Do you believe in the big-bang theory? / LJWorld.com

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Asked at Massachusetts Street on September 11, 2008

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“No, I don’t think so. I’m more of the biblical type. I believe that God created the Earth as described in Genesis.”

— Glen Donna, unemployed, Centropolis

“Yes. It seems as if it’s a more credible explanation than all other available explanations.”

— Phil Samuels, graduate teaching assistant, Lawrence

“I believe I wasn’t here when whatever happened happened, so I’m open to various interpretations.”

— Brian Butler, Kansas University junior, Lawrence

“I am not sure. I don’t have enough knowledge on the subject. I find it interesting but haven’t really studied it enough to make up my mind.”

— Carolyn Johnson, physician, Lawrence

Big atom smasher a big hit worldwide

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jonas_opines 4 years, 9 months ago

I'm with Brian, I think. I certainly wouldn't advocate making any laws based on the teachings of the Big Bang.This atom-collider thing is pretty neat though, and it may destroy the earth! mwahahahaha!

jumpin_catfish 4 years, 9 months ago

Only on the weekend

Sigmund 4 years, 9 months ago

You mean the theory that in the beginning there was nothing and all of the sudden and out of the nothingness and for no reason, everything? Doesn't everybody?

snap_pop_no_crackle 4 years, 9 months ago

I believe in Big Wheels and Big Macs. Do those count?

trinity 4 years, 9 months ago

tob, now THAT was funny! :) isn't that a tv sitcom on abc? or is it cbs...anyhoo i really like it i think it's funny! :)

geniusmannumber1 4 years, 9 months ago

3 to 1 the comments on this get intolerable by the end of the day.

ndmoderate 4 years, 9 months ago

"big-bang theory"Or...Big Bang Theory?

sunflower_sue 4 years, 9 months ago

Yes, I believe God created the universe with a big bang...not quite the way that R_I described it, but I guess anything is plausible.

sgtwolverine 4 years, 9 months ago

Honestly? I don't really care, and I'm not entirely certain why so many others seem to care so much.(That answer could cover the CBS comedy, too.)

zettapixel 4 years, 9 months ago

Does it have to be one way or the other? Either BBT or the "Biblical version?" Why not a combination of God and BBT? Or some derivative thereof?

ms_canada 4 years, 9 months ago

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning (time) God created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter). Whether it took 13.73 billion years or was instantanious is immaterial to me.

average 4 years, 9 months ago

Yes. The observations point to a singularity 13.73 billion years ago.Science does not give, to my wants, a useful explanation of why there should be something and not nothing, though. At that level, I am vaguely deistic.But, to believe that Earth or humanity is terribly special among a decillion-plus cubic light years requires more proof than any anthro-centric religion is willing to offer. To believe that one anthro-centric religion is right and another is wrong would also require at least some physical evidence.

purplekansas 4 years, 9 months ago

Actually, Pywacket, there is considerable internal debate about the meaning of the words in Genesis, so to say that "most Christians" don't believe it is just not true. The Hebrew word translated as "day" can also mean an extended period of time. As I have said earlier, God is not bound by our limited view of time, so it would be difficult to express that in language. Fundamentalists try to turn the parts of the Bible that are poetry, figurative language, into history, and Liberals try to turn the parts of the Bible that are history into poetry, figurative language. Both are incorrect. Broadly speaking, Evangelicals do it right: The histories must be read as history, the poetry, as poetry. Read the Bible, and I think you will see which is which.

jimincountry 4 years, 9 months ago

Brian has it correct!

Left_handed 4 years, 9 months ago

Sure. In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. Bang.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 4 years, 9 months ago

Yes, I believe in the general theory, however, the name "Big Bang" that Fred Hoyle coined is a misnomer. The name should actually imply what really happened. I think the name of the theory should be "God's Snot Laden Great Idea Clap"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.That is a massively paraphrased statement. What really happened is this; God had this great idea, in joy at the thought of the idea, clapped his/her/it's hands together. However, god sneezed just before the moment of the hands came together and a few snot particles were smushed together with great pressure, force, and heat, beginning the process of primordial nucleosynthesis.You can test this theory on a very minute level. Draw your hands wide apart , and bring them together suddenly in a violent joy inspired clap. Feel the sting? Feel the heat generated?Now imagine the massiveness of God doing this.The elusive Higgs boson would be better labled as "God Snot" Now the dangerous part....This supercalifragilisticexpialidocious particle collider is supposed to be powerful enough for us to see actually observe God, or, well... the Higgs boson (God Snot)If the Higgs boson (God Snot) is observed, all the mysteries of the universe will be revealed... The secrets of the Illuminati, the location of Rosenkreuz's crypt, the fate of Schrdinger's cat, how the Priory of Sion is related to the Bilderberg Group, and the revelation that the Bilderberg Group meeting is really just a big orgy with temple prostitutes preforming Hieros Gamos.On the other hand this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious particle collider may have the effect of creating a "artificial black hole" and our world, our galaxy, and the universe will implode on its self.Either way I say if you are not, it's a good time to start praying.

PapaB 4 years, 9 months ago

Intelligent Design and BBT are not mutually exclusive. That's the thing about any idea like the BBT, you can never prove it wasn't orchestrated by God. Personally, I like to hold onto some scientific laws and find it impossible to believe that there was nothing, then something. Matter cannot be created or destroyed, just rearranged. Now if the BBT flavor we're talking about is a super-condensed amount of matter that blows up and fills space, it's possible, whether you believe in God or not.

coltrane 4 years, 9 months ago

yes the bigger the bang the better the theory

purplekansas 4 years, 9 months ago

Connection with the universe on a "higher plane"? I don't even know what that means, nor have I ever wanted it. The Truth is what I seek. When evidence points strongly, and there are other compelling reasons, as well as personal experience, then that is most certainly an answer.Christianity is extremely rational. We believe in a God who has revealed himself in specific ways, well-documented in history as well as lives of living believers. Also, rationality is limited, for one thing, there a many occurrences in human history and present which defy "rational" explanation. What I must assume you mean by rational is that which has a material explanation. The truth is, born out by consciousness and other unexplainable (rationally) attributes of our existence, non-material things exist.God did not only reveal himself in the last 2000. He was in relationship with Adam at the Beginning, and has continually revealed himself since that time. Also, He has revealed Himself in his creation, of which DNA, consciousness, Big Bang, etc are good examples. That we can even observe the universe at all and have scientific understanding is evidence of this.God is not limited by our conception of time. All history exists as an boundless "now." "waiting" millions of years to create humans would not be waiting at all. ahhh, the ever-present question of hell. It's actually a very simple answer.God created us with free will. He wants us to love him, but He does not force us to. Love is not love if it is forced; it has to be given. He gave us the choice. If we choose not to have a relationship with Him in this life, why would He force us to have one with Him in the next life? The truth is, God is perfectly just.The very definition of God is eternal, pre-existent. Being all-powerful and omnipresent, God was not created, He has always, and will always, exist.

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

Jonas,BTW. Why the switch in user names? (Assuming that jonas_opines is jonas?) Did that come with the new job?

snap_pop_no_crackle 4 years, 9 months ago

TOB, I have my assistants pumping up the life raft even as I type. I'll most likely be at work when the weather starts getting interesting.

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 4 years, 9 months ago

T_O_B, Why is Ike heading there? Tina is not due there until November 27th.Maybe Ike doesn't like Don Henley?

geniusmannumber1 4 years, 9 months ago

Hey, I'm going to lose my bet. There are, like, 2 comments like the ones I expected. C'mon, trolls. Where are you when I need you.

bombshell 4 years, 9 months ago

scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider are hot in my book.

BuffyloGal 4 years, 9 months ago

Maybe they're hiding under their bridges because of the rain.

woodenfleaeater 4 years, 9 months ago

sorry...or girl.

purplekansas 4 years, 9 months ago

It seems to me that the Big Bang Theory is one of the most persuasive scientific evidences for the existence of God. (along with DNA and consciousness and some others)The Big Bang tells us that the universe has a beginning, and therefore, it has to have a cause. God is the cause of everything. It's the only explanation that makes any sense at all. The Big Bang only tells us what happened at that moment, it doesn't explain why it happened, nor does it tells us what happened right before that crucial explosion. The science leaves us hanging, begging us to finish the sentence with "God did it."All of the theories about the beginning of the universe that have been thought of since the Big Bang have been attempts to avoid this "problem" of something-coming-from-nothing. The expanding-contracting-expanding universe, multi-verses, universe generators, etc all seek to make the universe eternal again so that scientists with a presupposition of philosophical materialism can avoid thinking about God as a result of the Big Bang Theory.

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

TOB, Wouldn't that be the Golden Meatball award? :-) I apologize for that joke, it's really lame, kinda like a noodle. Still posted it though.

johnp 4 years, 9 months ago

In the beginning there was 1, then 0, then 1 and 0.

jumpin_catfish 4 years, 9 months ago

Does believe infer faith of some kind, because its just a theory after all. I believe LJW just ask these types of questions to stir the pot, speaking of pot....

jonas_opines 4 years, 9 months ago

"God is the cause of everything. It's the only explanation that makes any sense at all."What caused God?

bondmen 4 years, 9 months ago

Show me an explosion which results in order. Serious observers agree there is great order in the universe. There are laws of physics and mathematics governing the relative behavior of objects in space (miniature and galactic) allowing prediction and order in the observations we make about the world around us. On earth (located in a safe and open place in the Milky Way) we find ourselves in a particularly unique position to observe many deep space events. None of this could result from an uncaused explosion. It is pure fantasy to believe otherwise!

artwhore 4 years, 9 months ago

what i want is the pre-bible, like where did god come from? who created it?just because you use a religion to define your universe doesn't meanthat all of your questions can be answered.

woodenfleaeater 4 years, 9 months ago

According to what I experienced in prison, the "Big Bang" is not how the world was made.

blindrabbit 4 years, 9 months ago

Without a doubt; the Big Bang created an ever expanding universe and for many people an ever expanding mind and way of thinking. But for some unfortunate Kansans, the mind ceased to expand when they bought the entire "god theory" unequivocally, afterall, religion is a "faith". The Darwin Evolution debate story is unfortunate because the "faithers" have used the word "theory" in an attemp to refute what to most of us is logic. Back in the 19th Century, when Darwin proposed, the use of the word theory was appropriate but unfortunate, he didn't count on the "faithers" obfuscating the real truth, which since that time has been proved.To my mind a "proved theory" is much more convincing than a "blind faith"; but you have to have an open mind first to accept what is heresy to many "closed minders".

RETICENT_IRREVERENT 4 years, 9 months ago

Andini,Really? Roy Orbison?

bondmen 4 years, 9 months ago

anxiousatheist there are a number of reasons scientists exclude the Biblical creation account and make up their own story. One is their orthodoxy and dogma requires only so called natural or materialistic causes. They believe their knowledge is so great they can safely exclude supernatural causes i.e., a Creator God. In effect they have replaced the Creator God with their own account. They cannot explain supernatural interventions by God so they exclude any possibility or causes which are revealed to us by Him to be supernatural. It is however a huge miscalculation and introduces a very large error in their work from the start.The second reason is for a scientist to move up the food chain in academia he/she must accept the dominate paradigm i.e., the majority belief. Scientists generally do not want to re argue past battles or introduce the supernatural because there are no mathematical formulas for them to apply capable of incorporating God caused interventions in our time and space. Since they can't explain it the way they want to (with their limited knowledge and understanding) they exclude it by fiat and demand others they work with do the same.Therefore scientists are continually surprised at new things they learn as more of the details around us are revealed and understood. Consequently their theories are under continual revision and refinement and subject to change again from the next, newest data set.

bondmen 4 years, 9 months ago

No. Nor it proponents. There is one big bang I do believe in. It's from my college days and after when in the morning a big bang inside the head reminded me, after a night of frolicking and beer drinking, that I should have taken the important aspirin and 3 big glasses of water before going to bed.The big bang so called scientists have proposed as the creative force in the universe is preposterous and shows us all how far they will go to replace the true creation story God revealed to us all in His word.

ralphralph 4 years, 9 months ago

Most people (including me), if they were to answer truthfully, would have to say "I don't know". Given the low level of scientific and mathematical knowledge possessed by most of us (again, including me), to believe in "The Big Bang" involves just as much a leap-of-faith as belief in "Biblical Creation". I don't have the facts to say either way, and if I did have the facts, I wouldn't understand them sufficiently to form an intelligent opinion as to their meaning. So, my answer (and yours, in all likelihood), by necessity, is ............I don't know.

tangential_reasoners_anonymous 4 years, 9 months ago

Given the propagation of sound in space... or spacelessness, as it were... can we really call it a Big BANG?( I'd propose the "Big Hush," but my lips are sealed. )http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N14jLNn1MNg

tangential_reasoners_anonymous 4 years, 9 months ago

Like, the Big Bang Theory is soooooooooooooooooooo yesterday.( Tho' I have an unwavering faith in the Big Bang Fairy. )

slang4d 4 years, 9 months ago

Do I believe in it more than that whole God Theory? Absolutely. Show me some kind of tangible evidence on the other side (something other than "you gotta' have faith!") and I might reconsider.

woodenfleaeater 4 years, 9 months ago

Isn't it crazy that people say "God did it" went they can't come up with answers or an explanation for something? "It was God's will" "God meant for it to happen". No, it's called science or coinicidence or bad luck or consequences. Sometimes it does feel like things happen for a reson, but not because god made them happen. If we lost our baby or I had to have heart surgery and almost die becuase "It was God's will", than to tell you the truth, I really don't like the guy.

arizonajh 4 years, 9 months ago

Bondman says,"Show me an explosion which results in order."An explosion has nothing to do the "order" you are talking about. The "BB" didn't change the laws of gravity or how atoms interact (the big and little). Just like the firecracker doesn't change the paper to something else, it can burn it , it can shred it, it can disperse it but it can't change it to metal. Spark to gunpowder results in explosion. That explosion results in expansion. That expansion can be large or small by changing the amount of powder or the the ratio of salt peter to charcoal or sulfur, or the pressure that we apply or where we apply it before ignition. No matter what we do it still has "order" or else we couldn't create fireworks or directed charges, we couldn't have combustion engines or rockets.

jonas_opines 4 years, 9 months ago

Readingsports: Apologies for missing this. Same me, yes. This was my original account, from the days before the article-based posting format, from the old Reader's Reaction Forum. It got carried over, but I made the other account because I couldn't figure out how to access it at the time (the underscore between the words threw things off). Anyway, I made the other account and started posting under that and forgot this one, but I prefer this one, mostly because it seems like a full name, and it acknowledges that all of this is mostly opinion. Anyway, I got 5000 posts on my old one, and figured it was time to retire it, so I switched. Not sure I was supposed to, but I figure as long as I only use this one and not both the moderators can't find much to be angry about. I considered having them pull the other one, but frankly I'm worried that a few posters who hover around ready to prey on mistakes would conclude that I was trying to cover up my comments history. That might be paranoid, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that there are people on here who don't like me at all. (justifiably, in many cases >B^)> )

jonas_opines 4 years, 9 months ago

bondmen (Anonymous) says:"Show me an explosion which results in order"That's rich. Show us this God you're talking about at the same time.

bondmen 4 years, 9 months ago

The big bang explains nothing about creation in the universe. Look closely and you'll see its order of creative events contradicts the order given in the biblical account. The time frames are incomparable too! The BB is the atheist creation story. It's silly to think folks would believe all time, space and matter would or could come from a singularity i.e., from nothing - all by itself. Their faith is great nonetheless!It's another fairy tale (like molecules to man evolution) for adults with a proficiency in math and physics!

BuffyloGal 4 years, 9 months ago

It's "another fairy tale" because the order of events contradicts a different fairy tale? The logic astounds!

johnp 4 years, 9 months ago

Bob,Quantum computing.

coltrane 4 years, 9 months ago

when i was a sophomore there was a big bang party out at lonestar!

davidsmom 4 years, 9 months ago

The Big Bang theory is not contrary to the Biblical account of creation. They can coexist peacefully. The Bible tells us THAT God created the heavens and the earth, while science, including the Big Bang theory, can help explain HOW.

arizonajh 4 years, 9 months ago

I guess you can argue about what caused the "big bang" but I don't see how you can argue it didn't happen. When first theorized the "BB" was not provable but we have since found easy ways to prove it. It's as simple as the Doppler Effect. You know it by that radar that warns of tornados. It basically says that the light coming from (or reflected from) an object moving toward you shifts to the blue end of the spectrum and moving away it shifts to the red end (same as sound from a car shifts tone as it comes toward you and passes you). We can look to space and see that the galaxies are moving away from each other by using this technique. If everything is moving away from everything else now, it doesn't take much understanding to figure out that things were close together in the past. Like a firecracker sending paper and smoke in all directions we see our universe expanding, who lit the fuse you can debate, but to argue there was no explosion, well that's just silly.

radiohawk 4 years, 9 months ago

Thank you, Flying Spaghetti Monster.rAmen

moderntrinitys 4 years, 9 months ago

Tomorrow's On the street: "Do you believe in gravity?" Stay tuned for "Is the sky blue?"And Lawrence is really one of the most intelligent cities in the country, you say?

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

Clint,Here's a vain attempt to reach into that hateful, arrogant, condescending carapace of yours.Whether big bang or or small whimper: God loves, even you.I'm praying for you, but no doubt my post will throw you even deeper into a bigoted rage. Oh, and BTW. Google "atheism and nihilism" you get hits. Have fun with that, and report your findings back to the class. :-)

Pywacket 4 years, 9 months ago

Yes--unless and until the Stephen Hawkings of our world show me a more credible explanation. The deeper you delve into physics, the stranger and more interesting it gets. Methinks Ms Donna takes the term "dumb blonde" to stratospheric levels, unless she's really a comic soul and meant that answer totally tongue-in-cheek--in which case, I salute her! That's the problem with reading, rather than hearing, a person's response--you can't tell when somebody's joking.Genesis as literal truth? Yeah--lots of credible evidence for that. Most Christians don't even hold with such literal, fundamentalist beliefs. Although I do not believe in deities myself, I believe there is room for respectable theories that marry the prevailing scientific wisdom to some people's need to retain a "god" figure in their lives. But literal interpretation of Genesis is waaaaay off the chart.Those who think the world was made in literally 7 days, and that that happened a few hundred thousand years ago, should step outside their comfort zone and take some "scary" physics and biology and chemistry classes. Maybe some physical anthropology and geology thrown in for good measure. I challenge them to do that and not be influenced by the evidence produced by decades of empirical study.

notajayhawk 4 years, 9 months ago

Maybe this wasn't the best date to pick to make jokes about big bangs.

Crossfire 4 years, 9 months ago

I Am The Bib Gang.Bow woW to me now.D-O-GYour Dyslexic Supreme Being

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

Jonas,So, what's the line on how the LHC collider will destroy the earth?I've heard the possibilities are: magnetic monopole, stranglet, or quantum singularity (black hole). Though, for Tra's benefit I would add a quantum hillarity, which is of course like a singularity, but funnier.Maybe it would be safer if they used small hadron's instead of the large ones. :-)

TheSychophant 4 years, 9 months ago

"In the beginning there was 1, then 0, then 1 and 0"Brilliant. "one" does not exist, except in relative comparison to two, three, etc. And there is no logical comparison of zero and one, i.e., 0 + 1 does not equal one. That is the reason for the calculus. YOu can approach zero from one, and vice versa, but never truly reach it.

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

Jonas,Though, I regularly ask God to show himself to you, but I must caution you that you must be careful what you ask God for. Or others ask God for, on your behalf. :-) When God directly reveals himself to someone, it's hardly ever 'reassuring', safe, or pleasant. In fact those manifestations usually begin with the words "Don't be afraid", and end with the the word "go". So, maybe you should lower your bar a bit. Just a suggestion. ;-)

ReadingSports 4 years, 9 months ago

Jonas,"I considered having them pull the other one, but frankly I'm worried that a few posters who hover around ready to prey on mistakes would conclude that I was trying to cover up my comments history. That might be paranoid, but it wouldn't be wrong to say that there are people on here who don't like me at all. (justifiably, in many cases >B^)> )"Fine with me, I'm just curious and making conversation. And I hope that I've never given you the impression that I don't like you. Though I think I'll withhold comment on "That's rich. Show us this God you're talking about at the same time." :-)

jonas_opines 4 years, 9 months ago

Heh heh. No, you don't need to worry about it, I've never gotten the impression that you disliked me at all. (Also, try and keep in mind that I don't actually need someone to show me their God in order for them to believe in it, just maybe for me to.)

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