When it comes to explaining the existence of the universe, you only get three possibilities: (1) the universe is eternal, (2) the universe created itself, or (3) something created the universe. There is no other possibility except to claim that the universe is simply an illusion and does not exist.
First, is the universe eternal? Absolutely not. We know this is true because of the universally recognized second law of Thermodynamics (the law of energy decay or entropy). We can see that the universe is running down and wearing out; the stars are burning up, the radioactive atoms are decaying, and so forth. Given enough time, the universe will experience what some call a “heat death” where there is maximum entropy; every part of the universe will be the same temperature, and no further work will be possible; all energy will be evenly distributed.
Now, eternal things obviously do not wear out because they would have had an infinite amount of time to come to their end. Since you cannot have an end without a beginning, the universe must have had a beginning. Evolutionary astronomer Dr. Robert Jastrow said, “Now three lines of evidence—the motions of the galaxies, the laws of thermodynamics, the life story of the stars—pointed to one conclusion; all indicated that the Universe had a beginning.” And everything that has a beginning has a cause. This building had a beginning, you had a beginning, therefore there must have been a preceding and adequate cause.
The evolutionary astronomers know this and so (looking at the expanding universe) they came up with the “big bang” theory from that “singularity” or “cosmic egg” (the universe exploded into existence, if you will). But, there is still a major problem—you have to explain where that “cosmic egg” came from. As it has been said, “There must be a cosmic chicken.”
Some scientists like Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov proposed the oscillating universe theory to avoid a beginning. This theory states that the universe acts like a yo-yo; it explodes and then gravity pulls it back in, and then the process repeats itself over and over. But the second law of Thermodynamics still refutes that idea, since each cycle would exhaust more and more usable energy (entropy would build up). And there are other problems as well, like the necessary mass not being present in the universe. But, the simple fact is, the universe is not eternal.
Ok, that brings us to the second possibility: Did the universe create itself? It is pretty clear that something cannot bring itself into existence. I like the way R.C. Sproul put it: “It is impossible for something to create itself. The concept of self-creation is a contradiction in terms, a nonsense statement . . . It would have to have the causal power of being before it was. It would have to have the power of being before it had any being with which to exercise that power.” As it has been said, “Nothing scratched its head one day and decided to become something.” I’m sorry to have to drop this bombshell on you, but from nothing, comes nothing (as the Latin ex nehilo nehil fit “out of nothing, nothing comes”).
Here’s how the material for the big bang got here based on quantum physics: There was nothing, then there was something. They call it a quantum fluctuation—that is another name for MAGIC. They accuse us of being unscientific, but their view is: Nothing created a singularity from nothing and it expanded. I’m sorry, but “nothing” violates the principle of causality.
Another problem is that the First Law of Thermodynamics (the law of energy conservation) argues against it. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that in a closed system (without a God, this Universe would have to be a closed system) the amount of energy present in that system is constant—it cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be converted from one form to another. Neither matter nor energy is created or destroyed in our universe (if you burn a log, you didn’t get rid of it, you just changed it to ashes and smoke). So, if the Universe initially contained no energy, and then it spontaneously generated all of the energy in the Universe now, the First Law would be violated. Without intervention from an outside force, the amount of energy in the Universe would have remained constant and unchanged at zero.
And now the third possibility: Did something create the universe? Something exists now and so something must have always existed. If the universe is not eternal and could not have created itself, then the only remaining alternative is that the universe was created by something or Someone. This would have to be a transcendent, eternal, self-existing being. I can find only one satisfactory explanation to our conundrum, and that is found in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Only God fits the criteria of an adequate cause that came before the Universe.
The fact is, we live in a Universe that is an effect—there must be a preceding and adequate cause for it. You can strain your brain all day trying to think about alternate dimensions and universes trying to get around the God conclusion, but I maintain, the only thing that makes sense is a Creator who is more powerful than anything we can imagine.
Who designed the designer?
http://www.discovery.org/v/19