New Discoveries, Same God

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Did you hear about the gravitational waves recently discovered? If not, you can read about them here. It was a big discovery. 

Maybe you’re not a physics fanatic. I get that. There are strange Latin words, a bunch of mind-boggling concepts, and plenty of math. Perhaps there’s so much going on in your life that you don’t have the time or energy to ponder anything that’s not useful. I can understand that too.

Here’s the short and sweet of it:

  • We’ve finally detected gravitational waves
  • The waves were predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity
  • This theory mathematically suggests the universe had a beginning
  • Thus, the discovery of gravitational waves strengthens the case for Creation

A Weird and Beautiful Thing

Let me try to give some background.

The universe is a weird and beautiful thing, fully understood by no one but God. Though we don’t understand everything, we do have some ideas about how certain things work. One of those ideas is General Relativity, which proposes that space and time are not two separate entities, but one. Spacetime.

Another is Quantum Field Theory, which has made giant leaps in recent years. It deals mostly with particles that are extremely tiny. As a result, the force of gravity can be neglected in calculations. 

Quantum Field Theory and General Relativity don’t really get along. They each have a set of very different rules. Some recent modeling by proponents of Quantum Field Theory suggests that the universe never had a beginning. 

Wait. Hold up. If you’re a Christian, that idea is a serious problem. The Bible opens with “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth” (Genesis 1:1). 

Let’s cast aside models for a moment. What’s been scientifically observed?

We have observed that the universe is expanding in size and we already know that time is continuously progressing (duh). Thus, if we imagine playing time backwards, the universe gets smaller. At time equals zero, space equals zero. 

UH-OH. We’ve reached a fundamental problem with Relativity: the singularity.

Don’t worry! In my opinion, it’s a good problem. It glorifies God!

A singularity is literally a mathematical point in space. It is the only thing in the universe that has no volume. Because the original singularity had literally everything inside of it, and no space for that stuff to exist in, it was a point of infinite density (and is now a point of infinite confusion!). Have you ever tried to divide by zero on a calculator? Try it. You can’t. There answer is undefined.

Relativity completely breaks down at the singularity. The zeros and infinities muddle up the mathematics. We cannot scientifically explain what was before it or outside of it because, according to the laws of physics, there is no such thing as before it or outside it. There was nothing. No time. No space. No anything. Nothing to cause the universe to randomly happen.

Can I submit this to you? I think Relativity points directly to God. The only explanation for the creation of the universe is something SUPER-natural, something over and beyond what science will ever be able to explain. 

So, what’s gravity? 

General Relativity proposes that gravity is simply the distortion of spacetime in the presence of objects with mass. The perceived force is stronger with more mass and less distance between two objects, and it is weaker the other way around.

The recent detection of gravitational waves was scientists measuring ripples in the fabric of spacetime as a result of two black holes colliding. It is the latest in a series of experiments over the last century that have turned out successfully for Einstein’s beautiful brain-child. 

This discovery strengthens Relativity against rival theories and therefore bolsters the scientific evidence for one of the most profound points in the Christian Gospel: God created.