Critical Thinking Questions
(Think about these carefully before you consult the answers below)
1) Why do scienists brush off so lightly the Biblical idea of Creation in favor of the Big Bang? <answer>
2) What about other theories, such as the Steady State theory of the Universe? <answer>
3) I've heard of the strange aspects of Quantum Physics and the unpredictability of Nature. If this is true, how could the Universe have evolved over such a long period of time? I mean, why isn't it much different from what we see now. <answer>
4) If time started with the Big Bang, will it ever end? <answer>
ANSWERS
1) First off, science and religion should not be pitted against each other, since each is an attempt to find the truth. Science is concerned with the physical world, whereas religion is concerned mostly with non-physical possibilities. Each has its own methods that are not applicable in the other. The interesting thing is that science strives to reach truths that are not subject to multiple interpretations, whereas by its vary nature religion is open to interpretation (as is evidenced by so many different and often contraditory religious beliefs and denominations). A significant difference between the two is that there is no set standards for religious proofs. For one person, the Sun suddenly breaking through the clouds and shining down after a storm might be considered a sign from Heaven. Another religious person might require a more portentious sign, such as a vision of an angel. In that sense religion is a very personal pursuit. Science, although certainly not immune to interpretation of its theories and results, strives to remove the personal factor as far as possible. Science requires rigorous physical proofs. Of the theories advanced for the creation of the Universe, the Big Bang has the greatest amount of physical evidence supporting it. It does not in any way disprove religious beliefs. For some, it is reasonable to believe that if the Universe had a Creator, that Creator also ordained the physical laws by which it was formed and evolves.
2) The Steady State theory is no longer considered seriously because it cannot explain aspects of the evidence, such as the Cosmic Background Radiation, without making some rather large assumptions. It really fell flat because attempts to reconcile it with the observations of the Universe were too contrived. The same can be said for other theories that have come up from time to time. The Big Bang is widely accepted becuase is fitrs the facts better than any other theory. That's not to say that it is perfect and we know everything, but it is the best we have. (By the way, many of the detractors to the Big Bang object to the idea that the Universe had a precise beginning in time. The Big Bang, as with Biblical Creation, marked the start of everything we know and can sense. Theories that do not require a beginning in time, such as Steady State, are just as philosophically difficult to accept by proponents of the Big Bang -- as well as Creationists, for that matter.)
3) This question has a couple of answers. The first is philosophical. If the Universe had evolved differently from the way it has, how would anyone know? All we have to compare it to is the Universe we have. If it had evolved in such a manner that there were no humans, we wouldn't be here pondering it. Or if it had evolved in a manner that humans developed but a few other aspects of the Universe were different, we still wouldn't know because what you see is what you get -- and all that you get. The second answer is that quatum effects and the quantum uncertainties in nature work on very small scales, and have little affect on large scale structures such as the Universe. Imagine that, under quantum physics, two atoms in your body suddenly exchanged places. That would be very weird to our everyday thinking, but it wouldn't affect you in any perceptible way. No wif all the atoms in your body suddenly packed up and moved to Cleveland, and you found yourself standing in the middle of a major downtown Cleveland intersection -- that would be weird and potentially life-changing. But the chances of this happening under quatum physics are incalcuably small. Sure there is uncertainty in the Universe, but not enough to keep it from operating normally.
4) That's a great question that many have asked. the bottom line is that we do not know. Some variations of the theory call for time that flows as the Universe expands, and which will reverse when and if the expansion stops and the Universe falls back in on itself. If this is true, then time will eventually run backwards and ultimately we will have repeat our lives in the opposite direction. But the truth is, no one knows.
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