivocally that the universe had a singularity beginning where time, space and matter came into being simultaneously.
Einstein's law, Friedman-LeMaître's Big Bang model, and Borde-Guth-Vilenkin's mathematical theorem
demonstrate a singularity beginning of time.
Penzias-Wilson's discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation,
the discovery Great Galaxy Seeds of the universe,
and Hubble's law
demonstrate a singularity beginning of space.
Finally, the Second Law of Thermodynamics demonstrates a singularity beginning of matter.
Resources:
Building Belief: Constructing Faith from the Ground Up (REF-CVM01)
Cold-Case Christianity (REF-JWW01)
Does God Exist? (REF-WLC01)
Frame of the Universe: A History of Physical Cosmology (REF-PUR01)
Reasons to Believe (REF-RTB01)
Steady State Model (REF-SSM01)
The Singularities of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology (REF-HAWK01)
The Standard Cosmological Model: A Skeptic's Guide (REF-SCT01)
×Resource ID: REF-JWW01 Resource: Cold-Case Christianity Authors: J. Warner Wallace Publisher: David C Cook Publish Date: 2013 ISBN 10: 978-1-4347-0469-6 Page: 62-64
×Resource ID: REF-WLC01 Resource: Does God Exist? Authors: William Lane Craig Publisher: Reasonable Faith Publish Date: 12/2013 Page: 73-94 URL:Click Here
×INFLATIONARY BIG BANG: Inflation is a theory of exponential expansion of space in the early universe. The inflationary epoch lasted from 10-36 seconds after the Big Bang singularity to sometime between 10-33 and 10-32 seconds after the singularity. Following the inflationary period, the Universe continues to expand, but at a less rapid rate. Wikipedia ...
×Resource ID: REF-RTB01 Resource: Reasons to Believe Authors: Hugh Ross URL:Click Here
×Resource ID: REF-CVM01 Resource: Building Belief: Constructing Faith from the Ground Up Authors: Chad V. Meister Publisher: WIPF and STOCK Publishers Publish Date: 5/2009 ISBN 10: 1-60608-799-1 ISBN 13: 978-1-60608-799-2 Page: 69-90
×Resource ID: REF-HAWK01 Resource: The Singularities of Gravitational Collapse and Cosmology Authors: S. W. Hawking, R. Penrose Publisher: Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences Publish Date: January 1970 ISBN 10: Published 27 January 1970.DOI: 10.1098/rspa.1970.0021 URL:Click Here
×Resource ID: REF-SCT01 Resource: The Standard Cosmological Model: A Skeptic's Guide Authors: Scott, Douglas Publisher: CornelL University Publish Date: 2018 URL:Click Here
×STEADY STATE THEORY: The Steady State theory is an alternative to the Big Bang model of the evolution of the universe. In the steady-state theory, the density of matter in the expanding universe remains unchanged due to a continuous creation of matter. While the steady state model enjoyed some popularity in the mid-20th century, it is now rejected by the vast majority of cosmologists, astrophysicists and astronomers, as the observational evidence points to a hot Big Bang cosmology with a finite age of the universe, which the Steady State model does not predict. Wikipedia ...
×Resource ID: REF-PUR01 Resource: Frame of the Universe: A History of Physical Cosmology Authors: Durham, Frank; Purrington, Robert D. Publisher: Columbia University Press Publish Date: 1983 ISBN 10: ISBN 0-231-05393-2
×Resource ID: REF-SSM01 Resource: Steady State Model Authors: Wikipedia Publisher: Wikipedia URL:Click Here
×COSMOLOGY: The science of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which brings together observational astronomy and particle physics. Wikipedia ...
