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Asked by Esha! on 8 Mar 2024. This question was also asked by anon-384287, anon-384250, easy1tan, derm1wry, gray1tee, Soph 👹😈😜.
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Nik Robinson answered on 8 Mar 2024:
I think the Boig Bang has more compelling arguments to support it.
Also being a scientific theory it continues to be developed and changes in light of new discoveries. For instance we know the universe is expanding, but we dont know if it will go on doing that forever (where does the energy come from), or whether it will slow down and stop (the big freeze) or eventually reverse and collapse on itself (the perpetual big bang). Maybe you will find evidence one way or another…
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Erin Pallott answered on 8 Mar 2024:
God creating the Earth is a very diverse set of beliefs that the universe, life and Earth come from divine creation. Some creationists believe life was put here as it is now, but others believe that the universe may have started via the big bang, and in evolution, but still believe in a creator being the force behind these.
So I don’t think these are the only 2 options! The universe may have started from a Big Bang, but a creator could still be behind it. It’s fully outside our comprehension, which for me is what makes it a belief. Some religious beliefs will clash with what we have discovered and think is the truth through research and science, but not all. Many scientists throughout history have been religious, and it’s often described as science being the “how”, and religion being the “why”.
Personally, I believe in what scientific observations suggests towards the universe coming from something like the big bang, but this doesn’t affect whether I think God was involved in creating the universe or not.
One of the first people to theorise the Big Bang was a Catholic priest called Georges Lemaître. He said that science and religion are not in conflict. This was something new I learned while thinking about this answer, which I found so interesting!
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Andrew McDowall answered on 8 Mar 2024:
These two positions need not be in opposition. You can agree with the Big Bang theory and believe God created the world – the creation and activation of a self-unpacking and assembling universe really would be the work of a master craftsman (Ikea take note – self unpacking and assembling furniture please).
There is good scientific evidence going back to the earliest stages of the universe and, whilst we’re still struggling get back to the very earliest moment of existence, the Big Bang is one theory that apears to fit very well with what we can see. The question of what came before the universe is one that is difficult to answer because we operate within the universe with the observable, but there are sevaral ideas about what happened and why, though each in turn just pushes the question of “How did that happen” still further. It’s something some excellent physicists, astronomers and philosphers are working to untangle.
The oppostion comes between literalist and figurative interpretations of scripture. For Abrahamic faiths, is the description of creation in Genesis really what happened, word for word, day by day, or is it a story of what happened written in terms and language that could be understood by those to whom the message was given, a form of parable. A way of imparting a fundamental truth and idea in a way that could be understood without having to explain astrophysics and quantum theory to Bronze Age shepherds.
In this case the conflict is within theology, not necessarily between religion and science.
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Martin McCoustra answered on 8 Mar 2024:
The Big Bang produced the Universe in which we exist. That Universe has evolved significantly from the Big Bang and it evolved according to laws that we understand. It’s does need a god.
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Festus Ejikemeuwa answered on 15 Mar 2024:
I believe that God created the world and all that’s in it.
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Amy Stockwell answered on 15 Mar 2024:
I am an atheist, which means that I do not believe in God.
But many of my religious friends would argue that as we do not know what created the Big Bang, that perhaps it was God. -
Michael Schubert answered on 22 Mar 2024:
Personally, I believe in the Big Bang theory because we have seen a lot of evidence (both mathematical and physical) to support it. Whenever I’m not sure about something, I like to look for the evidence and listen to the experts – that’s how we move science forward.
But, like Andrew said, it’s possible to believe in both. Not everyone believes the same things about God and creation. Some people believe that there was a Big Bang, but that this is the way God (or whatever god or gods they believe in) created the universe. Other people believe that the Bible’s creation story is a metaphor, rather than a literal truth. There are many scientists who believe in God or have a religion – in fact, even Charles Darwin believed in God – so you can do both!
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Comments
Bruno Silvester L commented on :
I love Erin’s explanation!