Big-Bang Evidence: 'Much Ado About Nothing' or 'Breakthrough?'
Scientists recently announced that they have found the best evidence supporting the theory that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, but the founder of the largest creation ministry in the country says the discovery is "much ado about nothing." Meanwhile, the founder of a science-faith think tank said "the significance of these findings is huge."
On March 16, physicists said they have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The discovery-which involves an analysis of variations in the brightness of microwave radiation-is the first direct evidence to support the two-decade-old theory that the universe went through what is called inflation.
Researchers found the evidence for inflation by looking at a faint glow that permeates the universe. That glow, known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB), was reportedly produced when the universe was about 300,000 years old-long after inflation had done its work.
Physicists presented new measurements of those variations during a news conference at Princeton University. The measurements were made by a spaceborne instrument called the Wilkinson Microwave Anistropy Probe, or WMAP, launched by NASA in 2001, the AP reported.
However, evangelist Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), told New Man that "although most secular astronomers believe that the CMB is the result of a big bang, there is really no reason to believe this."
He noted that big-bang supporters believe that tiny fluctuations in the CMB eventually became stars and galaxies. But such an idea comes from a belief in the big bang, and there is really no independent evidence to support this, Ham added.
"This is really much ado about nothing," said Ham, a former high-school biology teacher who travels the nation speaking at churches colleges, private schools and rotary clubs. "There are actually many different models of the big bang, each of which requires different parameters for the CMB. The latest WMAP results are roughly consistent with one of these big-bang models.
"However, if WMAP had obtained a different result, the secular astronomers would simply have picked the model that was most consistent," he added. "In other words, no matter what WMAP would have found, big-bang supporters would have claimed that it supports the big bang. As such, it really doesn't prove anything. The latest WMAP results are fully consistent with biblical creation, as we share on our Web site, AnswersInGenesis.org."
But Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist who believes that each day mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis was a longer period of time, said the Bible taught the big bang first. Unlike Ross, Ham and other creationists believe God created the universe and all its creatures in six 24-hour days, roughly 6,000 years ago.
"The significance of these [WMAP] findings is huge," Ross, founder of Reasons To Believe (RTB), said on his Web site, reasons.org. "This breakthrough goes a long way toward weeding out a particular set of big-bang models designed to get around the need for a transcendent personal Creator.
"As the WMAP continues to soak up light it will reveal even more about how the universe came to be," Ross added. "This data will be instrumental in verifying or falsifying the testable creation model my colleagues and I have been developing the last several years."
Ross studied distant galaxies and quasars while doing his post-doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. He sees the WMAP confirmation of cosmic inflation as further support for the RTB creation model.
"Scientific discoveries of this caliber add further evidence for the biblical account of creation-a continuously expanding universe exquisitely and deliberately fine-tuned for life," Ross said.
Ham, though, believes the big bang is expressly taught against in the Bible.
"The scriptures say that the Earth was created first in Genesis 1:1, the first day of creation, and then the sun was created on the fourth creation day, Genesis 1:16," explained Ham, who is building the $25 million Creation Museum, which will open later this year near the Cincinnati, Ohio international airport.
"But the big bang says that the sun came first and then the Earth," added. "By the way, during the first three days of creation, there was light from a source different than the sun. Genesis 1:3. As we will proclaim in our new Creation Museum planetarium, if we start with God's infallible Word and what it clearly teaches us about the history of the world, we can be confident that the big bang and other secular ideas such as "molecules-to-man" evolution are wrong."
On March 16, physicists said they have the smoking gun that shows the universe went through extremely rapid expansion in the moments after the big bang, growing from the size of a marble to a volume larger than all of observable space in less than a trillion-trillionth of a second, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The discovery-which involves an analysis of variations in the brightness of microwave radiation-is the first direct evidence to support the two-decade-old theory that the universe went through what is called inflation.
Researchers found the evidence for inflation by looking at a faint glow that permeates the universe. That glow, known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB), was reportedly produced when the universe was about 300,000 years old-long after inflation had done its work.
Physicists presented new measurements of those variations during a news conference at Princeton University. The measurements were made by a spaceborne instrument called the Wilkinson Microwave Anistropy Probe, or WMAP, launched by NASA in 2001, the AP reported.
However, evangelist Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), told New Man that "although most secular astronomers believe that the CMB is the result of a big bang, there is really no reason to believe this."
He noted that big-bang supporters believe that tiny fluctuations in the CMB eventually became stars and galaxies. But such an idea comes from a belief in the big bang, and there is really no independent evidence to support this, Ham added.
"This is really much ado about nothing," said Ham, a former high-school biology teacher who travels the nation speaking at churches colleges, private schools and rotary clubs. "There are actually many different models of the big bang, each of which requires different parameters for the CMB. The latest WMAP results are roughly consistent with one of these big-bang models.
"However, if WMAP had obtained a different result, the secular astronomers would simply have picked the model that was most consistent," he added. "In other words, no matter what WMAP would have found, big-bang supporters would have claimed that it supports the big bang. As such, it really doesn't prove anything. The latest WMAP results are fully consistent with biblical creation, as we share on our Web site, AnswersInGenesis.org."
But Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist who believes that each day mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis was a longer period of time, said the Bible taught the big bang first. Unlike Ross, Ham and other creationists believe God created the universe and all its creatures in six 24-hour days, roughly 6,000 years ago.
"The significance of these [WMAP] findings is huge," Ross, founder of Reasons To Believe (RTB), said on his Web site, reasons.org. "This breakthrough goes a long way toward weeding out a particular set of big-bang models designed to get around the need for a transcendent personal Creator.
"As the WMAP continues to soak up light it will reveal even more about how the universe came to be," Ross added. "This data will be instrumental in verifying or falsifying the testable creation model my colleagues and I have been developing the last several years."
Ross studied distant galaxies and quasars while doing his post-doctoral research at the California Institute of Technology. He sees the WMAP confirmation of cosmic inflation as further support for the RTB creation model.
"Scientific discoveries of this caliber add further evidence for the biblical account of creation-a continuously expanding universe exquisitely and deliberately fine-tuned for life," Ross said.
Ham, though, believes the big bang is expressly taught against in the Bible.
"The scriptures say that the Earth was created first in Genesis 1:1, the first day of creation, and then the sun was created on the fourth creation day, Genesis 1:16," explained Ham, who is building the $25 million Creation Museum, which will open later this year near the Cincinnati, Ohio international airport.
"But the big bang says that the sun came first and then the Earth," added. "By the way, during the first three days of creation, there was light from a source different than the sun. Genesis 1:3. As we will proclaim in our new Creation Museum planetarium, if we start with God's infallible Word and what it clearly teaches us about the history of the world, we can be confident that the big bang and other secular ideas such as "molecules-to-man" evolution are wrong."
posted by Strang Webmaster at 9:32 AM
2 Comments:
I don't believe that is within the domain of man's knowledge to ever know precisely how old the earth is untill the return of Christ and the end of the world. Your page quotes "The scriptures say that the Earth was created first in Genesis 1:1, the first day of creation, and then the sun was created on the fourth creation day, Genesis 1:16," explained Ham," but this may not be something that we are supposed to know for sure. 2nd Peter 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
We weren't there to see the beginning. Science can only approximate, and in the vastness of scale communicate to us just a fragment of God's magnificence.
(From the book of Job) Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth? declare if thou knowest it all.
God hates "know it alls"
Spend your time feeding the poor, not arguing semantics of something that no one knows for sure.
I see it as unfortunate when Christians says that we can't know something for sure when it is clearly stated in the Scriptures.
What then does "there was evening and there was morning" mean?
Also, a day as a thousand years simply means that God transcends time and is not bound by it.
Please interpret Scripture with Scripture!!
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