Did God use the “Big Bang” to create the universe?

Answer

Before the twentieth century, prior to the development of the Big Bang theory, philosophers and scientists debated whether the universe had a beginning. Some argued that it had always existed, being “infinitely old.” This aligned with the worldview of ancient philosophers and the atheism prevalent at that time. Conversely, there were logical reasons to refute the notion of an “infinitely old” universe, such as causality. Throughout most of history, there was no empirical evidence confirming that the universe had a definitive “beginning.” Atheism, in particular, clung to the concept of an “infinitely old” universe to discredit the necessity of God.

This scenario underwent a significant transformation in the first half of the twentieth century, following several discoveries that culminated in the formulation of the Big Bang theory. Despite numerous efforts over several decades by proponents of an eternal universe to rationalize the compelling evidence, their endeavors proved futile. Consequently, secular science provided substantial backing to the biblical creation narrative.

Einstein’s theory of general relativity, unveiled in 1916, proposed that the universe must either be continuously expanding or contracting. Consequently, Einstein introduced a “cosmological constant” into his equations, solely to preserve the potential of a static, eternal universe. Subsequently, Einstein referred to this decision as the “biggest blunder” of his career.

The groundbreaking work of Edwin Hubble in the 1920s confirmed that the universe is indeed expanding. This revelation contradicted Einstein’s cosmological constant and left non-believing astrophysicists dissatisfied. Their discontent was further exacerbated by the insights of Georges Lemaître, a Roman Catholic priest and astronomer. Lemaître observed that the amalgamation of the general theory of relativity and Hubble’s findings implied a commencement. If the universe is presently expanding, then at some point in the past, the entire universe would have been confined within a single point.

At some infinitesimally small point. This concept is fundamental to the Big Bang theory.

In the following decades, physicists attempted to uphold the eternity of the universe by suggesting various theories from the Milne model (1935) to the steady state theory (1948). In many cases, these theories were proposed explicitly due to concerns that a non-eternal universe had religious implications.

The year 1964 marked the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation—something that had been predicted by early Big Bang theorists in the 1940s. Essentially, this discovery established the “beginning” of the universe as an undeniable fact of modern science. The question shifted from “did the universe have a beginning?” to “how did the universe begin?”

The apparent evidence supporting the Big Bang theory, regardless of interpretation, is a remarkable instance of science and theology intersecting. According to objective, empirical science, all space, time, and energy came into existence simultaneously in a single moment: a “beginning.” Prior to this event, there was no time or space. Suddenly, an extremely dense, incredibly hot, minuscule ball of something—everything—emerged somewhere, somehow, for unknown reasons and began expanding rapidly with our entire universe within it. If accurate, the Big Bang theory essentially aligns with the perspective advocated by Judeo-Christianity for millennia.

Astrophysicist Dr. Robert Jastrow articulated this in his book God and the Astronomers (New York: W.W. Norton, 1978, p. 116): “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Why? Jastrow explained in a subsequent interview, “Astronomers now find they have painted themselves into a corner.”

Into a corner because they have proven, by their own methods, that the world began abruptly in an act of creation to which you can trace the seeds of every star, every planet, every living thing in this cosmos and on the earth… That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact” (“A Scientist Caught Between Two Faiths: Interview with Robert Jastrow,” Christianity Today, August 6, 1982, pp. 15, 18).

It is important to note that, prior to the development of the Big Bang theory, disbelief in God was tied closely to the idea of an eternal, uncaused, and uncreated universe. Afterwards, however, non-believers began to claim that these advances in science actually disproved God. What had always been interpreted as clear support for a Creator— and resisted for that very reason— almost overnight turned into the claim that atheists had been right all along.

This attitude, unfortunately, led to a corresponding reaction from the creationist community. Just as many astrophysicists felt that the expanding universe theory was a ploy to inject religion into science, many Christians have come to feel that the Big Bang theory is an effort to undermine the biblical account of creation. Other Christians, however, feel that the Big Bang theory is consistent with the Bible’s account and welcome such compelling evidence for the universe having a beginning.

With that said, it is important to understand that the Big Bang theory is just that— a theory. The exact nature or cause of that “beginning” has not been explicitly proved by empirical science, nor can it be.

Did God use the “Big Bang” to create the universe? The idea itself— that the universe came into existence in an instantaneous expansion— is compatible with biblical creationism, as long as there is recognition that the ingredients and forces of the Big Bang were created by God “out of nothing” see Hebrews 11:3. Scripture only says that God created the heavens and earth.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1), speaking the universe into existence (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3). Could some of the evidence that appears to point to a “big bang” actually be pointing to God’s initial creative act? Possibly.

At the same time, the Big Bang theory, as it is commonly presented by the scientific community, contains atheistic presuppositions and contradicts the biblical creation account. In that sense, no, God did not use the “Big Bang” to create the universe.