Creation Science Rebuttals
Creation Magazine
Deceptive Attack on the Big Bang (contained in Focus: News of Interest about Creation and Evolution)
Volume 26, Issue 4, September 2004
by Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
First Published 20 Aug 2005
The September 2004 issue of Creation magazine, a publication of the creation science ministries Answers in Genesis/Creation Ministries International, contains an article on the Big Bang. A summary of the article is posted on their website, at https://creation.com/focus-264.
The article discusses the issue of the size of the universe. Basically, since the universe is 13.7 billion years old, and assuming the material from the Big Bang traveled at the speed of light, then the universe should only be 27.4 billion light years across. They quote "new data" which says the universe is at least 156 billion light-years wide. If you look at the source article which they give (a BBC news report), it dates from May 2004...hardly "new."
The claim is then made that 33 leading scientists published an open letter to the scientific community, rejecting the Big Bang. I was able to find a copy of this letter online, also dated from May 2004. You can read it here. It was originally published in New Scientist on 22 May 2004...six days before the article on the width of the universe. Although the open letter refers to the inflation theory, the two articles, the one discussing the width of the universe, and the "open letter," are unrelated. However, the reader of the Answers in Genesis article would think otherwise. They use two totally unrelated articles, and piece them together for a story.
The Answers in Genesis web article also fails to mention another key point. The 33 scientists are not proposing that the earth is young...they accept that the universe is billions of years old. They are proposing alternate theories to the Big Bang, namely Plasma cosmology and the steady-state model. As the open letter states, both hypothesize an evolving universe without beginning or end. In essence, their theories eliminate the "beginning" which the Big Bang proposes, hence you eliminate God. With no beginning, you don't need a "beginner." The real issue for the scientists is funding dollars for research, which usually goes to Big Bang research.
Big Bang believers have nothing to worry about. The theory is as strong as it ever was, and it continues to be confirmed by observational data. Young earth creation science would dispute this, of course, but their arguments are superficial.
To understand the article on the width of the universe, check out the same report on Space.com (updated 2017). It has an addendum from the researcher, further explaining the article.
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young earth creationism believer, click here.
Related Articles
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.