Back to: Big Bible Basics Course
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Scientific Perspective
It was only in the early 20th century that science began to have strong evidence that there was a beginning to the universe. This evidence was from a combination of observations by the astronomer Edwin Hubble, the General Theory of Relativity of Albert Einstein, and a cosmological theory based on the General Theory of Relativity from the Catholic priest George Lemaitre. This beginning of the universe was later denoted by the expression of “the Big Bang”.
From the General Theory of Relativity that helped to predict the Big Bang, scientists also derived the conclusion that there was a beginning to even time itself. To try to understand what “happened” before time began is of course impossible to fully conceive of. Any theories become more philosophy than true science. But this concept of the beginning of time itself provides an even deeper meaning to the phrase “in the beginning”. In other words, “in the beginning” from a scientific standpoint has come to mean the beginning of time itself, beyond which there is no beginning or end because when there is no concept of time, then we cannot designate a beginning or end.
Here we represent the beginning by an arrow, because before this beginning, there was no time or space. But after the beginning, there was time and space and everything that has come afterwards.
Scriptural Perspective
The Bible talks of God, the great Creator, as the One who has always existed. God says about himself, “I am that I am” in Exodus 3:14. The phrase “I am that I am” has profound spiritual significance. It is a reminder of God’s eternal, unchanging nature. The phrase highlights the fact that God is self-existent and self-sufficient. He does not depend on anyone or anything to exist.
So, at the beginning of creation, it was from God’s eternal, unchanging nature that He then chose to create the heavens and the earth. And from science we now know when God created the heavens and the earth that He also created time itself, and so He created the very concept of a beginning.
References
Stephen Meyer Asks: How Did the Universe Begin? https://evolutionnews.org/2021/12/stephen-meyer-asks-how-did-the-universe-begin/