Jude Dumfeh
INTR 342 (Science and Religious Experiences)
Prof Crampton
05/20/03
INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE BIG BANG AND CREATION STORIES
In our modern age of scientific revolution there seems to be a growing tension
between the scientific and religious understanding of this world. This tension
is not surprising as the two worldviews exist on different realms in many ways.
The Christian faith, grounded in the revelation of God through Christ for humanity’s
salvation, clashes with science on many levels especially concerning human nature,
as well Divine authority, as compared to the scientific rational and mechanistic
understanding of matter. However in this age of scientific revolution there
has been a more concerted effort to develop ways to integrate the scientific
and Christian worldviews. This is necessitated by the fact that a wholesome
picture is generated by an integration of the meaning and purpose given by Christianity
and the scientific mechanistic description of processes. The Christian Creation
story and the scientific Big Bang theory are two key spheres of integration
due to their centrality to an understanding of something as fundamental as existence
of all things. The Christian story is primarily concerned about the purpose
of existence as science deals with the mechanisms leading to existence.
The Christian faith is built on belief in an omnipresent, omniscient,
omnipotent and benevolent God, embodied in the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. Christianity stands out from a lot of other religions due to God’s
personal nature to humanity through the incarnation of Christ. Faith in Christ’s
redemptive death and resurrection offers salvation to the faithful. The Bible
is very central to Christian faith as it is viewed to be God’s word and
revelation to mankind. It communicates faith, proposes the right way of living
in communion with God, provides a framework for understanding God’s relation
to the world, and it also offers meaning and hope to man’s destiny. Christian
practices like prayer, baptism and communion are all drawn from the Bible. Humanity
holds prime importance as we are created in God’s image. God is the creator
and sustainer of all life on this earth. These Christian beliefs have come under
more scrutiny in an age of scientific revolution.
Science thrives on seeking to provide a framework of understanding
for the natural and physical world of matter. This endeavor involves taking
an ever curious approach towards the observable world and constantly seeks to
unravel more of the scientific knowledge of this world. The field is often concerned
about mechanisms and processes that drive the natural phenomena we observe.
Scientific methods often involve the formation of hypothesis from observation
of matter, development of experiments to tests hypotheses, formation of theories
and models from conclusions of experiments, and further refinement of theories
to fit other data or new observations. Science often seeks to generate laws
underlying the occurrences in nature, be it the laws of thermodynamics or the
Newtonian laws of motion. Symbols, notations and mathematical equations are
often used to provide this scientific lens of understanding this world. Knowledge
gained from scientific endeavor is used to benefit humanity, in the curing of
diseases and technological machinery.
There are stark differences in the scientific and Christian understanding of
this world, which generate potential conflicts. In Christianity man is central
to the creation of all things and thus possesses a unique role above all other
creation. This seems to be in direct conflict with the scientific view of man
from evolution. According to the theory of evolution man is the product of a
continuing process of evolving matter that started with the Big Bang. This process
is characterized by chance from which order and complexity arrives over time.
The universe is seen as interrelated and ever changing with different hypotheses
about its destination. There is no distinction between humans and the smallest
bacteria as both are connected by evolution (Barbour, 289). This seems threatening
to the Christian view of the humanity’s uniqueness, being created in the
image of God. The idea of chance in evolution also threatens God’s purposefulness
in creation.
Another source of difference and potential conflict concerns authority in science
and Christianity. According to Langdon Gilkey "the basis of authority in
science is logical coherence and experimental adequacy" but in Christianity
final authority is "God and revelation" (Barbour, 86). Science believes
in producing an intelligible framework for understanding the physical reality
of this world. Hypotheses and theories are debunked for better ones when they
fail to meet up with the observations in nature. Christianity however prides
on connecting to God who has taken the first step in revealing himself and his
truth to humanity. God is the ultimate truth and all other knowledge is viewed
in the light of God’s revelation, with the bible being the primary reference.
This involves looking beyond what is physically visible or logically coherent
with occurrences in the physical realm to embrace faith and divine providence.
Science on the other hand seeks testable empirical data, but obviously faith
and the supernatural realm do not fit those testable criteria, so this can be
a source of conflict. But this is not the whole story since Christianity and
science share many common attributes.
Christianity and science are primarily concerned about seeking
truth whilst rejecting falsehood. Christianity provides answers to truth concerning
God’s nature and humanity’s relation to him. This quest for truth
is grounded in faith in one God whilst idol worship of many gods is rejected
as falsehood. Christ’s humanity and divinity are defended whilst Arian
heresies are rejected (Armstrong, 105). Science is concerned about unraveling
truth concerning the existence of matter in nature. The rigors of scientific
experimentation are grounded in the goal of deciphering the actual mechanisms
or principles that lead to the observable features we encounter in nature. Theories
are constantly refined to make them more coherent with the natural phenomena,
be it DNA or the atom. In this quest for reality both Christianity and science
are characterized by the use of symbolism to represent and express the inexpressible
reality. Jesus used different parables to convey the reality of the Kingdom
of God, comparing it to a mustard seed, yeast, a narrow door and to a feast.
Science employs symbolism in the use of equations and models to represent different
realities in nature. Bohr’s atomic model of quantized energy levels may
not be the most accurate but it depicts and conveys the inexpressible reality
of electrons around a nucleus.
The similarities between Christianity and science pave the way
for an attempt at integrating the two worldviews at certain levels. They do
not have to be seen always as conflicting opposites since they can complement
each other and be integrated to provide a holistic picture of reality. This
is not to say that in the process of integration their different natures should
be overlooked. Integration is most successful when one realizes their different
approaches so as not to distort either of them for sake of a cheap compromise.
Integration beckons in an age of scientific revolution where science has provided
knowledge about many unexplored aspects of our existence. This is not to say
that in a seemingly desacralized world religion, and in this case Christianity,
has certainly not lost its appeal as many continue to turn to faith to order
their lives. Scientific knowledge alone fails to fulfill the human need for
meaning, yet at the same time science raises many questions about the belief
in God. The fact that science and Christianity both order the lives of many
people generates more interest in finding ways to integrate one with the other,
especially concerning the origin of life.
The scientific Big Bang Theory and the Christian Creation Story are two realms
of possible integration as they both provide answers to the origin of life on
this planet. According to the Big Bang Theory life began from a sudden powerful
explosion of light and enormous heat spewing matter in all directions. The collision
of particles generated more heat, leading to the formation of new particles,
whilst the universe expanded and cooled. The colliding particles led to formation
of new entities like protons, neutrons and atoms, with the increasing complexity
leading to the formation of stars within galaxies. The explosion of a supernova
led to the formation of our solar system with the sun and the planets. Life
is supposed to have arisen on earth with the formation of RNA and DNA from the
gaseous elements in the atmosphere coupled with the enormous amount of power
available. Bacteria were the earliest form of life, with the presence of oxygen
leading to novel aerobic organisms. Increasing complexity and coevolution generated
more complex eukaryotes and eventually the advent of man, with evolution expected
to continue (Liebes, Sahtouris, Swimme, pp8-202).
The Christian Creation Story depicts God creating the earth and
all inhabitants in six days and resting on the seventh day. At the beginning
of creation the Spirit of God was moving over the earth, which was void and
without form. Out of this disorder God commanded and there was light, the light
was distinguished from the darkness as day and night. At the end of this first
day of creation God was pleased with what he had done. The story goes on to
narrate the creation of the skies, the land, sea, the sun, stars, creatures
in the skies and water, all kinds of animal life, and eventually humans, on
subsequent days. God created humans in his own image and gave them dominion
over all other earthly creatures. God was pleased with his creation and he rested
on the seventh day, blessing it and declaring it holy.
In the process of integration there should not be tension between the six days
of creation depicted in the Bible and the scientific discovery that the world
has been existing for many million years. In the Creation story the first day
was marked before the sun was created. This shows that the idea of time as narrated
in the Creation story differs dramatically from time as we know it know, since
we mark day and night by the rising and setting of the sun. In this vane integration
between the temporal nature of the Big Bang and Creation becomes more plausible.
In general terms the Big Bang theory answers the ‘how’ question. The
answering of the mechanistic question by science always leaves the begging question
as the agent behind it all. Science shows that there is gravity to help sustain
the heavenly bodies in their place but does not provide a cause of this gravity
apart from the fact that it does exist. Experiments by Stanley Miller used water
and a mixture of the gases that made the primordial atmosphere to spontaneously
produce amino acids. This confirmed the possibility of simple life arising from
the gases in the early atmosphere. Yet even in this experiment a spark had to
be applied to get the process going (Barbour, 227). In this primordial environment
this spark is supposed to have probably been created by lightening. The next
question is where this lightening came from. Even the scientific mechanistic
approaches lend themselves to questions about causality behind the observed
effects.
One direct way of integration between the Big Bang and the Creation
story concerns the role of cause and effect. The scientific inquiry is concerned
about observing the effects of the creative act and making inferences and connections
to produce a theory of the origin of this universe. The Christian story on the
other hand is primarily concerned about portraying the cause behind the universe
as we encounter it: God. This realization enhances any process of integration
between the two stories. In the Creation story the mechanism was not the source
of concern but rather God’s role in providing the end result. In a way
the emphasis is on the fact that God was the creator of the world as he plays
the primary active role in the process, creating by word. As Augustine wrote,
"God did not wish to teach men things not relevant to their salvation"
(Barbour, 201). This emphasizes the purpose of the Creation story as a means
of God’s revelation and affirmation of his place amongst the people of
Israel, through whom he chose to carry out his revelation. The exact mechanism
of the creative process would have little impact on conveying God’s power
and relation to humanity to the Israelites. Christianity provides the cause
whilst science provides the mechanism. Putting the scientific and the Christian
creation stories together provides a wholesome picture that provides answers
to the actual process involved as well as to the driving force behind this all.
Another question that comes up is the ‘why’ question,
which science is not so preoccupied with. When the mechanism is accurately described
there will always be the question of why does it all have to happen at all or
happen as it did. According to the Creation story the earth and life it in were
all formed because God willed it to be so. He sought to produce goodness and
this was achieved through the creative act. The unique level of intelligence
and ability science observes in humans is given meaning by the creation story.
Man was created in the image of the Divine and so shares in the qualities of
the Design, putting him above other creation. These exclusive human capabilities
have the added purpose of enabling man to act as a steward to all of creation
as commanded by God. An understanding of the purpose of creation should throw
more light on the scientific understanding of the observed processes.
One of the biggest obstacles to the integration of the Creation
story and the Big Bang is the role of chance and purposefulness. The Big Bang
theory, together with evolution, depicts a random set of events with the interactions
between different entities leading to higher level order and complexity. In
a way we see Kauffman’s system of "self-organization" at work
where the components in a system randomly rearrange themselves to produce more
complex and stable systems (Barbour, 183-184). The purposefulness attributed
to God in the Christian story is lacking in this view. However the observation
of chance or disorder should not alienate the two stories from each other. It
is obvious that both the Big Bang theory and the Creation story portray a creative
process that brings order and complexity out of chaos and disorder. In the Creation
story God creates out of a world that was lacking in form, covered in darkness
and with the sea raving past everything. This can be likened to the organization
and formation of new particles that occurred after the initial explosion of
the Big Bang that sent heat, a brilliance of light and matter spewing everywhere.
Barbour is right in saying that "disorder is often the precondition for
the appearance of a new form of order" on another level (Barbour, 184).
The seemingly random events resulted in the world as we see it and Christianity
adds further that this is the world as God willed it to be. Despite any observation
of randomness it is overwhelmingly evident that the world as we see it appears
very purposeful. The seemingly random events produced a world that is one particular
form as against all the other potential forms it could have been. Science admits
that there is such low probability that our world turned out this way and so
the fact that it did is really remarkable (Barbour, 204). Even evolution portrays
the idea of purposefulness as organisms are driven to generate adaptive features
and to pass on their genes to future generations. The goal is towards a healthier
species.
According to the Christian view God being omnipotent and outside
the realm of physical time and matter, makes it possible for creation to occur
and infuses purposefulness to the whole creative act, working each step of the
way and not in the ‘gaps’. He wills the creative process to occur
within the boundaries he set forth, whether there is self-organization or increasing
complexity. Barbour will call this "deterministic" but that may not
be the right word since God is outside our time frame and so sees the whole
process all at once, and so determinism is only from the human viewpoint. I
will agree with process theology that God is the source of "order"
and "novelty" (Barbour, 293). The picture of a shepherd leading a
flock of sheep could be used as an analogy here. The sheep are allowed to roam
around aimlessly within the group interacting and influencing each other’s
movements and not appearing to have much directedness. However the shepherd
sees the bigger picture and always makes sure that the sheep are steered in
the desired direction towards the end goal. As the evolutionary process occurs
at the lower levels they are always directed towards the divine purposes. Humans
being part of the process can only observe the effects after the processes have
taken place.
A major tension between the Big Bang story and the Creation story concerns human
nature. It is hard to reconcile the Christian viewpoint of humanity’s uniqueness
in being created in the image of God and having dominion over all things, with
the scientific view that depicts man as being a result of a continuum of evolutionary
change, with bacteria as our primitive ancestors. This is a problematic view
that may never fully be resolved. However there has to be a consensus that both
the Big Bang theory and the Creation story depict man as being unique and of
a much higher complexity than all other creatures that have ever stepped foot
on this earth. Humans have a distinct self-awareness that leads us "to
remember the past, to anticipate the future, and to use abstract symbols"
to liberate us "from our immediate time and place". Our "intellectual
power and creativity" is unparalleled as well as our ability to use language.
(Barbour, 254-255). Science may only be partially able to explain the uniqueness
of human thought from the evolutionary process. The fact that science describes
human evolution from matter does not discredit our supreme nature as we find
ourselves now. A remarkable and novel event occurred with the advent of man
on this planet and the Creation story rightly marks this by giving meaning and
purpose to man’s existence; humanity is special because it shares in God’s
divine nature. The origin of human life does not have to diminish the remarkable
qualities observed in humans.
According to science the earth is still expanding and the evolutionary
process is supposed to continue with no real knowledge of where this will all
lead. It has been hypothesized that life on earth could be cut short due to
the freezing that would result from an ever-expanding world. Christianity proclaims
an end time with Christ coming to redeem those faithful to him for eternal life.
The conflict of what becomes of the world and man in the two viewpoints is minimized
by the role of the divine. The Christian belief of Christ’s second coming
is supposed to be a reality of a totally different order than anything encountered
in this world, breaking the regular order of life on this earth. Hence one should
not expect science to be able to enter this supernatural realm to prove or disprove
the Christian belief, which is grounded in faith. The process of evolution continues
as science observes but Christianity looks forward to a unique point in time
when this is all transcended by divine intervention to determine the fate of
man and this life. Divine intervention in the miraculous sense is a point where
the process of integration between Christianity and science becomes difficult
to continue. Although God limits himself by working within the natural framework
he is always capable of breaking the natural order.
Overall the tension between the Christian worldview and that of science will
always exist at some level. However efforts at integration need to continue
since both provide very plausible views of this world that do not necessarily
have to contradict each other. Concerning the Big Bang and Creation, the purpose
of the two stories should shed more light in providing a better effort of integration.
The Big Bang theory primarily provides a description of the mechanism employed
in creation whilst the Creation story gives meaning and purpose by attributing
God as the cause behind all creative acts. A holistic picture is created by
a worldview that gives precedence to both the actual processes, to the cause
and to the meaning behind it all.
Bibliography:
1) Barbour, Ian; Religion and Science; Harper Collins Publishers;
San Francisco; 1997.
2) Sidney Liebes, Elisabet Sahtouris, Brian Swimme; A Walk Through Time; John
Wiley & Sons Inc; Toronto; 1998.
3) Armstrong, Karen; A History of God; Ballantine Books; 1993.