Is the universe eternal?

Answer

The Bible clearly states that the universe is not eternal; it had a beginning, and that beginning was its creation by God: (Genesis 1:1). This fact has been challenged by philosophers and pseudo-scientists who have proposed various theories to try to demonstrate the eternal nature of the universe. Additionally, atheists argue that matter and energy are eternal, citing the first law of thermodynamics: “Energy can be transformed (changed from one form to another), but it can neither be created nor destroyed.”

From a philosophical perspective, why does something exist rather than nothing at all? If the universe had a beginning, it must have a cause and therefore cannot be eternal. All available evidence indicates that the universe had a beginning, a truth that is not well-received by naturalists and atheists. Many scientifically inclined atheists have sought ways to circumvent the scientific fact that the current order of nature had a beginning. However, there is no such loophole. Here are five arguments supporting the idea that the universe is not eternal:

(1) The universe is gradually losing energy, and anything that is losing energy must have had a starting point. The second law of thermodynamics affirms that the universe is depleting its usable energy, a concept evident in the aging process (as seen in yourself and everything else).

(2) The universe is expanding, a fact confirmed long ago by the Hubble telescope. It is noteworthy that the universe is expanding from a single point, suggesting the potential for the entire universe to contract back into a single point. It is also important to understand that the universe is not expanding into space; rather, space itself is expanding.

(3) The cosmic microwave background radiation is uniform in every direction, indicating a point of origin and supporting the idea of a beginning.ho was discovered by Bell Labs scientists in 1965. The radiation echo is thought to be the heat afterglow from the Big Bang. Its discovery dealt a death blow to any theory of the universe being in a steady state because it shows instead that the universe had a spectacularly dynamic beginning—easily associated with God’s creative act.

(4) Galaxy Seeds. Scientists believe that, if the Big Bang is true (first, there was nothing, then, BANG, something came into being), then temperature “ripples” should exist in space, and it would be these ripples that enabled matter to collect into galaxies. To discover whether these ripples exist, the Cosmic Background Explorer – COBE – was launched in 1989 to find them, with the findings being released in 1992. What COBE found was perfect and precise ripples that, sure enough, enable galaxies to form. So critical and spectacular was this finding that the NASA lead for COBE said, “If you’re religious, it’s like looking at God.”

(5) Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity means that the universe had a beginning and was not eternal as he had previously believed (Einstein was originally a pantheist). His theory proved that the universe is not a cause, but instead one big effect—something brought it into existence. Einstein disliked his end result so much that he introduced a “fudge factor” into his theory that allowed for an eternal universe. But there was only one problem. His fudge factor required a division by zero in his calculations—a mathematical error any good math student knows not to make. When discovered by other mathematicians, Einstein admitted his error, calling it “the greatest blunder of my life.” After his acknowledgment, and upon confirming further research that showed the universe expanding just as his theory of relativity predicted, Einstein bowed to the fact that the universe is not eternal and said that he wanted “to know how God created the world.”

Further, it should be understood that every effect must resemble its cause. This is because,Simply put, you cannot give what you do not have, so it is impossible for an effect to possess something its originating cause did not have. That being the case, how can one believe that an impersonal, amoral, purposeless, and meaningless universe accidentally created beings that are full of personality, morals, meaning, and purpose? Only mind can create mind. In the end, it is either matter before mind or mind before matter, and all scientific, philosophical, and reasonable evidence points to the latter.

In conclusion, we find that all scientific evidence points to the fact that the universe had a beginning, just as the Bible states, and that a Cause must exist that resembles all we know today. As Lord Kelvin, a British scientist once said, “If you study science deeply enough and long enough, it will force you to believe in God.”