Genesis 1: The Beginning

In the beginning...

A few years ago on January 1, I joined many of my fellow Christians in setting one of those “read the Bible in a year” goals. Also like many of my fellow Christians, I failed miserably. But, that’s not the point. I started out strong in Genesis 1:1. By the end of Genesis chapter 1, I realized that my experience was going to be an entirely different experience than any time I had ever read the book of Genesis in the past. You see, over the past few years leading up to this particular January 1, I had become more and more fascinated with the world of science and physics and such: quantum physics, the Theory of Relativity, wave-particle duality, speed of light and other fundamental constants, the origin of the Universe, etc. I’ve read a number of books, and I’ll list a few of them at the end of this post. Join me in the nerdery, won’t you?

Anyhow, when I read Genesis chapter 1, verse 3, “And God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And there was light.” (NIV) a couple things jumped out at me in those 11 words that I hadn’t noticed before…things I had taken for granted entirely…specifically, science-y things that seemed to echo the contents of my nerdy books about the theorized origins of the universe.

I should note that scientists who subscribe to the Big Bang Theory (which certainly isn’t all of them, but I think it is safe to say that it is probably a majority) may disagree on a number of aspects about the Big Bang; but they generally agree on a couple of things. Those things are: the Big Bang would have been just that. It would have involved an insanely, ridiculously loud bang coinciding with an insanely, ridiculously bright flash of light. That pretty much jives with Genesis chapter 1, verse 3. I find it pretty cool that the first thing God did in the Bible was speak arguably the most important fundamental constant into existence. But it’s the second thing that jumped out at me that continues to fascinate me.

Before I get to that second thing, I need to add a bit of a disclaimer, preface, caveat, or whatever you want to call it. I’ve got a couple of business degrees; but I pretty much skipped out of physics in college; and, the brain space occupied by any physics I learned in high school was almost immediately replaced by Tupac and Beastie Boys lyrics. Pretty much everything I know about physics today is coming from books I’ve read over the past few years. More specifically it’s coming from the approximately 58% of those books that my feeble mind is actually capable of understanding. As it turns out, there are a very large number of people in this world who are substantially smarter than I am. In addition to that, the Bible doesn’t give specifics on any of this stuff; so, everything I’m talking about here basically falls into the realm of fun conjecture. Take it all with a grain of salt. That said, let’s dive into the second thing that stuck out to me in Genesis chapter 1, verse 3.

For those of you who are like 10-years-ago-Josh and know virtually nothing at all about the Big Bang Theory or any of this physics science stuff, let me give you a very, very brief, non-expertly-worded background. When we’re talking about origins of the Universe or universal laws, Quantum Theory and Einstein’s general Theory of Relativity don’t really jive. No one is exactly sure why that is. Many scientists (including Einstein for the latter part of his life) devoted their lives to searching for a so-called Theory of Everything: a theory that would explain and unify the different theories of how the universe works. In their search, they’ve come up with a veritable cornucopia of different theories. One of these theories is called String Theory. (You’ve probably heard of it thanks to the illustrious work of Dr. Sheldon Cooper. Bazinga.) Anyhow, here’s the basic gist of String Theory: at the smallest fundamental level, all matter is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy rather than being made up of tiny point particles. A long time ago, it was thought that the atom was the smallest fundamental particle (hence the name “atom” from the Greek word “atomos” meaning indivisible). Then, humanity figured out the atom was made up of even smaller things like protons, neutrons, and electrons. Now, we know there are even smaller things than protons and neutrons—like up quarks and down quarks. String Theory surmises that the universe isn’t really made up at the smallest level of point particles like these, rather it’s made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy. The vibration of these strings gives rise to particles in matter. Different vibrations yield different particles. A bunch of really smart people have done an insane amount of math to know that this theory has some merit. What’s super cool about this to me is that if it turns out to be true, it means the Universe is more like a symphony than a jumble of random atoms. That would mean that, theoretically-speaking, the origin of the Universe is as much music and art as it is elements and order.

Back to Genesis 1:3. What if the big ridiculously loud bang in the Big Bang Theory wasn’t just the chaotic sound of an explosion of random chance? What if it were a more organized bang? What if it were so organized that it resembled not an explosion of chaotic sound but the boom of something highly organized? Something like a voice. What if the Big Bang wasn’t a big bang at all but an infinitely loud voice sounding a chorus of perfectly planned vibrations into existence? Vibrations that would, from that point on, continue to vibrate and reverberate from (quantum to physical to reality) to form the symphony of the world and Universe as we know it today.

And God said, “Let there be light. And there was light.” After pondering the deeper meaning of life and the creator who created the world with a flash of light and a booming voice, with a cadence and a chorus of “Let there be…Let there be…Let there be… Let there be light…Let there be land…Let there be animals…Let there be people…Let there be joy…” and after thinking about the universe as a composed symphony rather than exploded chaos, I had to laugh a little bit at how relatively ineptly and simply our brightest and smartest humans describe the origins of the Universe. Think about it. After centuries upon centuries of scientific, literary, human and verbal advancement, the best description that the brightest minds among us could come up with for the creation of the universe is an almost caveman-esque “Big Bang.” How did we get here? Why does the universe exist? How does the universe form? “UUUHHH big bang.” I mean, there’s elegance in simplicity and all, but I think that Genesis chapter 1 is far more poetic in describing it. I must say that after reading so much of the science over the last few years, I’m excited to read what future scientists and physicists and biologists and theoretical physicists are able to explore and write about and research and publish in the future. I really hope they keep pressing into the creation story and trying to figure it out because I think they’re just scratching the surface of the complexity of a designer, creator and composer-God. So, if there is a scientist out there among my seven or eight listeners, please keep at it. Keep studying. I’m really excited to see what God reveals to you about how this Universe was created.

Well that’s a wrap on Genesis 1. As promised, here’s a list of books I’ve enjoyed diving into. No, I neither understand nor agree with everything in them. But, I do appreciate each author’s work. In addition to listing a few of the books I’ve read, here’s a YouTube video by Brian Greene, who is much more eloquent about String Theory than I.

One more thing: despite my best attempts at producing this post in audio format, I failed miserably. My best attempt was a painfully monotone recital that sounded as if I was in a wind tunnel. So, I’ll try again next week. Eventually, I’ll put all of the posts (including this one) in audio format. For now, enjoy books/video below and have a great week.

The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch

The Infinity Puzzle by Frank Close

The Language of God by Francis Collins

The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (or, try A Briefer History of Time for a more concise version.)

Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman

The Science of God by Gerald Schroeder

Infinite Powers by Steven Strogatz

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™