The beginning of the universe is the foundational premise for any view of the world. As Christians, our premise is based on the first four words of Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God”. God is the source and cause of all things (John 1:1-3). The Lord has given us the entire creation account in the very first chapter of the very first book.
Everyone has heard of the Big Bang Theory. This theory is popular among many atheists. From the atheist position, the universe started with “In the beginning bang”. Surprisingly, this theory was not developed by atheists. Instead, the theory was developed by predominantly Christian scientists and in particular a Catholic priest and physicist named Georges Lemaître. This theory arose due to observations of the universe expanding. Lemaître’s argument went against the non-religious scientists that argued an infinite universe in regards to its existence. This theory defended the creationist view of a finite universe.
At the time, Lemaître’s theory was only concerned with the start of the universe. It simply argued that the universe had a finite history. The age of the universe wasn’t really addressed and evolution played no part of it. However, through the addition of secular cosmology and evolutionary theory, the Big Bang Theory has reached its current revision.
The Beginning According to the Big Bang Theory
In the beginning, matter and energy was a condensed ball about the size of a marble. In a chance of luck, the marble exploded and in the blink of an eye, expanded to be billions of light years across. Matter and energy were present in the beginning. Therefore, the Big Bang story actually does not tell the account of the beginning of the universe. Where did the matter and energy come from?
In the expansion, the universe heated to billions of degrees. At such a temperature, subatomic particles could not stabilize to form elements. After some 500,000 years, the universe cooled enough for elements such as hydrogen, helium, and lithium started to form. Under these still extreme conditions, these elements began condensing to form stars. Therefore, stars came billions of years before the earth and even the milky way galaxy was formed. The earth and all life on it are actually made from stardust.
The Beginning According to the Bible
Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God” according to the Bible, God is the cause of the universe. Before the beginning, nothing existed outside of God. The universe did not exist. There was no matter or energy. God created everything out of nothing. The Bible records the actual beginning.
Bible believers have to make a decision; whether they will interpret the Bible literally or figuratively. A Biblical literalist is going to take the Bible for what it says. Therefore, Genesis chapter one is interpreted as a chronological account of creation and explains the beginning exactly how it happened. This literal interpretation will include a young earth view of creation. Since the fall of man to now, there have been some 6,000 years. Some Biblical literalists hold to something called the “Gap Theory”, referring to a supposed gap between verses one and two. It allows for a much older earth. However, it creates problems such as death taking place before the fall of Adam.
On the other hand, some choose to interpret Genesis chapter one as figurative. The argument is that the first chapter of the Bible is poetic imagery as opposed to a historical account. Ultimately, it is just a unique way of saying that God made everything.
The Order of Events of the Big Bang
Condensed matter and energy exploded and rapidly expanded. Eventually some stars were formed. Several billion years later, the milky way galaxy formed. Eventually the sun, earth, and other planets formed. After several hundred million years, life spontaneously came into existence. Life has been evolving ever since.
The Order of Events According to Genesis
VV.1-5 - God created heaven, earth, light, day, and night.
There was light, but there was no sun, moon, or stars. Where was the light coming from? Revelation 21:22&23, God himself provided the light!
VV.6-8 - God created the firmament, dividing water and sky.
God is doing all of this with the earth. At this time there is only earth and heaven, the space above the earth.
VV.9-13 - God created dry land and plants.
From the literal interpretation, the plants were all mature and producing fruit in one day of creation. The California redwoods were created mature, having rings already within them.
VV.14-19 - God created lights in heaven.
This is completely contradictory to the Big Bang Theory. According to the theory, stars existed long before the earth. The Bible records that the earth was created first and plants are a day older than the sun, moon, and stars. The Big Bang Theory is not reconcilable with the literal interpretation of Genesis chapter one.
This is where many Christians abandon a literal interpretation of the creation account. They do so because all of the major scientific establishments have bought into this theory. Any scientist (and there are some) that question this theory is immediately excommunicated from the institutions. You are not allowed to challenge this theory.
Secular science has convinced many Christians that a literal interpretation of the Bible is absolutely absurd. As a result, many Christians have been intimidated and persuaded to abandon the literal interpretation. Furthermore, on the surface, the Big Bang Theory doesn’t seem to be a big problem with the Bible. The idea of creation happening with a bang seems plausible. However, a close examination of this theory reveals that it completely contradicts the account of creation in the Bible.
Is there any evidence or reason to take Genesis chapter one literally? The account of creation is very specific. There is a clear order of events. There is a morning and evening for each day. There are times in the Bible in which “day” could be expanded to a longer length of time. However, there is no indication that Genesis intends this to be the proper interpretation. There are plenty of examples of figurative poetry in the Bible. Genesis chapter one is not one of them. It is written as a historical event.
Science has made many claims that have turned out to be completely wrong. They claim the earth is billions of years old and the universe to be 14+ billion years. One of the main reasons is due to light from distant stars. Icarus is one of the farthest known stars. According to calculations, the star is 9 billion light years away. For the light to be reaching earth, the universe has to be tens of billions of years old. Right?
Not according to Genesis 1:16! The stars were created, in their places, with light clearly reaching the earth that very day! The secular scientific institutions are operating under completely wrong assumptions about the universe. No wonder their calculations and theories are so wrong.
Preachers need to man up and start standing on God’s word. Christians don’t need to give one inch. God’s word is God’s word. God has all understanding. Job 38:1-7, who are we to think we have all knowledge?
