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Text: The
Universe – Hebrews
11:1-6; Psalm 19
God’s two testimonies:
Word and World
See also Genesis
1:1-3, 14; Rom. 1:20-23; Acts 14:15-17; Psalm 33:6-9
Any position on the origin
of the universe is a position of faith based on evidence.
The Universe Was Begun By
Sudden Powerful Energy
Discover Magazine (April
2002) placed on its cover a simple red sphere floating on a pure white background
to represent the existence of matter before the universe came into
existence. The red sphere was just three-quarters of an inch
in diameter. The
headline read, “Where Did Everything Come From?”
Scientists speculated that the red
sphere represented the actual size of the entire universe just before it exploded in
the BIG BANG!
Steven Weinberg in his book The
First Three Minutes says that “In the beginning an explosion occurred
simultaneously everywhere, filling all space with every particle of matter rushing
apart from every other particle.” (p. 5). The matter rushing apart, Weinberg
said, consisted of elementary particles – neutrinos and other subatomic particles
that make up our world. Among those particles were photons, which make up
light. Weinberg said, “The universe was filled with light.”
This is accepted by most.
Evolutionists call it the “Big Bang” which exploded into existence by itself
from a small mass of matter and energy. Is that reasonable? If so, where
did the marble come from and what was the source of the energy in it that
exploded everything in such a way that it increased infinitely in size? The challenge
of that question makes most scientists say that the universe began spontaneously
from nothing.
Atheist Quentin Smith
insists that “the most reasonable belief is that we came from nothing, by nothing,
and for nothing.” Creationists, like ourselves, believe that the world came into
existence suddenly… from nothing… but by the Design of an Intelligent Creator
who spoke it into existence.
The Universe Was Caused
In science and philosophy,
it is understood that things don’t just pop into existence, uncaused, out of
nothing. If you heard a big bang outside during the night,
you would ask, “What caused that? Things don’t
just become uncaused.
The “Kalam
Argument”: Everything that begins to exist has a cause; The universe began.
Therefore, the universe has a cause
Mass – Sheer size
and complexity of the cosmos argues cause (Rom.
1:20).
With the instruments we
have, we have come to have some idea of the massive size of the universe in
which we live.
Estimated 100 billion stars
in our milky way galaxy.
100,000 light years in
diameter. Light year is distance light travels in one
year. Light travels at 186,000
miles per second. Multiply by 60 seconds per minute; 60
minutes per hour; 24 hours a day; 365 days per year. Equals 588,000,000,000,000,000
miles per year.
There are over a
trillion galaxies some of which are bigger than ours
Energy – The Sun
Hydrogen atoms fuse together
at high temperatures to form helium and release energy. Inside the sun
this happens using up 564 million tons per second of hydrogen atoms which amounts
to 560 million tons of helium per second which makes energy which amounts
to 4 million tons of energy per second.
Question: How is this
Sustained? The Bible answer: Col.
1:16; Heb. 1:3.
The Universe is
Fine-Tuned
The Privileged
Planet by Guerlermo Gonzalez and J. W.
Richards (2004)
The Source by John Clayton
The EARTH has a unique place
in the Cosmos. Amazing how it supports life. Everything just right for
living things… and for man… nowhere else have we found that yet. Is it
reasonable to believe that this all just happened.
Proper type of galaxy…most galaxies will not support the kind of solar system we have. Eighty
percent are elliptical galaxies. Only one percent of the galaxies (spiral
galaxies) can support life. And only in certain places in our galaxy can life be
supported because of gravity and magnetism.
100 billion stars in our
galaxy; only 5% have the proper temperature, proper radiation and proper
size to sustain life.
Planet must be proper
distance from the Sun. Venus’ distance from sun makes it 900 degrees above
farenheit. Cannot live there.
Proper mass of our planet; if planet too heavy, gravitational force too strong, etc.
Proper spin; if rotates differently, all kinds of problems; too hot on one side and too cold on other; seas
and tides.
Proper tilt; winter and summer based on tilt; sun sits just right to the earth.
Proper magnetic
field; magnetic field and atmosphere
disperse correct radiation for our life.
Water
Most of the land mass on
earth is in the northern hemisphere; majority of water in the southern hemisphere
(absorbs heat) collects heat and disperses it. All this keeps our temperature in a
fine range. So complex it could not just happen. Water covers 70% of
earth’s surface; most plants and animals contain 60% water
Water has a unique
structure; two hydrogens and an oxygen (H2o). Arranged in unique way… angle of the
molecule is 105 degrees. Because of that structure, water has properties
different from other substances.
It is called a polar molecule because the lower
end is negative (because the oxygen attracts the electrons more) and the
upper end is positive above the hydrogen molecules.
H2O is the only substance
exists in all three states (solid,
liquid, and gas). Life sustained primarily by
the liquid (between 0 and 100 degrees centigrade; 32 and 212 degrees farenheit).
But on our planet also a gas (water vapor) critical to our atmosphere. And it
also comes as a solid. ICE.
Uniquely high specific heat
to change temperature of water. A lot of heat out to lower temperature. Our
temperature in Florida doesn’t change much because so much water all around.
In desert freeze at night and hot in day. Does this look like someone planned this?
Water controls temperature
in your body. Keeps it regulated. Hard to change it.
The whole of your body
depends on the temp of the water in your blood.
When water changes from
liquid to solid. It becomes less dense. Most things going from liquid to solid
become more dense. Water to ice (ice floats…less dense). If all ice
became more dense, all the icecaps would sink and flood out the world. Design???
And all the life under the ice is protected because it
floats. Design??? All the
currents under there that have their role in this planet’s sustaining itself. And
it reflects the sunlight… Design???
Robin Collins: “Over the
past thirty years or so, scientists have discovered that just
about everything about the basic
structure of the universe is balanced on a razor’s edge for life
to exist. The
coincidences are far too fantastic to attribute this to mere
chance or to claim that it needs no explanation.
The dials are set too precisely to have been a random accident.”
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
Franklin
Church of Christ
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