An article in Scientific American that was published in 2104 entitled “Is All the Universe from Nothing?” by Richard Yonck attempts to answer that age old question: How do you get something where nothing existed before? Mr. Yonck is an evolutionist writing to an evolutionist audience. Therefore, he has a Herculean task: It is a logical impossibility that somehow, someway all of a sudden something appeared where nothing was before. Christians, of course, believe that only an all powerful Creator who is outside of the system could accomplish the feat of producing something where absolutely nothing existed before.
Mr. Yonck begins by citing the an announcement by researchers in Anarctica had “detected gravitational waves, faint echoes from the first moments of the Big Bang.” He notes that this supposed proof of the Big Bang raises numerous questions and issues for cosmological physicists. Perhaps the most prominent issue, as Mr. Yonck points out, is:
“Invariably, when explaining the early evolution of the cosmos, one particular question always comes up: where did the singularity that started the Big Bang come from? For some time, many physicists and cosmologists have said it could be possible for our universe to have actually started from nothing – as wild and counterintuitive as that sounds. But without proof this seems like a statement of faith, impossible to prove or disprove and therefore outside the purview of true scientific discussion”
In other words, “How can we prove – beyond any doubt – that something magically arose from nothing? Perhaps the question is better stated: “How can we prove something that is logically impossible and goes against virtually every law of natural physics?”
"MATHEMATICIANS TO THE RESCUE"!?!?!
Mr. Yonck writes about a paper that was released by the Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics in China that purports to “prove” that something could, in fact, come from nothing. The supposed mathematical proof is rooted the idea that “quantum fluctuations in the metastable false vacuum – a state absent of space, time or matter – can give rise to virtual particle pairs.” From such humble and sub-microscopic beginnings, he claims, our universe could have actually arisen. Fascinating, I thought. But what are these “quantum fluctuations” that supposedly supply the initial impetus for our existence as we know it? In other words: what could have started it? If "something started", then there must have been "something there" initially to start it all! So, it's not a true "absence" of nothing...
OK, SO WHAT`S A “QUANTUM FLUCTUATION?”
A Google search of the term “quantum fluctuation” will get you over a million results. To make a long story short, a quantum fluctuation is “is the temporary change in the amount of energy in a point in space” or it can be defined as “A quantum fluctuation is the temporary appearance of energetic particles out of empty space”. Now, these quotes came from Wikipedia, but these ideas are clearly supported as accurate in numerous reputable sources.
In plain English, it means that somehow, you can get sub-atomic particle(s) because of some sort of energy fluctuation. To explain: picture a glass of clear water, and imagine that the water is energy, but not a liquid. Further imagine that our “glass of energy” can have some sort of “disturbance” in our imaginary “energy water”. Physicists will tell you that because of “the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”, that when our imaginary “energy water” experiences some sort of disturbance that arises out of nothing at all (that’s right – they actually believe all this), you can magically, mystically get sub atomic particles that under the right conditions will – thru some undefined process - produce a “true vacuum bubble”. Seriously.
First of all, there is the thorny problem of: “… that means that conservation of energy can appear to be violated…” – a clear violation of natural physical law – even if it is for an infinitesimally short period of time. Ok, ok, let’s buy a violation of the laws of natural physics for the sake of discussion and move on the real question:
WHERE DID THE ENERGY COME FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE?
As Christians, we believe in a Supreme Creator God who created the Universe out of nothing at all – no time, space, matter or energy. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Evolutionists simply cannot explain – because there is none – how you can get something where nothing – absolutely nothing - existed at all. Even if we buy into the whole argument about the Big Bang – the question still remains: where did the original "stuff" come from? And were would the energy have come from to initiate the process? If the energy was present, then it wold not be a truly "empty" space that was totally void.
Rev. Dr. N. Patrick Marica contributes incisive Christian commentary on this blog on a regular basis. He is the President of Amherst Theological Seminary. He has been the Director of Godly Training Ministries since 1993. He received his D.Min from ATS in 2018 and he has his MA from Liberty University in Marriage and Family Therapy. He is the author of "The Walk Applied". He has been married to Kathy since 1985. They have 2 adult daughters and an extraordinary son-in-law.
Contact Dr. Marica at amhersttheological@gmail.com
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