Terminology Tuesday: Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang Theory is based on the observation that all the stars and galaxies of the universe are in motion and not stationary. The American astronomer Edwin Hubble (1889–1953) discovered in 1929 that the light of all visible stars was redshifted. Hence the movement of the myriad of galaxies is not random but everything is moving further away. If all galaxies are now racing away from one another then at one point all matter must have been clustered together in an infinitely dense space and its present motion might best be explained by an original explosion of matter. Hence the term Big Bang. The 1965 discovery by Arno Penzias (b. 1933) and Robert Wilson (b. 1936) of the background radiation produced by the intense heat of this "explosion" served to further confirm the theory. The Big Bang Theory brought to an end the idea of a static universe and made respectable again discussions of the beginning and possible creation of the universe. 1

1. Mark Worthing, Encyclopedia of Science and Religion.

The Cosmos Had a Beginning: Creation Ex Nihilo MP3 Audio by Ken Samples

Philosopher and theologian Kenneth Samples presents this talk on the dangerous idea of the beginning: Creation Ex Nihilo. More of Samples' great stuff can be found here and at Reasons.org. Original audios in the "dangerous ideas" series can be found here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (95min)

Enjoy.

You may also enjoy this interview with Ken Samples.

Sunday Quote: Anthony Kenny on the Big Bang

"According to the Big Bang Theory, the whole matter of the universe began to exist at a particular time in the remote past. A proponent of such a theory, at least if he is an atheist, must believe that the matter of the universe came from nothing and by nothing."

- Anthony Kenny (The Five Ways, p. 66)

Sunday Quote: Stephen Hawking on the Big Bang

"The odds against a universe like ours emerging out of something like the big bang are enormous... I think clearly there are religious implications whenever you start to discuss the origins of the universe."1

- Stephen W. Hawking

1. Stephen Hawking's Universe, page 109.

Sunday Quote: Fred Hoyle on Fine Tuning

"A commonsense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question."1

- Fred Hoyle

1. Hoyle, F. 1982. The Universe: Past and Present Reflections. Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics: 20:16.

Astrophysics Points to the God of the Bible MP3 Audio by Hugh Ross

Astrophysicist Hugh Ross presents the case for the fine-tuning of the universe for supporting intelligent human life, and how this points to the God of the Bible. Original here at bethinking.org.

Full MP3 Audio here.

Enjoy.

Beyond the Big Bang - William Lane Craig MP3 Audio

Dr. William Lane Craig discusses Big Bang cosmology and its implications. This lecture is here.



The transcript and outline can be found here. This lecture is just a small sample of the great resources available at the European Leadership Forum.

Enjoy.