The Origin of the Universe
The physical universe has not always existed; it had a definite beginning.
Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, the COBE satellite, and other sources all provide strong evidence that the physical universe is expanding from an initial beginning; a creation event - the so-called Big-Bang.
Scientists also embrace Einstein’s theory of relativity which states that time is only defined within the physical universe of matter and energy. Time does not exist without the physical universe; time also had its beginning at the Big Bang.
The Bible clearly declares God as the Creator of the universe. And in the 4th century, sixteen hundred years before Einstein, Augustine suggested that God, as the Creator, must also be outside of time and space. This is echoed in the Bible (see 2 Peter 3:8b).
Now, since around Darwin’s time, a basic axiom of modern science has been that science explains natural phenomena using only natural laws; i.e. without evoking the supernatural. But the natural laws did not exist before the beginning; they came into being at the “Big Bang” in an extra (i.e. super) natural way.
Scientists examine the present state of the universe and mentally run time in reverse to visualize the state of the universe close to the creation event. But science can only present evidence showing that the universe had a beginning; it cannot identify the method of birthing. Without physical laws or accessibility, explaining the “first cause” or “prime-mover” of the origin requires entering a domain inexplicable by modern science.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (NIV)
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 (NIV)
