Origin of the universe
From PhiloWiki
What is the origin of the universe? Does the existence of the universe prove there is a God?
Buddhist views
- "The early multiverse can perhaps be thought of as a massively parallel quantum computer which explored all of possibility-space until it was able to generate a living body, which became the habitation of an observing, sentient being. At that moment the multiverse collapsed into the actuality of that one alternative cosmology. This theory is known as the Participatory Anthropic Principle and was first put forward by the physicist John A. Wheeler in 1983.
- But where did the observing mind come from? Buddhist philosophers claim that minds are primordial and exist before entering their physical environment. In the early stages of its evolution the universe was, of course, uninhabitable for animals and humans."
Christian views
Christians believe that there is “something” behind the universe, and that this something is more like a “mind” than anything else. It must possess “intelligence,” for it has created and designed a remarkably fine-tuned universe. It must be “conscious,” for it makes decisions and chooses between different options when creating and designing. Christians believe that this mind made the universe at least in part so that it could create creatures like itself – creatures with minds.
Christians are familiar with Linde’s work. In fact Christians used Linde’s work to disprove another atheistic cosmology model known as the oscillating universe. That model used quantum gravity speculation to support the theory that we live in an infinitely oscillating universe that collapses to a point, then “bounces” back into existence to an equal level of expansion, repeating the cycle into infinity. It dates back to the 1970’s. The theory was a breath of fresh air to atheists because the idea of such a self-oscillating universe would render the creation event irrelevant. Our very existence could be attributed to one lucky bounce. Of course, it was built on pure speculation. Funny how atheists have no trouble appealing to speculative and unknown laws of physics (metaphysics), yet they deride Christians for believing in a Creator, which is actually more in line with the well-known principle of cause-and-effect than these wild-eyed atheistic theories are.
From a Christian perspective, it appears that atheists will go to any length to deny the existence of a Creator. These are the sorts of people C.S. Lewis wrote about in “The Great Divorce,” and the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 1:22 (“Professing to be wise, they became fools…”). Faced with the mounting evidence of a designed universe, these unrepentant atheists resort to wild-eyed theories and grand speculation, while at the same time ridiculing Christians for their “blind faith.”
- Linde depends on something beyond physics as we can observe it. This is no different from the creation statements in the Bible where the universe is said to have been made from that which we humans have no possibility of detecting. Neither of us can prove our points conclusively. We both rely on faith. Your faith rests on a secular-humanist world view, ours on a Creationist worldview.
- If absolute nothingness spontaneously generates space, time, matter, and/or energy, then the principle of cause-and-effect has been violated. This would undermine the entire foundation of all the sciences, mathematics, and logic (think of the basic syllogism). Overwhelming evidence supports that foundation. If absolute nothingness were truly unstable, as Linde suggests, then even our own realm would be disturbed. That is, we should be observing spontaneous creations within our universe. We do not.
- Absolute nothingness implies a zero information state. How did a zero information system acquire its subsequent high information condition? How else but through a personal Creator did a primeval radiation field come into existence and give birth to such high information systems as human beings?
- The appeal to an multiverse is pure speculation. Linde is appealing to the existence of other universes when there is no evidence of other universes. Surely the burden of proof for multiverses lies with those who suggest that more than one universe exists. We Christians are constantly criticized for believing in something unseen and unproven. This atheistic theory is no different.
Secular views
The prevailing view among cosmologists is that the universe is one of an infinite number - the multiverse. Through the eyes of someone new to modern physics, these topics must seem very strange. In particular, inflation, multiverses, scalar fields, quantum foam, etc. However, the more books you read on these subjects, the more familiar they become. These are basic concepts for most of today's cosmology.
If you can wade through the concepts, then you will have a good idea of what physics thinks of the origins of the universe, or more accurately, the life cycles of an infinitude of universes. The principal theme seems to be that modern physics posits that the birth and death of countless universes is unexceptional and is in fact the norm. Each universe is a creatio ex nihilo.
- "In 1929, Edwin Hubble used such observations to suggest that the Universe is expanding, galaxies are in fact moving away from each other, and the rate at which a galaxy is moving away from our own Milky Way galaxy must be proportional to its distance away."
- "For an eternity, our universe lay dormant—a frozen, featureless netherworld. Then, about 15 billion years ago, the cosmos got an abrupt wake-up call."
- "Theists believe that the best scientific evidence that God exists is the evidence that the universe began to exist in an explosion about 15 billion years ago, an explosion called the Big Bang."
- "...contemporary physical cosmology can explain (in principle and in simplified models) the universe's existence. Quantum gravity cosmology, I believe, does show how the universe can be explained in atheistic terms."
- The Elegant Universe, by Brian Greene
- The Inflationary Universe, by Alan Guth
