Something From Nothing?

Why do we believe what we believe? Can we prove, empirically, what we believe is true? If one searching for truth can't comprehend an offered belief, then confusion, doubt and resignation to acceptance of popular theories, without further examination of logic, may result.

Not unlike humankind throughout the ages, I've been contemplating ideas concerning creation. How was this vast realm of the cosmos brought into being? When I pause to to admire the beauty and wonder of our planet, I find it difficult to believe everything came about without the will and power of something beyond my ability to fully comprehend.

Contemplation led me to read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" , Broadway Books, 2003, by Bill Bryson. Throughout this book, the reader is likely to discover fascinating information presented by Bryson. The author offers information that seeks to explain how we came into being. Bryson galvanized my interest when he wrote, page 10, "And so, from nothing our universe begins."

What is nothing? If there was nothing, what was there? What is darkness? What is cold or hot? What was the source, the initial energy, the proton, the spark, the dust that began the universe? Where is "where" if there is no where? Doesn't something coming from nothing fly in the face of scientific logic? I cannot fathom how anything can come from nothing. It seems something has to present to bring about anything.

The quandary Bryson generated led me to read "Cosmos", Random House, 1980, by Carl Sagan. On page 246, Dr. Sagan states, "Ten or twenty billion years ago, something happened---the Big Bang, the event that began our universe." Something, at some time, happened. But how did that something happen?

On page 257, Dr. Sagan poses questions that crystallize my quest: "If the general picture of an expanding universe and a Big Bang is correct, we must then confront still more difficult questions. What were conditions like at the time of the Big Bang? What happened before that? Was there a tiny universe, devoid of all matter, and the matter suddenly created from nothing? How does that happen? In many cultures it is customary to answer that God created the universe out of nothing. But this is mere temporizing. If we wish courageously to pursue the question, we must, of course, ask where God comes from. And if we decide this to be unanswerable why not save a step and decide that the origin of the universe is an unanswerable question? Or if we say that God has always existed, why not save a step and conclude the universe has always existed?"

Rick Gore, writing in the June 1983 edition of National Geographic, stated on page 710, "Conclusion: Our observable universe began at a finite time in the past in a hot explosion---the big bang."

I have not read any serious scientific offerings that do not refer to the Big Bang as the origin of the universe. When we attempt to understand what was going on before the bang, we find ourselves left to our own beliefs. Scientists cannot tell us what they cannot fathom. When asked what caused those variables to come together at a precise moment, theoreticians, brilliant as they are, cannot answer that question.

Perhaps the answer comes down to a matter of belief. Perhaps, "In the beginning..." is the most reliable explanation. Science can take it from there to explain the natural world and bring about further advances to mankind.

Intelligent Design verses Evolution is a long-standing, hotly debated subject in many Letters to the Editor columns and in assemblies of civil government. School boards often grapple with curricular matters concerning textbooks that present the "Big Bang" as explanation for creation. It seems logical there was a "bang". We just don't know, for sure, who or what brought it about. Perhaps the "bang" material should be given credence up to the point where it cannot explain how the miraculous event occurred. Tell it like it is, without embellishment. We should not attempt to explain what isn't knowable. "Big Bang" advocates should not be offended when they are asked about the origin of that spark that brought the universe into being. Fair question.

What have I learned from search of this material? I remain temporally in awe of stars and planets. What wonder they behold and present to even the casual observer. The learned people who pursue these questions as their life's work through physics, astronomy, mathematics, biology and related sciences are to be admired by the lay reader. Do I believe it "all" came "from nothing" as my references explained? No. It is not reasonable for me to posit nothingness as the source for anything. There had to be something to bring about something. From where did the spark that caused the "bang" originate from? Many may continue to denigrate Intelligent Design studies and, thus, disregard the most logical answer to the question of creation. As Albert Einstein stated, "God Almighty does not throw dice."