Big Bang Cosmology Is Consistent With Scripture?
The scientific belief that everything in the universe came from nothing before there was a "Big Bang," or a moment of creation, is something that all Christians and scientists can agree on, says a leading Christian apologist. Also, J. Warner Wallace argues that the primary premise of Big Bang Cosmology, that everything came from nothing, is consistent with Scripture.
"There are good scientific reasons to believe, good evidential reasons to believe that all space, time, and matter have a beginning. This idea that everything (space, time, and matter) came from nothing is the foundational premise of Big Bang Cosmology," Wallace told The Christian Post. "It turns out that the primary proposal is absolutely consistent with what we see in Scripture – that God has created everything from nothing and that moment of Creation is something that I see as having good evidence to support such a thing from Big Bang Cosmology."
Wallace, who recently released his book, Cold-Case Christianity, said that there are some churches that have a certain view of the earth or the Creation model and for whatever reason are hesitant to embrace even the notion of Big Bang Cosmology.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
"If you boil it down to its essence, it is that everything came from nothing and I think that is a premise that most of us Christians would affirm," he said. "A Christian view of Creation and Big Bang Cosmology do not conflict."
Wallace explained that typically, Christians that hold onto a "young earth" model of Creation have a problem with resolving the age of the universe with Big Bang Cosmology because it implies that the universe is billions of years old.
"From my perspective that's a separate argument," he said.
"That the universe came from nothing is a point of agreement between Christians and scientists who embrace Big Bang Cosmology. This is one area in which both of us can agree. We may differ and argue about the age of the universe, that some Christians accept an ancient age of the universe and they would have no problem with the dating of the universe," Wallace continued. "Other Christians would say, 'No, I believe in a younger universe,' and we can have that argument. But the issue about whether or not everything came from nothing is a point of agreement between what science shows us and what the Scriptures reveal."
He also argues that simply because he acknowledges Big Bang Cosmology does not mean he is affirming all scientific "natural answers" to questions about the earth and universe.
"I am not saying that when I embrace Big Bang Cosmology that I can only find answers that are described by physical laws, physical causes," Wallace said. "There are many causes that are supernatural. God is involved in the creative process, period."
The question becomes, "What is sufficient to cause the beginning of all space, time, and matter?"
"It seems to me that 'thing' would have to be awfully powerful," Wallace said. "What we see as the result of science looking at issues such as the second law of thermal dynamics, the cosmic background radiation that we see in the universe, … These are things that point to a past and a beginning... and more and more people are willing to accept [this premise].
"That, to Christians, should sound familiar because that is what we see in Genesis 1 where God brings into existence everything from nothing."
He adds, "It's reasonable to say that big bangs require big bangers. What we are really saying is that the big banger here is God."
Wallace, who is a cold-case homicide detective and once a devout atheist, is one of several Christian apologists scheduled to speak and participate in panel discussions at Stand To Reason's 20th Anniversary Conference at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., this coming weekend. He became a Christ follower in 1996, and took an evidential approach to truth as he examined the Christian worldview. He earned a Master's Degree in Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Wallace is a "Christian case maker" at Stand to Reason.
Wallace's most recent blog post on Big Bang Cosmology can be found by clicking here.
