Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Something From Nothing

When scientists back in the 1930s discovered that the universe was expanding and that it must've originated from an infinitely small point, i.e. out of nothing, it shook the world. If the universe - all of space, time, matter, energy and the laws which govern these - arose out of nothing then whatever caused this phenomenon must itself be spaceless, timeless, immaterial, and the author of those laws.

Moreover, it must be incomprehensibly powerful to create a universe and unimaginably intelligent to create one of such mathematical beauty and precision.

For many this was intolerable since it had too much in common with the notion of a creator God, a notion that a lot of naturalistic scientists thought had been laid to rest back in the 19th century. Now here it was rising up again as an implication of what came to be known as the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.

As long as the universe could be thought to be infinitely old it was possible to escape the implications of a cosmic beginning, but the Big Bang eliminated that option. The universe evidently had a beginning in time, was therefore not infinitely old, and the question of what could've brought it into being was once again on the table.

A new episode in the Science Uprising series explains how the Big Bang theory puts to rest alternative theories and supports the idea of a cosmic creator.

David Klinghoffer explains the symbolism of the masks worn by the video's narrators.
The mask is a reference to the 2005 film V for Vendetta, inspired in turn by the historical English rebel Guy Fawkes, and a comic by David Lloyd, who is right when he says it has become “an icon of popular culture,” “a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny.”

The symbolism of masks has evolved in the meantime, but the tyranny of scientism has remained a constant, or in fact grown more perverse and obnoxious, making the series of short videos more relevant than ever. Episode 7, debuting now, explains why the Big Bang — the idea of a cosmic beginning — has been resisted by atheists, yet why the best science demands it.
The video is about 9 minutes long and features philosopher of science Stephen Meyer, whose recent book Return of the God Hypothesis does an excellent job of explaining how the origin of the universe, as well as the universe's design and the origin of life all point to a transcendent intelligence.