The Universe, Science, and God: What the Big Bang Really Tells Us

Introduction

What does modern cosmology really say about the origin of the universe, and how does that concern your faith? At a Soirée du 72 event, Daniel Ris, assistant astronomer at the Paris Observatory, walks through a century of discoveries about the Big Bang, its strengths and its limits, then opens up the philosophical and biblical question: if the universe has a beginning and such precise fine-tuning, how should we think about the idea of a Creator God? An accessible overview for believing thoughtfully, without pitting science against the Bible.

Outline of the message

1. How we arrived at the Big Bang: a century of observations

• 1915: Einstein publishes general relativity, which describes gravity as a deformation of space-time by massive objects.
• 1917-1927: first a static model, then the Friedmann and Lemaître models describe an expanding universe starting from a near-zero size.
• 1929: Hubble's law finds that galaxies move away from us faster the farther away they are, as if the entire universe were expanding.
• 1965: discovery of the cosmic microwave background by Penzias and Wilson, this fossil light emitted when the universe was about 380,000 years old.

2. The strengths and difficulties of the model

• Three solid observations support the Big Bang: the expansion of the universe, the cosmic microwave background (an almost perfect black body at 2.73 K), and the abundance of light elements (hydrogen, helium).
• Two theoretical arguments reinforce the idea of a beginning: the entropy of the universe, which is constantly increasing (so an infinitely old universe would be totally disordered), and Olbers' paradox (if the universe were infinite and eternal, the night sky should be uniformly bright).
• Three difficulties remain open: dark matter and dark energy (about 95% of the content of the universe, but never identified in a laboratory) and the Hubble tension between two methods of measuring expansion.
• Two common misunderstandings: the Big Bang is not an explosion in space but the unfolding of space-time itself, and it does not claim to explain where the very dense, very hot initial state came from.

3. The fine-tuning of the universe and the question of meaning

• Several physical constants are adjusted with extreme precision to allow life: the mass of the Higgs boson, the carbon-helium resonance predicted by Hoyle, ratios between fundamental forces.
• The initial rate of expansion would have needed to be tuned to a precision of one chance in 10^55 to allow the formation of stars and galaxies.
• The initial order conditions of the universe, according to Roger Penrose, correspond to a chance of one in 10^10^123: a number greater than if you placed a zero on every particle of the observable universe.
• Two attempted answers: the anthropic principle coupled with the multiverse (unverifiable, and therefore metaphysical), or the Bible, which affirms from its very first verse a Creator God outside of time and space.

4. Big Bang and the Bible: several ways to reconcile them

• The first verse of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," sets God as the first cause, existing by himself and outside of time.
• Some Christians reject the Big Bang in the name of a young-earth reading: Russell Humphreys' white hole theory, John Hartnett's alternative dating convention, or a model where the first three days of Genesis are long periods before the creation of the sun on the fourth day.
• Others accept the Big Bang and an old universe while keeping a literal reading of the creation week, placing it in a recent past after an already ancient universe.
• Whatever position one holds, two observations remain: the universe does seem to have a beginning, and it is remarkably fine-tuned. The biblical notion of a Creator deserves to be taken seriously.

Key takeaways

• The Big Bang is not a religious hypothesis: it is a scientific model backed by a century of converging observations, but one that leaves the big questions of origin open.
• This model does not describe the cause of the universe's beginning, only its evolution from an extremely dense and hot initial state.
• The fine-tuning of the universe (constants, rate of expansion, initial entropy) is a major challenge for any purely materialistic worldview.
• The multiverse is an unverifiable hypothesis that, in reality, moves out of the field of science and into metaphysics.
• The Bible offers a simple and coherent answer: a Creator God, outside of time, capable of fine-tuning the universe for life. Faith and science are not opposed when they answer different questions.

Personal application

1. When you hear about the Big Bang, do you perceive it as a threat to your faith or as an opportunity to reflect on the greatness of the Creator?
2. Are you comfortable distinguishing what science observes (the evolution of the universe) from what it cannot settle (its ultimate origin, its meaning)?
3. What would you do if a skeptical friend asked you why you believe a God is behind such a vast universe? What simple arguments could you share?
4. Are you ready to hold together two convictions: God is the Creator, and science is a valuable tool for exploring his creation?
5. On the question of the age of the universe or the reading of Genesis, are you able to welcome other Christians who don't think exactly like you, without breaking fellowship?

Verses cited

• Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
• Exodus 3:14 - I am who I am.
• 2 Peter 3:8 - With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
• Psalm 139:17 - How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
• Hebrews 11:3 - By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.

Further reading

• What Is Spiritual Maturity?
• What Is Christian Discipleship?
• What Is Christian Service?

Frequently asked questions

Can a Christian believe in the Big Bang?

Yes, and it is even a position held by many Christians engaged in the sciences. The Big Bang describes how the universe evolved from a very dense, very hot initial state, but it says nothing about the cause of that beginning. The first verse of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," can very well be read as the theological affirmation of who is behind that beginning, without contradicting what cosmology observes.

What is the fine-tuning of the universe, and why is it an argument for God?

Fine-tuning refers to the fact that many physical constants (particle masses, fundamental forces, initial rate of expansion, initial entropy) are adjusted with extraordinary precision to allow for the existence of stars, galaxies, and life. Some of these adjustments reach a precision of one chance in 10^55, or even 10^10^123 according to Roger Penrose's calculations. This is not automatic proof of God, but it is a fact that calls for an explanation. The multiverse is one possible answer but is unverifiable; the Creator God of the Bible is another, one that is coherent and theologically sound.

Do we have to choose between a universe 13.8 billion years old and a literal reading of Genesis?

Several positions exist among evangelical Christians. Some hold to a young earth and propose alternative models (Russell Humphreys' white hole, John Hartnett's dating convention). Others accept the scientific age of the universe and read the creation week either as long periods or as a more recent week set within an already ancient universe. The debate is open and legitimate among Christians; it should not break fraternal fellowship. What remains essential is that God is indeed the Creator of all things.