“The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend” :How Young Earth Creationism loses out on the best Proof of God

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There is a deep historical irony in how the Big Bang theory shifted from being a "theological threat" to secular science to being a "secular threat" to Young Earth Creationism (YEC).

This observation aligns with the transition from the Steady State Theory to the Big Bang model, a shift that many atheistic or agnostic scientists found deeply unsettling at the time.



The Philosophical Resistance

Before the mid-20th century, the prevailing scientific view was that the universe was eternal and static. This was philosophically "safe" for secularism because an eternal universe requires no explanation for its origin; it simply is.

When Georges Lemaître a physicist who was also a Catholic priest first proposed the "primeval atom" (the Big Bang), many notable scientists were skeptical for the exact reasons you mentioned:

  • Fred Hoyle: He actually coined the term "Big Bang" as a pejorative to mock the idea. He championed the Steady State model specifically because he found the idea of a "beginning" to be too close to religious creation myths.

  • Arthur Eddington: He famously remarked, "The notion of a beginning is repugnant to me... I simply do not believe that the present order of things started off with a bang."

  • Albert Einstein: Initially, he added the "Cosmological Constant" to his equations to maintain a static universe, later calling it his "greatest blunder" once the evidence for expansion became undeniable.

The YEC Dilemma

The irony in YEC circles usually stems from a shift in focus:

  • The "Who" vs. the "When": The Big Bang confirms the theological "That" (the universe began) but disagrees with the chronological "When" (13.8 billion years vs. 6,000 years). For YEC, the timeline is often treated as being as "inspired" as the fact of creation itself.

  • Naturalism vs. Supernaturalism: Because the Big Bang describes the expansion of the universe through physical laws (General Relativity), many YEC proponents view it as an attempt to explain the universe without God, even though, as Dr. Collins points out, it actually provides a "point of entry" for a First Cause.

  • The Order of Events: YEC adherents often point out that the Big Bang model has stars forming before the Earth, whereas a literal reading of Genesis 1 has the Earth existing before the sun and stars.

A Convergence of Thought

C. John Collins (and others like Hugh Ross or William Lane Craig), many "Old Earth" thinkers see the Big Bang as a massive strategic win for theism.

By rejecting it, YEC proponents are in the odd position of fighting a battle against a theory that actually destroyed the "Eternal Universe" model a model that was the primary scientific shield against theism for centuries.

It’s a classic case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." By viewing the Big Bang as an enemy because of the timeframe, YEC groups lose a powerful ally regarding the event.



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