The Meeting of Astrophysics and Theology

Scientists are determined to understand the origin of the universe, and the most world-renowned astrophysicists of the past century have labored long and hard to piece together what happened in the very first instants of the Big Bang.  Here’s the latest description of what happened as pieced together from years of work by a team of scientists led by Alan Guth:

“The universe is roughly 13.8 billion years old and it began from a patch of material packed with repulsive gravity.  The patch was tiny – on 100-billionth the size of a single proton.  But the repulsive gravity was alike a magic wand, doubling the patch in size every tenth of a trillionth of a second.  And it waved its doubling power over the patch about 100 times in a row, until it got to the size of a marble.  And that happened within a hundredth of a billionth of a trillionth of a second.  The ingredients of what would become our entire observable universe were packed inside that tiny marble.” (Boston Globe Magazine – May 12, 2014)

This is mind boggling to be sure, but it also presents science with a serious problem because it establishes a boundary beyond witch their methods cannot reach.  This boundary is the point where science meets theology.  Science can describe what happened is detail, but has no clue as to how or why it happened.    Namely, “Where did that patch of primordial material and repulsive gravity come from?”  It defies all logic to presume that this amazing thing came from nothing.  Twenty years ago, NASA scientist Robert Jastrow predicted that, “When scientists have scaled the mountain of ignorance… and pull themselves over the final peak, they will be greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”   And what have those Christian theologians been pondering all along?  That what science calls the Big Bang was Love exploding out of the life of the Trinity.

One of the things science and theology agree on is that before the big bang, there was no time.  St. Augustine postulated this in the 3^rd century, and it took until the 20^th century for science to confirm this fact.  It seems that time is necessary for an expanding universe, and from the work of Einstein, we know that time and space are two parts of the same thing he called spacetime.  Einstein also discovered that matter and energy are interchangeable (E=mc²), which led to the harnessing of nuclear energy.  Christians have always believed that God exists outside of time, and we also believe that He meant for us to live forever with him.  In other words, God never intended for us to die.  Over and over again the bible tells us that death is the result of sin, turning away from God. 

Sunday’s gospel includes that oft quoted verse, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish, but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  In a Lenten meditation for Sunday, Fr. Robert Barron describes Jesus as a “cosmic warrior” doing battle with the forces that keep us from being fully alive, namely, violence, hatred, egotism and ultimately death itself.  Jesus did this in three short years of his public life, healing the sick, raising the dead, calling out false religion, and most of all, revealing the true nature of God Himself, God who is the very essence of Love.  When St. John says, “God is Love,”  he is not merely describing an attribute of God, but rather defining the essence of true love which has its origin in God.  God who IS love, created us from the very beginning for eternal life, not because He wanted or needed company, but because the Trinitarian nature of God is the unity of three persons, so united in love that they are One Being, One God.  The love, or call it “energy” of God became the primordial matter and energy that would become our physical universe, hurtling through spacetime, spawning galaxies, suns, moons, planets and all life as we know it.  Every atom that comprises our body has existed from the very first instant of the Big Bang, and somehow, some way, it has been formed into our miraculous bodies, now infused with the Love of God, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, intended not merely for a short temporary life, but for an eternity of Love with our Creator. 

The miracle of our existence is even more astounding when we realize that we have the power of rational thinking, even to the point of being able to comprehend God’s existence and His love.  Sadly, mankind has misused this gift by turning away from God, and in doing so, cut ourselves off from the source of all life, sowing the seeds of death and destruction through envy, lust, greed, and violence.  Nevertheless, we are inexorably attracted back to God because it is Love we desire first and foremost, and only perfect love can fulfill our hearts’ deepest desire.  When we come to realize our spiritual heritage, and attempt to imitate God by loving as He loves us, we are at our very best.  God’s love is self-sacrificing and forgiving, and leads to unity that is so complete, two become one.  At some deep level of our subconscious we must know this, because it has even crept into our language.  For example, the word atonement which we commonly understand as repairing a relationship, is at its root “at-one-ment” (two become one).  And when we say, “Love is not love until you give it away,” we are saying that love is “for-giving.” 

Over the course of the first three weeks of Lent, the focus of scripture has been on our sinfulness and the importance of listening to the Word of God.  He gave us the Ten Commandments, not to put restrictions on our freedom, but to teach us how to love God (the first three commandments) and love one another (the last seven).  If only we can learn how to love and put our trust in the Love of God, we might have a better chance of avoiding sin.  The rest of Lent will focus on the fact that we are incapable of saving ourselves, we need Jesus to overcome sin and death, and if not for Him, we would all be lost.