COSMOLOGY

Cosmology has always been a topic that fascinates every class of people. It is derived from the two Greek words kosmos (6@F:@H ) meaning world, and logos (8@(@H) meaning word. It concerns the origin and overall structure of the universe. Traditionally it had been a branch of philosophy, but in recent times it has been of special interest to physicists and to theologians.

The ultimate aim on this corner of the website is to seek out a way to arrive at an understanding of cosmology, of the origin and structure of the universe, which is consistent with what we know from science, as well as with what we believe as Christians. Various aspects of the issue are covered in the individual chapters listed on the sidebar.

Most present day scientists accept the validity of the Big Bang Theory, and we provide a chapter which describes and explains it. We also have a chapter which provides some of the mathematical background needed for a deeper understanding of this theory. The Anthropic Principle chapter argues that the Universe must have been created possessing properties which allow carbon based life, more specifically human life, to develop in it at some stage of its history, and to thrive for a duration exceeding many centuries. The chapter Are We Alone in the Universe suggests that the vastness of the cosmos only makes sense if other civilizations inhabit planets of distant galaxies.

Some fundamentalist Christians accept the historicity of the Genesis story, and claim that the Universe is less than 6000 years old. This is in sharp contrast to the scientific account which reports an age in excess of ten billion years. The former Creationist viewpoint rejects the possibility of the gradual evolutionary development which plays a major role in the scientific scenario. At the present time the focal point of the rather minimal dialogue taking place between these two world views is the proposal of Intelligent Design as a valid theory of science. This proposal has had very little impact within the community of scientists, most of whom reject it as fraudulent, but it has been remarkably successful in the political arena, and many school boards have been mandating the teaching of Intelligent Design side by side with Evolution. The students are to have freedom to choose which to believe, and the teachers are to remain neutral.

It seems to me that the idea of an intelligent God creating the universe in accordance with a rational plan is a viable one, but to call it Intelligent Design is not feasible since this term is identified with Creationism in the public mind. We propose to adopt the phrase Providential Design to describe a universe created by an intelligent divine being, namely God, which develops and evolves in accordance with the laws of science. Our chapter Providential Design delineates such a universe. Finally the chapter Weltanschauung describes a universe which takes into account a biblical perspective, as well as a scientific one.