Does the Big Bang Theory conflict with the Bible?

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Hi all,

Does the Big Bang Theory conflicts with what the bible teaches. The Big Bang did not finish creating earth in 7 days like God did, or even when it occurred, it isn’t the same time as what the bible describes.

What are the church views on the Big Bang Theory?

Thanks
 
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No…look at a fire cracker under a tin can…first is a flash of light, then an explosion with a release of expanding energy which can be seen lifting the can.

So goes creation…the flash of light came when scripture says and there was light…the light came with a release of energy so strong, the universe is still expanding today.

And the Big Bang theory was from a Jesuit priest in Belgium,
 
B777 said:
What are the church views on the Big Bang Theory?
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The person to propose the Big Bang Theory as a cosmological model was a Catholic priest.

Anyway, the Church teaches that the creation narrative in Genesis is not a scientific narrative and it does not condemn belief in a big bang model. Even more than 1,500 years ago there were Catholic theologians in good standing (and some of whom are saints) who did not believe in a literal seven day creation. They had no reason to suppose instead that the universe had existed for roughly 14 billion years, of course, but the fact that seven-day scientific-literalism was not dogmatic belief among Catholic theologians that long ago is interesting and should be remembered today.
 
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Yeah the Big Bang was proposed by a priest, Fr. Lemaitre.


Edit: to my understanding.

The Bible s a spiritual book, referring to spiritual truths. Some of it is literal, but there is a lot which isn’t literal. So it isn’t a science book. Although it does contain some historical and scientific truth, there is also symbolism. The number 7 for example appears in many places. It doesn’t necessarily mean 7, it might refer to the number 7 as theological perfection. But in short, the Bible contains wisdom, and needs to be read spiritually.
 
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As has been mentioned, a Catholic priest developed this theory.

St. Augustine explains an acceptable interpretation of Creation in Book 6 of his “Literal Meaning of Genesis,": which I think is helpful here.

He explains that the six days represent not literal days, but a scheme or plan of creation. The actual creation during those “days” was instantaneous and of things in potency and causation, but not necessarily their final visible form which would be shaped later over time. For example, he places the actual formation of man’s body after the seventh day (which explains why there is two creation accounts of man in Genesis):

St. Augustine
There can be no doubt, then, that the work whereby man was formed from the slime of the earth and a wife fashioned for him from his side belongs not to that creation by which all thing were made together, after completing which, God rested, but to that work of God which takes place with the unfolding of the ages as He works even now.
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This interpretation works well with concepts like an old universe, the big bang, and evolution–ie God created all things at once in potency (the big bang) and then formed them over time (old universe, evolution).

Along those lines, Pope Pius XII treated the Big Bang as God’s “Fiat Lux”:
  1. It is undeniable that when a mind enlightened and enriched with modern scientific knowledge weighs this problem calmly, it feels drawn to break through the circle of completely independent or autochthonous matter, whether uncreated or self-created, and to ascend to a creating Spirit. With the same clear and critical look with which it examines and passes judgment on facts, it perceives and recognizes the work of creative omnipotence, whose power, set in motion by the mighty “Fiat” pronounced billions of years ago by the Creating Spirit, spread out over the universe, calling into existence with a gesture of generous love matter bursting with energy. In fact, it would seem that present-day science, with one sweeping step back across millions of centuries, has succeeded in bearing witness to that primordial “Fiat lux” uttered at the moment when, along with matter, there burst forth from nothing a sea of light and radiation, while the particles of chemical elements split and formed into millions of galaxies.
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B777 said:
Hi all,

Does the Big Bang Theory conflicts with what the bible teaches. The Big Bang did not finish creating earth in 7 days like God did, or even when it occurred, it isn’t the same time as what the bible describes.

What are the church views on the Big Bang Theory?

Thanks
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The big bang theory has nothing to do with an eventual creation event of the universe. To link the big bang with the formation of our planet is pretty far fetched. Sure the theory deals with the evolution of the universe but only as a whole and not on the level of individual objects like stars or planets.

The priest who famously solved the field equations in Einstein’s theory of general relativity also asked the current pope, who quickly linked the scientific idea to the biblical event, not to make those connections.
 
dscath said:
No…look at a fire cracker under a tin can…first is a flash of light, then an explosion with a release of expanding energy which can be seen lifting the can.

So goes creation…the flash of light came when scripture says and there was light…the light came with a release of energy so strong, the universe is still expanding today.
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The big bang theory has nothing to do with an explosion. If it has I would love to have that explained to me.
 
God said, “Let there be . . .”, and BANG! There it was.

D
 
It’s only contradictory if you read Genesis super literally, which most Catholics do not.
 
Servant31 said:
The number 7 for example appears in many places. It doesn’t necessarily mean 7
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That is pretty confusing. So according to the Bible, the number 7 doesn’t mean 7?
It is difficult to convince someone of the truth of the Bible if 7 does not mean 7, because it leaves the door open for all kinds of other phrases of wisdom such as x does not mean x, where x is the subject of your choice.
 
AlNg said:
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Servant31:
The number 7 for example appears in many places. It doesn’t necessarily mean 7
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That is pretty confusing. So according to the Bible, the number 7 doesn’t mean 7?
It is difficult to convince someone of the truth of the Bible if 7 does not mean 7, because it leaves the door open for all kinds of other phrases of wisdom such as x does not mean x, where x is the subject of your choice.
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Is there a Christian denomination that does not recognize that the number “3” in Scripture is often connected to God, or “7” for completeness, or “12” for the Israel, “40” for long periods of time, and “70” or “72” for nations of the world? Or is it fun just to find some thing to quibble about in every post?
 
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Wesrock said:
Or is it fun just to find some thing to quibble about in every post?
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So there is no good answer to the question and as frequently happens here there is an ad hominem attack on the person who asked the question.
As everyone knows, except you perhaps, it is difficult to convince an atheist of the truth of the Bible. This has nothing to do with me and is not funny at all. And it is not a quibble because there are decent people in this world who are looking for good reasons to have faith, but have difficulty believing.
In fact, paraphrasing what an atheist said on another post: Religious texts frequently say what we want them to say as they can often be taken in a figurative sense.
 
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NoelFitz said:
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B777:
Does the Big Bang Theory conflicts with what the bible teaches.
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Q: Does the Big Bang Theory conflicts with what the bible teaches?
A: No.
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Genesis does indeed contradict our best model for the evolution of the universe and creation of our planet. It always surprises me to see people trying to present it otherwise. As far as I remember the two creation stories even contradict each other.
 
Numbers have a lot of meanings in the bible. They are not just random. A person would have to really study them to understand their importance when it comes to understanding God, but numbers do have an important reason for being what they are.

There is a reason why we have 10 Commandments and not 15, and it’s not because Mel Brooks dropped a tablet (if you get that joke you just aged yourself 😉 )

There’s a reason Jesus picked 12 apostles. Why the Father, Son and Holy Spirit equals 3. Why Jesus rose in 3 days, Why Noah flood lasted 40 days. Why Jesus fasted for 40 days and why God said the world was created in 7 days.

I’m sorry I cant give you more specific answers, I never studied the numbers in the bible but they have a point… I asked a similar question at the Catholic bible study class I went to. I wanted to know if anyone knew how long Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden before they ate the apple and why Jesus preached for only 3 years. So even those of us who are not atheists wonder about the numbers in the bible. Maybe one day I’ll study them.

Anyway 2 Peter 3:8-9 says that God’s time is not the same as ours so maybe that will help your friend understand why 7 days might not be exactly 7, 24hour days.
 
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annad347 said:
There is a reason why we have 10 Commandments and not 15
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I don’t think so. Catholics have renumbered the 10 commandments so that the last two are really one in the Protestant version. So in reality it would make no difference if the number of commandments were 9, 10, or 11. And besides it is easy to think of other things that should be listed as commandments besides the original (be it 9 or 10 or 11).
 
It was a joke… the 10 instead of 15.

9, 10 or 11 Commandments, doesnt change the fact numbers are not just numbers in the bible… they have meanings.
 
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I guess one could say that. However again, if one reads it spiritually, it’s not that important. Like saying in a story,

“an eight foot tall man walks into the room, and a hush went around the room as they had never seen someone his size towering over the rest…”

Is the most important point that he is exactly eight feet tall, not 7-8 or 7-5… it’s more important to just say, “a really tall person”. I think it’s more like that.

It’s also possible that, say, everyone over 7 feet tall has a superpower. Now in that story the mans height means, “someone clearly with a superpower”. There may be meaning or significance in that way.
Best regards.
 
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