Creation/Evolution: A Christian perspective on origins

Notes prepared by Tim Swickard

(Below is only partial notes.)

A Look at Big Bang vs. Biblical Creation

BIG BANG BIBLICAL CREATION
Creation of time, space, energy and matter out of nothing. Creation of time, space, energy and matter out of nothing. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Gen 1:1
For the first 10-43 second the universe existed with one super-law, one super-force, and one super-particle. All of the laws of physics, fundamental forces and particulate matter "froze" out of this oneness. "Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." Dt 6:4; "There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Eph 4:4-6; "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,". I Tim 2:5.
Universe expands uniformly for first 10-43 sec. and then goes through an unimaginable period of inflationary expansion until 10-35 sec. and then resumes normal expansion through today. "...he [God] stretches out the heavens like a tent." Ps 104:2; "He [God] stretches out the heavens like a canopy,". Isa 40:22; "The LORD, who stretches out the heavens," Zec 12:1.
First 300,000 years - universe was dark, burning formless void. Photons interact with free electrons too quickly to escape. "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep,". Gen 1:2
After 300,000 years and below 3,000oK electrons bind into atoms and photons bathe the universe in a blinding yellow light. "And God said, `Let there be light,' and there was light." Gen 1:3"
After 500,000 - 1 million years atoms bind to form molecules and visible matter appears. Between 1 million and 2 billion years galaxies, stars and planets were formed. As these planets first rotated around their suns - day and night was born. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light `day' and the darkness he called `night'. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day." Gen 1:4,5
Our planet, it seems, developed as a ball of hot gases orbiting the sun. As these gases cooled the solid core appeared and was surrounded by a dense gas cloud of water vapor. As the earth cooled further the water vapor began to condense forming the oceans. To this day there remains a constant interchange between the water vapor in the sky and the waters of the ocean "And God said, `Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.' So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse `sky.' And there was evening, and there was morning the second day." Gen 1:6-8
As the earth's surface became uneven due to volcanic and plate disturbances dry ground appeared first in the form of a large single land mass and then into separate ones through "continental drift". "And God said, `Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.' And it was so. God called the dry ground `land,' and the gathered waters he called `seas.'" Gen 1:9,10.

As we can see, there are some startling parallels between the big bang and it's subsequent events and the Genesis narrative of Scripture. However we must be careful here not to repeat the mistake of Thomas Aquinas, and wed big bang cosmology to scripture. For one is the result of human inquiry and understanding and the other the divine revelation of God.

The great English statesman, scientist and philosopher, Francis Bacon, wrote in 1605, "Let no one think or maintain that a man can search too far or be too well studied in the book of God's Word [the Bible] or in the book of God's Works [the universe], divinity or philosophy...[However we should] not unwisely mingle or confound these learnings together."

This doesn't mean we cannot compare the similarities and intelligently converse on the issue, let's just be careful to not interweave them to the extent that if one falls the other does too. So if one asks the question, "Is the Big Bang Biblical?" we must answer that it contains many parallels to the Genesis account, and is probably as close as secular science and the Bible have ever been in describing origins. But the models of science and divine revelation are on two different levels of reality.