I first heard Dr. Lawrence Krauss describe the Big Bang Theory regarding the origin of the universe on an afternoon radio program. The topic was strictly scientific and there was no reference to God or religion. Later, in my search for more information on the subject, I came across one of Dr. Krauss’ most popular books, A Universe From Nothing.
Did I read that right? A Universe From Nothing? With a title like that, I thought, “Wow, this guy must be a Christian. Who else would pick that kind of a title? Only a like-minded scientist who has discovered the incredible connection between what we now theorize about the first moments of the universe and what the Bible describes as God creating the world out of nothing.” I could not have been further from the truth regarding Dr. Krauss’ religious affiliation – or more precisely – his lack thereof.
Dr. Lawrence Krauss is an atheist. Dr. Krauss’ book is as much an anti-religious pamphlet as it is a science textbook. His idea is that the universe came from nothing. Exactly nothing. No God. No Creator. No nothing. And, in my opinion, he could not be more off base.
So how do two scientists look at the same Big Bang theory and draw such opposite conclusions. It all starts with our presuppositions. I believe in the supernatural. I believe that a world exists outside of our five senses; a world we experience by our spirit and by God’s revelation. In that world, the Big Bang theory of instantaneous creation fits what we would expect from a God who spoke the world into existence by the power of His word. It is a world that theists – believers in God – are comfortable in.
Dr. Krauss, and many scientists like him, have created a world with no room for the supernatural. It is a world of creation and order only dictated by natural processes. And to be honest, it is a world that can be constructed from today’s theories and observations. I just don’t find it to be the best fit for all that we experience and observe. But it can be done.
As a Christian scientist, I am quite comfortable with both a supernatural beginning to our world and supernatural interventions that go against the natural flow. I believe God has ordered the world such that it generally works along the lines of scientifically understood processes. And that might lead one to conclude that it has always been this way.
But thinking along this path of every explanation being a natural one ignores the strong evidence that on many occasions God has supernaturally intervened in our world. In pre-historic time with the creation of man and woman, in ancient time when He sent His Son Jesus to dwell with us, throughout history as God built His church around the world, and in future time when Jesus returns to earth.
The bottom line is this. Don’t let the naturalists chip away at your faith. They are the small thinkers, confining everything to a small box of natural processes. They are living in a fantasy world of their own creation. They reject the possibility that “something” coming from “nothing” might mean there is a “Someone”. I have met the “Someone” as I think most of you have as well.
We are the big thinkers. We are the ones embracing both tangible and intangible reality. We are the ones willing to accept a supernatural intervention into our world. So don’t let these smooth-talking naturalists have the last word. Brilliant, but Godless, scientists may be able to unravel the scientific mysteries of the universe, but they are not the ones to look to for the complete theological picture.
Now another reason believing and non-believing scientists might go on divergent paths when faced with the same data has to do with our opinion about the earth. To the skeptic, Earth is just one of billions of random planets. But when they say this, they are ignorant of some pretty special features about our planet; features that make it uniquely tuned for life. Something we would expect from our life-giving Creator. We will talk about it next time as we search for Earth 2.0.