Q&A

Q&A

How can we know the Bible is a revelation from God and that other holy books are not from him?

To believe that the Bible is God’s unique and reliable revelation to man is intellectually credible for the following reasons:

  1. Unlike most other religious books, the Bible is clearly connected to history. Therefore, many of its central claims are open to historical investigation.
  2. The manuscript abundance and integrity of the Bible far surpasses that for all other ancient literary works, secular and religious.
  3. Though written in antiquity, the Bible presents a cosmology that aligns with the prevailing findings of modern science.
  4. The Bible appeals to the fulfillment of prophecy and to miracles to substantiate its claims. Both areas can be evaluated and are upheld in terms of their historical accuracy.
  5. The Bible presents a realistic view of human beings as well as a world-and-life view that is rational, viable, and existentially fulfilling for all humanity.

—Kenneth

Is there any probability that new developments in astrophysics will lead to the demise of the big bang theory?

Inflationary big bang cosmology represents our best attempt to describe the development of the universe from its earliest moments. This model is currently unparalleled in its ability to explain how our universe behaves today and how it did in the past. It’s on firm scientific footing, and I’d be surprised to see its essential features undermined.

The term “big bang” has another related, but separate, meaning. The second meaning refers to the proposed “singularity,” the beginning of space-time. Many scientists dispute the singularity’s existence and have proposed alternatives to get around a beginning. One prominent idea is the multiverse, but most multiverse models still require a beginning. The last 100 years’ work in cosmology has yielded a strong case that the universe began to exist.

Every model has anomalies, but big bang cosmology seems to handle these anomalies well, even as we continue to flesh it out.
—Jeff