In the beginning there was a Big Bang ...

[eliems]

I heard a Professor give his answer to the student who asked "Where did the matter and energy for the Big Bang come from?"

The wise old professor answered speaking to several hundred in the lecture hall, "As we continue back to to the Big Bang we arrive at the beginning of time and space, beyond which it makes no sence to proceed. And if that answer does not satisfy you, young lady, then the School of Theology is across the hall".

 

[MrGoodBytes]

Well, this parable works only insofar as the School of Theology won't be able to do anything except speculation either.

 

[Hespera]

As a typical parable, it didnt really happen.

 

[LifeToTheFullest!]

What doesn't make "sence" to me is, who created the guy who created the matter and energy?

For that, you have to walk across the hall to the mythology department.

 

[Tammisto]

What I don't understand is, in what way "is magic man dun it" a better answer than "we dont know at this time"?

 

[Ectezus]

"Where did the matter and energy for the Big Bang come from?"

It is indeed impossible to know with our current knowledge.
I myself do find it hard to imagine how something can always have existed without being created.
However, the logic that god must have done it because it's impossible otherwise is really strange because they argue that god himself always existed. If THAT is possible then it might just aswell have been the case for energy & matter.

Personally I like the idea of a cyclic universe.
Our current data shows the universe is expanding at an increasing velocity. If this continues the universe will end in what we call "The Big Freeze". All matter will be so far apart from eachother that no stars can form anymore and everything will freeze.

A subset of this Big Freeze is called "The Big Rip", where the expansion keeps accelerating till at a point the very bond that holds atoms together will be ripped apart.

Another possible outcome for the universe is "The Big Crunch". This happens when the the universe stops expanding and starts falling back into eachother because of gravity.
This is the cyclic universe I mentioned. Imagine all matter coming together again, resulting in another big bang which eventually gets 'crushed and banged' again and again.

Recycling at it's best!
I could mean matter has always been there which effectively makes the universe infintely old. Our universe might just be a fraction of it's age and when our universe dies, another one will take it's place with all the cards reshuffled.
Lovely idea isn't it?

- Ectezus

 

[Hespera]

Eliems! are you going to state on your honor that you really were in that class and really heard the "wise old professor" say this?

 

[LifeToTheFullest!]

I just love these drive-by-creationists and their "senceless" threads.

 

[gaara4158]

If this many drive-bys happened in my neighborhood I'd give up on replacing my windows.

 

[sbvera13]

Jack Chick strikes yet another helpless uneducated victim.

 

[eliems]

Eliems! are you going to state on your honor that you really were in that class and really heard the "wise old professor" say this?

No Hespera, I heard this account on the radio.

My goodness but there is a lot of hostility in this thread! You people need to get to the gym or go play some volleyball. Maybe you can vent your aggression in a healthy way.

It is true that with a Christian construct we are faced with an eternal God who designed and created all that we see, (and that which we do not see).

Given the order of things and incredible beauty that surrounds us, is design so unlikely to you?

I have walked with our Lord for many years now, seen so many manifestations of His goodness and so many miraculous asnswers to prayer that I no longer "believe", I KNOW!

But I do not expect that you can benefit from my experience in this way, I only remind you of the Big Bang dilema ... you exhibit a lot of faith your selves!

 

[sbvera13]

My goodness but there is a lot of hostility in this thread!

You have to understand that we have seen this exact same argument many, many times. When we provide concrete reasons why we don't accept it, we are either ignored, the argument is repeated with no change or in fact no response at all to our counter arguments, or plain and simple the OP leaves never to be seen again. We call the last option a drive-by preaching. It happens a lot around here. If there's hostility, lay the blame on your compatriots in thought that have poisoned the well with their behavior.

 

[Ectezus]

I only remind you of the Big Bang dilema ... you exhibit a lot of faith your selves!

No not really. The big bang is quite clear. We know what happened like 1 second after it started. We know the end result, we know about the background radiation & the expanding universe that support the big bang.

We don't know (YET) what happened at that actual 1st second.
Of all the trillions of seconds since the big bang, that 1 second is about the most irrelevant and most interesting second at the same time.


Anyway, I find it funny that you actually considered that quote from the professor to be an argument FOR god rather than against it.
Because it's quite clear he was mocking religion.

What the professor was saying is that it's impossible to know what really happened with out current scientific data. And if that answer doesn't satisfy you, you can go over to the realm of myths and fairytales to provide you an answer that is based on absolutely no evidence at all.

- Ectezus

 

[TheBear]

I heard a Professor give his answer to the student who asked "Where did the matter and energy for the Big Bang come from?"

Eliems! are you going to state on your honor that you really were in that class and really heard the "wise old professor" say this?

No Hespera, I heard this account on the radio.

Too funny!

 

[Tenka]

I have walked with our Lord for many years now, seen so many manifestations of His goodness and so many miraculous asnswers to prayer that I no longer "believe", I KNOW!

Christianity as practised by many people is a mess of rationalistic loopholes which allow a determined believer to construe any eventuality as proof.
That's how I KNOW! you are wrong.

Given the order of things and incredible beauty that surrounds us, is design so unlikely to you?

Yes.
Science has taken great steps toward describing the natural forces which create 'order and beauty', positing what is, essentially, a giant magic man that is in charge of it all is taking a giant step back into the ignorant, goat sacrificing past.
Your explanation is vastly less probable, more complicated, less helpful and more emotionally satisfying. Good reasons to think it is wrong.

 

[ReverendDG]

But I do not expect that you can benefit from my experience in this way, I only remind you of the Big Bang dilema ... you exhibit a lot of faith your selves!

its better than 'magic man did it'

 

[ragarth]

This is just another strawman argument with no grounding in reality. We don't know at this time about what existed before the big bang, but there are theories as to what might have been. We do not yet have the capacity to probe these things, but that doesn't mean we won't in the future- we just need to let tech and science catch up with the theories.

 

[Ectezus]

We do not yet have the capacity to probe these things, but that doesn't mean we won't in the future

Exactly.
It's just that for some people "I don't know" is too hard to accept. Making up a magic man in the sky that answers all your questions will quench your thirst for answers and replaces it with all knowing knowledge of absolutely nothing.

I sometimes really wonder how it's like being religious and having the awesome idea that you know everything. It almost sounds too good to be true... (hint)

- Ectezus

 

[ragarth]

Exactly.
It's just that for some people "I don't know" is too hard to accept. Making up a magic man in the sky that answers all your questions will quench your thirst for answers and replaces it with all knowing knowledge of absolutely nothing.

I sometimes really wonder how it's like being religious and having the awesome idea that you know everything. It almost sounds too good to be true... (hint)

- Ectezus

I would rather not know what it's like to be deluded in such a way. Religion to me seems like the insane guy who thinks his devouring of live rats in a cave is perfectly normal. He's quite happy the way he is, but it's certainly not positive and indeed detrimental to his health. Think Gollum. The biggest difference between religion and gollum is that gollum had physical proof of his 'god' a ring that could turn him invisible.

This is a slight change in my previous opinions upon religion, discussions last time I was on this forum set within me a train of thought that has left me becoming increasingly less tolerant of faith as a means of rationalizing an argument or belief, and the research I've done since in this area has only polarized me further on this topic. I'm still exploring this train of thought, but it is interesting and sobering at the same time.

 

[BananaSlug]

The OP seems to be more like a joke than an actual parable.