Images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have renewed discussions of the age of the universe. Stars and forces measuring 13.6 billion light years from the earth are said to be within 200 million years of the Big Bang (“What Is the James Webb Space Telescope?”, spaceplace.nasa.gov).
NASA explains, “The big bang is how astronomers explain the way the universe began. It is the idea that the universe began as just a single point, then expanded and stretched to grow as large as it is right now — and it is still stretching!” (“What is the Big Bang?”, spaceplace.nasa.gov).
Did God create the universe with a Big Bang from which our present universe (including humans) came into being over billions and billions of years?
No, not according to the Bible. One cannot simultaneously believe the Big Bang theory and the Bible’s account of creation for a few reasons.
- First, the Big Bang theory does not account for the origin of matter. It does not answer the question of origins but only postulates what happened to matter that already existed. Yet, matter is not eternal. It had a beginning. Science does not and cannot answer how matter originated.
- Second, the Bible account of creation accounts for the origin of the physical universe. It declares God existed before it and created it (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3). God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence (Psalm 33:6-9).
- Third, the days of creation contradict the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang demands billions of years to form and expand the universe, the earth, and all life. However, the Bible speaks clearly of an “evening and morning” as it enumerates the six days of creation (Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). Those who use science to interpret the Bible say the days of Genesis 1 are long eons of time (millions and millions of years). By rejecting the 24-hour days of creation, they reject the inspiration of God’s Word.
Those who use the Bible to appreciate the natural world find the harmony that exists between science and revealed truth.
Hugh Ross, astrophysicist and author of “Why the Universe is the Way that It Is”, is a proponent of God using the Big Bang theory to create the universe. He says “days” in Genesis 1 must be ages or God is lying to us (Biblical Evidence for Long Creation Days). Other brethren have made that claim as well. Ross says to conclude God created the universe with the appearance of age makes God a liar since the heavens speak of God’s glory and handiwork (Psalm 19:1; 104:1-35). Both the Old and New Testaments declare God cannot lie. We agree with Ross on that (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). The physical world declares God’s power and divinity (Jeremiah 51:15; Romans 1:20).
Did God lie to us when Adam was fully mature when first created? Adam appeared to be much older than he was from the moment his life began (Genesis 2:7-8). He was able to be assigned the tending and keeping of the garden (2:15). Like others, Ross assumes the physical world is as ancient as it looks. This assumption denies the Bible’s account of creation and forms the basis for measuring the duration of the universe’s existence by measuring its distance.
Finally, Jesus rejected the Big Bang theory. He said, “From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). The beginning of creation is not billions of years after the “Big Bang” when humans evolved from lower life forms — or did Jesus also lie to us? The Big Bang creation model promoted by Hugh Ross is the real lie. We believe in God’s Word, which says God created the heavens and the earth with a word, not a bang. The fantastic images from space confirm our Creator’s enormity, power, wisdom, and providence.
Adapted from Joe Price
