Exploring Theories of a Godless Universe (Part Two)

Part One of our review of cosmogenic theories examined those that claim the universe had no beginning. In Part Two, we will consider scientific efforts to determine why the universe exists. Yet even these hypotheses ultimately push the original cause of the universe into infinity. Is there room for God in these theories?

The Big Bang Theory is the most widely accepted explanation for the origin of the universe. It is based in part on the behaviour of known physical laws under extreme conditions—such as a small spacetime framework and high matter and energy density—as well as key discoveries, including the recession of galaxies observed in the 1920s, interpreted as evidence of cosmic expansion, and the detection of cosmic background radiation in the 1960s.

Nevertheless, the theory of the universe’s origin has its critics. In the previous section, we examined theories arguing that the universe had no beginning. Some outright reject the Big Bang, while others redefine it as something other than the universe’s origin. The same applies to the theories that follow.

The evolution of the Big Bang Theory

Danny R. Faulkner notes that the understanding of the Big Bang theory has been shifting for about a decade.¹ Scientists once believed the universe began as a primordial singularity, meaning an infinitely small point, that suddenly expanded. This was thought to have happened 13.8 billion years ago, implying a definite beginning. However, an increasingly common view today is that the Big Bang does not explain the origin of spacetime, matter, and energy but only the physical laws that currently govern them.

These changes are closely linked to the theory of inflation. When the Big Bang theory was formulated, certain problems arose, such as why the universe has a uniform temperature in all directions, even though the theory suggests it should not. Around 1980, Alan Guth, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), proposed that spacetime underwent a period of rapid inflation (expansion) at the very beginning of the universe. While this theory appears to address the issues with the Big Bang, it has its own challenges, such as the problem of density perturbations.² As a result, numerous inflationary models have been proposed—by 1997, there were as many as 50.

The multiverse hypothesis

The inflation theory has another significant aspect. Alan Guth, the originator of the inflation model, is reported to have said: ‘It is hard to build a model of inflation that does not lead to a multiverse theory’.³ The multiverse, simply put, is a collection of different universes existing alongside our own. However, as with the inflation theory, multiple multiverse models have been proposed. Some suggest parallel universes, others propose bubble universes, membrane universes, or universes arising from existing ones—such as the idea that our universe was created in a laboratory within another universe. Another model, M-theory, is derived from string theory and superstring theory. These models may either complement or contradict one another.

Quantum fluctuation

The theory of eternal (chaotic) inflation has gained considerable popularity. According to this model, the entire universe undergoes chaotic, perpetual inflation within a false quantum vacuum, as predicted by quantum field theory. However, quantum fluctuations create ridges within this vacuum, locally transforming the false vacuum into a true one and slowing inflation in those regions. New universes are believed to emerge from these ‘fluctuation bubbles’, one of which is ours. In his 1973 work on quantum fluctuation theory, Edward Tryon reportedly have stated: ‘I offer a modest proposal that our universe is simply one of those things which happen from time to time.’⁴

Various scientists and authors, such as Ethan Siegel, argue that eternal inflation makes the most sense when the Big Bang is seen as the emergence of our universe from that inflation.⁵ It forms a boundary beyond which we cannot see, once again avoiding the question of what existed at the very beginning.

This is just one interpretation based on quantum fluctuation theory. Another suggests that new universes arise from quantum fluctuations in existing ones.⁶ The idea that universes continuously branch from previous ones simply pushes the cause of our universe’s origin into the eternal past and ultimately explains nothing.

Empty speculations

It is clear that science, in its search for the origin of our universe, proposes various hypothetical entities that may not exist at all. These include universes with different physical laws or ones with the same laws but different sequences of choices and events. The number of such universes is thought to be infinite or nearly infinite—for example, string theory predicts up to 1050010^{500} universes.⁷

All these speculations share a common feature: they are entirely naturalistic and exclude the possibility of a personal God, yet they do not provide real explanations. There will always be the fundamental question: where did this come from? In avoiding God, people instead attribute divine qualities, particularly eternity, to the universe or these hypothetical entities. Since we exist and are not eternal, something else must be. Either God, the universe, whatever brought the universe into existence, or whatever preceded that. Of these possibilities, God is the most reasonable answer.

In the third part of this series, we will examine some of the strangest theories, including those that attribute intelligence to the universe or portray human existence as entirely absurd.

By the way, we recommend reading the articles:

• The Fate of the Universe – What Awaits Our Cosmos?
• Geological Evidence for a Young Earth
• Chinese Pictograms and the Story of Genesis
• The Whale Pelvis: More Than Just a Vestige
• Why Did Ancient Calendars Have Only 360 Days?

Footnotes

1. Faulkner, D.R., 2021. No Beginning for the Big Bang? Answers in Genesis. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/big-bang/no-beginning-for-big-bang/.
2. Urbański, J., 2001. Obóz letni w Załęczu Wielkim. Klub Astronomiczny Almukantarat. Available at: https://www.almukantarat.pl/wiedza/01inflacja/.
3. Kramer, M., 2014. Our Universe May Exist in a Multiverse, Cosmic Inflation Discovery Suggests. Space.com. Available at: https://www.space.com/25100-multiverse-cosmic-inflation-gravitational-waves.html.
4. Faulkner, D.R., 2019. Secular Alternatives to the Big Bang Are Expanding. Answers in Genesis. Available at: https://answersingenesis.org/big-bang/secular-alternatives-big-bang-expanding/.
5. Siegel, E., 2019. What Came First: Inflation or The Big Bang? Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2019/10/22/what-came-first-inflation-or-the-big-bang/?sh=398bf0a4153c.
6. Faulkner, D.R., Secular Alternatives…, op. cit.
7. Moskowitz, C., 2018. String Theory May Create Far Fewer Universes Than Thought. Live Science. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/63204-string-theory-multiverse.html.

© Source of main image: Canva.

Evolution of Thinking - Sebastian S.

The portal EvolutionOfThinking.org, created by the Research and Education Institute, focuses on education and the dissemination of knowledge related to research on various aspects of human well-being.