The Big Bang Theory argues that “space” suddenly and rapidly started to expand about 13.8 billion years ago. “The Big Bang” is referred to as the “birth” of the universe. It represents the point in history where the laws of physics, as we understand, them work. It was not an explosion of matter in space but rather an expansion of space itself. The expansion continues.
Twenty minutes after the initial bang, the universe cooled enough to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later atoms. After about 500 million years, the lightest basic elements, mostly hydrogen with some helium and lithium, coalesced through gravity to form stars and galaxies.
The first generation of stars were enormous balls of gas (50 times our own sun). Eventually they caught on fire causing nuclear reactions in the center. Inside stars, a process takes place called nucleosynthesis, which is basically the making of elements.
The first stars burned their fuel quickly and were able to make only a few elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. When those stars went supernova, exploded powerfully, and expelled the elements they had produced, they seeded the next generation of stars.
The next generation of seeded stars were then able to produce other, heavier elements such as carbon, magnesium and nearly every element in the periodic table.
Any element in your body heavier than iron
has travelled through at least one supernova.
About 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Most of the elements of our bodies were formed in stars over the course of billions of years and multiple star lifetimes. It is possible that some of the hydrogen in our bodies (9.5%) and lithium (trace amounts) originated from the Big Bang.
The Big Bang implies that we are all physically connected through the atoms produced by the bang and subsequent creation and consumption of stars.
Some Bible Scholars Push Back
According to Genesis and Genetics:
“Some pieces of the theory are clear, and some pieces are problematic.The clear pieces are in tune with the Bible, and the rest are not. Here is what is clear and in tune with the Bible:”
| 1) | The universe had a beginning |
| 2) | The universe is expanding |
| 3) | The expansion of the universe is accelerating |
| 4) | The universe is magnificent and huge |
According to Reasons to Believe:
“The Bible’s prophets and apostles stated explicitly and repeatedly the two most fundamental properties of the big bang, a transcendent cosmic beginning a finite time period ago and a universe undergoing a general, continual expansion. In Isaiah 42:5 both properties were declared, ‘This is what the Lord says ‘He who created the heavens and stretched them out.’”
A mysterious piece of the puzzle of life is the concept of time:
what is a billion years to us as humans?
My reply to this would fly in the face of what we are raised to believe. I would like to talk with you about it in person.
I look forward to discussing and hearing your thoughts!