Cosmological Evidence For God
Kevin Simington
In my post 2 weeks ago, I briefly outlined some of the remarkable discoveries in Cosmology in the 20th century which have revolutionised the way we view the universe; discoveries such as extrapolations from Einstein’s theory of relativity regarding an expanding universe, Hubble’s red-shifted galaxies, the discovery of residual Cosmic Background Microwave radiation, and other discoveries. Previously, scientists assumed that the universe has simply always existed, but modern discoveries have led to the astounding conclusion that the universe had a beginning; that, in fact, it came into existence from nothing. As Stephen Hawking stated,
“All the evidence seems to indicate, that the universe has not existed forever, but that it had a beginning. This is probably the most remarkable discovery of modern cosmology…. This is a profound change in our picture of the universe and of reality itself.” (http://www.hawking.org.uk/the-origin-of-the-universe.html)
The result of this seismic shift in our understanding of the universe has had a profound impact on the worldview of scientists. There is now a huge logical conundrum facing scientists who hold an atheistic worldview; because the universe can’t simply pop into existence by itself. Nothing can’t become something unless Someone creates it.
Dr. Robert Jastrow, astronomer, physicist and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies, states,
“Astronomers now find they have painted themselves 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. And they have found that all this happened as a product of forces they cannot hope to discover. That there are what I or anyone would call supernatural forces at work is now, I think, a scientifically proven fact.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Jastrow)
Similarly, Dr. James Clerk Maxwell, physicist and mathematician, who is credited with formulating classical electromagnetic theory and whose contributions to science are considered to be of the same magnitude to those of Einstein and Newton, stated,
“Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter itself out of nothing. We have reached the utmost limit of our thinking faculties when we have admitted that because matter cannot be eternal and self-existent it must have been created.” (“James Clerk Maxwell; Perspectives on His Life and Work”, Oxford University Press, 2014, p.274)
Commenting on the growing number of scientists who now concede that the universe must have had a supernatural cause, astrophysicist, Dr. Hugh Ross, Director of Observations at Royal Astronomical Society, Vancouver, states;
“Astronomers who do not draw theistic or deistic conclusions are becoming rare, and even the few dissenters hint that the tide is against them. Geoffrey Burbidge, of the University of California at San Diego, complains that his fellow astronomers are rushing off to join ‘the First Church of Christ of the Big Bang.’” (Dr Hugh Ross, “The Creator and The Cosmos”, Navpress, 2001, pp.108-112).
In other words, there is a growing tide of scientists, at the top of their fields, who, when confronted with the mounting cosmological evidence, are conceding that the only logical explanation for the origin of the universe, is that there must have had a supernatural cause. Nature cannot create itself; therefore the cause had to have been something outside of nature – a transcendent “supernatural” cause. This does not mean that all the scientists in the world are suddenly becoming Christians. There is a big step from believing in a supernatural cause of some kind, to believing in the God of the Bible. But for the first time in a long time, the scientific community has conceded the very real possibility of the existence of supernatural forces that lie beyond the realm of scientific study.
Dr. Hugh Ross states;
“All the data accumulated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries tell us that a transcendent Creator must exist. For all the matter, energy, nine space dimensions, and even time, each suddenly and simultaneously came into being from some source beyond itself. Likewise, it is valid to refer to the Creator as transcendent, for the act of causing these effects must take place outside or independent of them.” (IBID)
Of course, this is not the impression that continues to be dished up to us by the media. The humanist movement has a stranglehold on the popular press. Scientists with aggressive atheistic agendas dominate the airwaves, and their well-financed documentaries continue to pump out the message that science has a natural explanation for everything. The impression is given that the new god of science has all the answers sewn up. But scientists who are at the cutting edge of their fields know that this is not so. Those who are studying these things at depth are coming face-to-face with undeniable evidence of a transcendent, supernatural reality that underpins our entire universe. The tide is turning, and it’s not just a trickle. The previously quoted complaint of Dr. Geoffrey Burbidge, of the University of California at San Diego, that his fellow astronomers are “rushing off to join the First Church of Christ of the Big Bang” indicates how widespread this new spiritual awareness is within the scientific community. (Dr Hugh Ross, “The Creator and The Cosmos”, Navpress, 2001, pp.108-112).
Do you believe in a transcendent God who created the universe? If so, you can hold your head up high. There is no need to apologise for your faith, because the physical universe, itself, overwhelmingly supports that belief. As Albert Einstein said, “The more I study science, the more I believe in God”. Max Born, the German physicist, who won the Nobel Prize for Science in 1954, said; “Those who say that the study of science must make a person an atheist must be rather silly people.”
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the stars proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1)
For more detailed information, see my book, “Finding God When He Seems To Be Hiding”, available from my website, SmartFaith.net.
