Origins

• Big Bang Theory

  13.7 billion years ago, everything that existed was compressed into a bubble that was smaller than a pinhead. It was hotter and denser than anything you could imagine, then it expanded rapidly. All time, space and matter was created at this point and the universe was born. In a fraction of a second the universe grew to the size of a galaxy. It kept growing at a fantastic rate and is still expanding.
• Cause of the Big Bang

  In physics, the Big Bang might be caused by the law of nature. Scientists argue that gravity somehow reached a critical point where the singularity "had to explode" and that this universe created itself.
• Strengths of the Big Bang Theory

  • There is a lot of evidence to support it, such as the Red Shift Theory
  • It has been tested by many scientists using the scientific method of observation, hypothesis, experiment and verification, and they all reached the same conclusion, this increases reliability
  • There is no mention or need for God in the theory, therefore it shows us that it's reasonable for an atheist to agree with the statement and conclude that it proves god doesn't exist
• Evidence for the Big Bang Theory

  • Red Shift Theory
  • Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
  • Hydrogen and Helium
• Red Shift

  Discovered by Edwin Hubble, occurs due to the doppler effect, which says that the wavelength of light changes depending on if the wave source is moving toward or away from the detector. Scientists believe that the universe is expanding due to evidence of red shifted light from galaxies that are far away from earth.
• Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)

  The leftover radiation from the start of the universe, it can only be explained by the big bang theory and its discovery made the theory widely accepted.
• The Big Bang Theory

  Tries to explain the nature of things and follows a process of observation and hypothesis
• Stephen Hawking: 'Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.'
• Reasons why people disagree that the Big Bang Theory proves God does not exist

  • Many scientific theories are based on induction so often it's the case that whilst something can be very accurate, it doesn't always mean that it will continue to be the case
  • Many question if the laws of nature existed before the Big Bang, where did they come from?
  • Scientists discovered that the universe is expanding at a much faster rate than anyone expected, which shows that perhaps science doesn't have all of the answers and maybe there are some flaws in their discoveries
• Creationism

  A group of literal Christians who believe that what is written in the bible is the literal word of god, and so cannot be questioned. They believe that Genesis 1 provides an explanation to origins, in which it discusses how God created different aspects of the universe over 6 days, ending with a man and woman, before ending on the 7th day.
• Christian views on the Big Bang Theory

  • Some Christians have no problem in accepting The Big Bang Theory, while others argue that the apparent meaninglessness of the Big Bang explanation is a problem and that the stories do not coincide with what the universe is telling us about its existence
  • Literal Christians would argue that if we have faith in God then we shouldn't question his power and should just accept the stories as they are written, this in itself is an act of faith and is not reliant on evidence
• Compatibility of religion and science

  • Many people will argue that religion and science are both right and that the big bang theory actually needs god. Their explanations are different but not contradicting. They follow different methods which lead to different conclusions, as long as they don't overlap they are compatible. Science explains the physical origins and development whilst religion explains the biblical creation story.
  • Many Christians see the cosmologists helping them to understand how God brought the world into being - the Big Bang could have been the mechanism God used. And there is nothing in the theory itself which proves that there is no such being as God.
  • Some metaphorical Christians might also argue that the theories aren't necessarily compatible, but that they can co-exist side by side as they both explain different aspects of human experience, and so shouldn't be considered in the same way, and some scientists hold this view too.