If the choice we have is to believe in the blank nothingness of space or a father in the sky, which one should we choose? I think nowadays a lot of people would say, “I will trust science.” But what do we do when the science keeps changing, is uncorroborated or contradictory, and no two scientists can agree?
There are dozens of possible scientific theories for how the universe began. Not all of them may be right, but the most popular is known as The Big Bang. To describe what this entails, I’ll take an analogy: Imagine a bomb explodes in an empty field and the falling debris produces a mansion. What are the possibilities? Some math genius somewhere calculated the probability of that happening. It is a huge number. In fact, the big bang as an explanation for creation is less likely than the same person winning the lottery five times in a row. However, this is the default position of creation science. This is not as surprising as it seems; it is perfectly possible to produce correct mathematical equations that do not correspond precisely to reality; just look at Zeno’s paradoxes. We must be careful with theories based on pure mathematical structures.
So if we don’t have the definitive scientific data to give us the answers we seek, what can we do? Maybe we can use our senses and emotions to guide us. That feel good? There is nothing wrong with this method. Our instincts can be surprisingly accurate. For example, we can all agree on things that are beautiful, wonderful, and equally on things that scare or baffle us. When the sun rises each morning and sets at night; when we look at the stars; when we study the perfection of nature around us and the endless cycle of death and rebirth; when we stand on the seashore and watch the waves hit the beach with a constant and repeated rhythm, their relaxing sound calms our nerves; When we watch birds and animals go about their days, living lives that somehow seem predetermined, knowing exactly what they need to do to survive and have fun, in silent obedience to secret laws, what does our instinct tell us? Are we to believe that all this, the laws and codes built into the core of living things, have somehow come about by chance? Or is it like something that has been carefully designed? it does feel Isn’t it true that out of nothing, out of a vacuum, the universe became the wonder we know today? On the contrary, if we look at our planet and think, “this is really beautiful” then that judgment suggests a carefully crafted aesthetic.
The Big Bang theory is just one option among many and it happens to be the most popular, backed by high-profile scientists. But it contradicts several laws of physics, including that of not being able to produce energy from scratch. It also assumes that nature can, of its own accord, invoke order out of chaos, as in the example I gave of the bomb in the field. Actually, in everything that concerns nature, the law seems to be the opposite, that order descends to disorder; things deteriorate. Is called entropy. Once a piece of fruit is cut from its branch, the rotting process begins. It would be surprising if it happened the other way around. The key enabler in decomposition is Time. Age corrupts and destroys. Only if we were able to eliminate Time from the equation could the process stop. Traveling backwards along this trajectory of self-annihilation suggests that there was a time when all was well and at its best and that the earth began from a point of perfection. Believing in a universe that simultaneously expands in a uniquely logical way while decaying towards rot is strangely inconsistent.
So what other options do we have in the face of the mysteries of creation? As children we were taught to pray, “Our father who art in Heaven…” This is the simple first line of the Our Father which, in adults and children alike, for thousands of years inspired devotion, self-confidence and faith. But these days he’s rarely heard outside of church, he’s brushed aside at best as a religious trope, at worst as offensive to rational people. However, if we let our feelings guide us, it doesn’t seem so strange and is perhaps a better way to explain the origins of the universe. I can easily imagine some place beyond the processes of earthly Time, where things recede and from which they are made and allowed to grow. After all, every night we are plunged into a dreamlike state, a mysterious place filled with characters and action that we still have no control over and that seems as real as life.
The first line of the Lord’s Prayer in six words may well contain all we need to know about this supernatural place and the being that inhabits it. As always with the Bible, the words have been carefully chosen to impart meaning and real meaning. “Father” it tells us that the creative force behind the universe is more than just a simple mathematical equation; he is as real as we are and full of love for us, like a very good father. “Art” it is in the present tense, which means that it is not something that we can relegate to the dark and distant past, or something that we look forward to in the future, but rather that it is alive now and ever present. AND “Darling” it describes another plane of existence, one that we can only imagine, that is full of hope, light and joy together with the father. How comforting to know that any problems that life presents us are only obstacles to test our resilience and determination on the road to Heaven, to know that at the end of life there is not the non-existence of nothing, but a real and happy coexistence. existence in eternity with friends and family.
The fact is that whether we choose science or the Bible on the question of our origins requires a leap of faith. It’s not a choice between fact and fiction, but between what feels good and what doesn’t. In other words, it is up to us to trust our hearts and minds and not be swayed by false words and abstract theories. For me personally, God as Designer of our Universe remains powerfully compelling and a pillar of my faith. What tranquility there is in this; Your father on earth may leave you and you may never hear from him again, but you have a father in heaven who never leaves you.
While science has its place in helping us understand the physical nature of our world, it may be a long time before it can explain the mysteries of life itself. Until then, faith is required. A miracle is something that does not obey the normal course of things and the big bang theory, if true, would have to be classified as such an unusual event. Science as it stands cannot fully explain things outside of our physical realm. E=mc² it only works within a recognizable space-time continuum, and may still need to be adjusted to account for the amazing new properties being discovered all the time in particles many millions of times smaller than an electron—things that Einstein could hardly have imagined.
Science changes and adapts over time, but the truth does not. When we say, “Our father who art in Heaven” we are expressing something that has no beginning or end, but is timeless. According to the theories, that possesses as much credibility as anyone.