THE AGE OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION—PART II

The Big Bang Theory It was commonly held that belief in God meant the acceptance of the eternity of God whereas we have no direct knowledge of this. The universe is a known and observable thing. Why should we not regard the universe as eternal instead of regarding God as eternal? The Big Bang theory has shown that the hypothesis of an eternal universe is no longer credible. The Nobel Prize for physics was jointly awarded to two American Professors, John C. Mather and George F. Smoot. Both worked on the theory of the Big Bang (formulated initially in the first quarter of the 20th century) and published a book based on their researches. NASA had sent the rocket Cosmic Background Explorer into space in 1989 to study cosmic background radiation emitted at the time of the Big Bang and to send its photos back to earth. The information received has thrown fresh light on the theory of the Big Bang, lending strong support. It has helped pinpoint the age of the universe and supported the Big Bang being the cause of its birth. The Big Bang took place 13 billion years ago and shows that the universe had its beginning in a great explosion. Scientists have continued to work on this theory, firmly establishing it in the scientific world. The theory of the Big Bang is of great significance to theology. It proves that the universe is not eternal, that it was created at a certain point in time through a big explosion. All this could not have happened accidentally and proves that some external factor was required to cause it. It provides strong logical support to the theory that this universe has been created by a Creator. Freedom and Predestination The universe has been so constructed that it offers a physical demonstration of truth. To a deep thinker, all the invisible truths become understandable at the visible level. Black Holes are such examples. The concept of the Black Hole makes the delicate relationship of the preordaining of destiny and human freedom quite understandable. The German astronomer, Karl Schwarzschild predicted by inference in 1916 that there might exist huge stars in space whose gravity might be so strong that it even prevents their light from escaping. Such huge stars in space remain invisible to man, since man can see objects only through the medium of light. Astronomers agreed on the possible existence of such stars, calling them ‘Black Holes.’