1. Big Bang Evidence Redshift of galaxies Background radiation Primordial elements Spread of galaxies Moving away from each other as if from an explosion Galaxies appear to age- universe had a beginning Heat from explosion has been detected everywhere Hydrogen+helium amounts today suggest explosion

2. Big Bang Strengths Physical evidence supports it Independently checked by scientists Universe is not infinite,everything is in decay Neutral- does not set out to support belief system Big Bang Weaknesses: physical evidence The horizon problem Temperatures at opposite ends of the universe should be different but they are the same The flatness problem Universe is curved. Big Bang would not produce a curved Universe but it is curved Magnetic monopole Should produce particles but none can be detected which means that this evidence is missing Age Tests Estimates of the age of the universe vary so much that they cannot really be trusted e.g. cmb, primordial elements e.g. always being reviewed e.g. everything gets old and dies e.g. not trying to prove or Disprove God

3. Big Bang Weaknesses: other considerations Add onsParadigmAssumptions Add to the theory to make it work Currently accepted approach Assumptions about natural laws Making it up as they go along Other approaches not accepted Assumptions could be wrong weaknesses not widely accepted in the scientific community

4. Big Bang Issues for Belief in God… God is not the first cause Mega-intelligence behind it not God as we know him. No Big Bang Big Bang is God’s way of creating. Big Bang requires a First Cause - could be God. ChallengeResponses Creationist Six day creation as in Bible Liberal/ Conservative l Liberal Scientific Materialist Science will explain everything

5. Bible answers the why questions, not the how The Big Bang is how it all started. Evidence for Big Bang is conflicting Big Bang is only a theory Big Bang could be wrong The Bible tells exactly how it all began Historic Creationist Evidence for Big Bang is strong but incomplete Bible not a scientific textbook Theories about origins may change in the future Theistic Creationist Evidence points to a Big Bang Creationists evidence of a young earth is not reliable God used the Big Bang to create the universe Bible is religious not scientific Genesis can accommodate an ancient universe Scientific Materialist Evidence points to there being a beginning Origin can be explained naturally Science has scope to change its view - religious people do not.

6. The Big Bang has shown that the Bible is wrong about how the world was created. Traditional No Creation happened after God spoke Big Bang not mentioned in Genesis Big Bang is only a theory 6x24 hr days to make world Christians should not move away from the Bible- Don’t add anything to the Bible The order of creation is right World is about 10,000 years old and has the appearance of age Conservative Bible is true but requires careful interpretation Big Bang is God’s way of creating Earth is billions of years old Order of creation in Genesis is roughly right Gap Theory In Between

7. Liberal Traditionalists don’t agree on meaning of Genesis days Bible is not historical OT is allegorical Big Bang confirms God’s existence Basic ideas of Genesis are intact i.e. God created the universe The universe has order The universe is good and God has a purpose for the universe Integrationist Bible has nothing to add to origins debate, should be ignored God could have started it off and then left it A Supreme Being is required but not as per Genesis The Big Bang does not spell the end for Genesis- it spells the end for its literal interpretation. The Big Bang has shown that the Bible is wrong about how the world was created. Qualified Yes

8. Scientific Materialism Dawkins “utterly trivial resemblance” Origins can be explained by the Big Bang There is nothing in the Bible about this because the people that wrote the Bible did not have the science that we have The Big Bang has shown that the Bible is wrong about how the world was created. Yes

9. The Big Bang Challenges Christian Beliefs A challenge because: It says the universe is here by chance – no need for God It says that God not design the universe It says that natural processes created the universe It says that the Genesis account is inaccurate It says that humans have no special place in creation

10. The Big Bang Supports the Existence of God Proves the universe is finite- means it had a beginning Can’t have an infinite chain of causes- The universe has order- proves that something was behind it Laws of nature pre-existed the Big Bang Deviser of laws required God is the cause of the Big Bang Things cannot cause themselves The Big Bang was caused by something- GOD

11. Is Earth at the centre of the Universe Creationists say… We do not know There is probably no centre We were created in God’s image so are special God created everything for a special purpose- that includes Earth Conservatives, Liberals and Integrationists say… It is not a major issue Important thing is to relate to God not to worry about pecking order God is creator of the whole universe not just Earth God willed the atoms that make us up to exist Scientific Materialists Say… God did not create the Universe for one of ten million species On Earth The Earth is just an orbiting dot in space We have no special place or purpose We are simply part of a natural process