Gravity waves shocks scientific and religious communities alike

By MONA OSMER

As announced a few weeks ago, scientists proved that there are indeed gravity waves, or ripples in space time. In turn, this finding proves the standing Big Bang Theory, which states that the universe rapidly expanded into creation from a tiny particle of mass.

This week was the first time scientists were able to see these waves, as they were previously only theorized to be the cause of the Big Bang. Scientists are hereby vindicated, but here is the catch: so are Judeo-Christians, or so they think.

In fact, Leslie Wickman of CNN paralleled the new findings to a preceding model of the universe, the Steady State Theory.

The Steady State theorized that the universe always existed, but without a beginning that necessitated a cause.

Therefore, she claims, the cause that set the universe in motion were these gravitational waves. However, Wickman further extends this finding to the hand of God. To prove her argument, she quotes Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.” She excludes the fact that the finding of gravitational waves proves the Big Bang theory, not the Steady State theory.

Ripples in space time, which are what scientists describe as gravitational waves to be, are the catalyst of the creation of the universe. They are the force by which that tiny particle became our extensively massed Earth.

Therefore, it completely denotes the Steady State Theory because this proves that there are time gaps within our universe, not a continuous universal line or shape. In addition, the everlasting expansion of our universe is also proved, which is a factor stated again by the Big Bang Theory.

A telescope at the South Pole called Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization 2 (BICEP2) was critical to the discovery. The telescope allowed scientists to analyze the polarization of light left over from the early universe, leading to Monday’s landmark announcement. To clarify, this is not the universe that Hoyle stated always existed, scientists proved that it is the universe that was the result of the Big Bang.

Although many would like to extend this finding to the hand of God much like Wickman has, the point here is that there will always be a question and never a clear cut answer as to whether or not God exists.

Consequently, one may benefit to think of it this way: God does not physically exist and never claimed to, he is however, existential. For example, refer to Stephan Crane’s poem, “A Man Said to the Universe,” “A man said to the universe: ‘Sir I exist!’ ‘However,’ replied the universe, ‘The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.’”

For, the fact is, it is much like Crane puts it, there is an extent to which supernatural and natural elements exist, it is just a matter of physicality and the somewhat punitive reach of the human eye.

In addition, it is faith that enhances the belief in God; no scientist will ever be able to disprove that.

The Bible is not a scientific theory on how the world was created, and it is of no use to parallel quotes in the Bible to scientific findings.