The Universe

[funKYcat75]

Let's settle this once and for all.

Not really, obviously.

When you thing of the Big Bang (IF that was the start) what do you see in your mind's eye as what existed before? The thought of a speck of everything, the size of almost nothing, creating the Universe into which it spread just doesn't register in my head. Maybe someone can explain.

In my head, there was always something, even if it was just empty space save for that litle point which Banged Biggedly.

There will be some religious talk in this thread most likely, so please don't attack anyone's beliefs.

Speaking of which, the idea of eternity, both backwards and forwards, gives me a headache.

Feel free to thrown in other universe-centric thoughts and/or questions as well.

 

[Ron Mehico]

The thought of the universe and answering all the questions you posed gives me a headache and makes me realize how dumb and insignificant we are. We understand .0000000000000000001% of the world around us and it’s kinda crazy really.

 

[Catman100]

What he ^^^^^^^^ said.

 

[Monroe Claxton]

 

[Glenn's Take]

We have a multiverse and our universe is what came out of the bottom of a black hole. That's how all universes are created.
That's my theory at least.

 

[rudd1]

-The universe is hostile. so Impersonal. devour to survive.
So it is. So it's always been.

 

[UK_Dallas]

Just sit back and enjoy the pictures from Hubble and now the more powerful James Webb telescopes.

 

[WildcatFan1982]

Flat earth on top of a snapping turtle.

 

[Tskware]

Genesis 1:1 is what I envision, tbh. I never thought belief in science and belief in religion was incompatible, although much of the Bible is not intended to be taken literally (e.g. world was not created in 7 days). I know some (many?) will disagree.

 

[funKYcat75]

Damn, I'm more confused now. Although he said to take it all with a grain of salt, the video mentioned that the Big Bang could have created time itself. That is a very odd thought.

The universe bubbles part was pretty interesting. That seems somewhat reasonable. I just hope we don't pop anytime soon.

 

[funKYcat75]

Genesis 1:1 is what I envision, tbh. I never thought belief in science and belief in religion was incompatible, although much of the Bible is not intended to be taken literally (e.g. world was not created in 7 days). I know some (many?) will disagree.

If Genesis is your go-to, then I think the same questions remain. Eternity going backwards and forwards, what was there before Creation, etc.

 

[Blue63Madison]

I’m a born and raised southern Baptist. I think all versions of how our existence began (including the Bible) are totally whack. Big Bang science, Genesis, or whatever … if we don’t have real proof yet, we’re probably never going to find it. So just live your lives as you wish and don’t judge anyone else for how they live theirs.

 

[WildcatfaninOhio]

I’ll buy the current best scientific explanation of a Big Bang. I believe that physical forces were at work that caused energy, matter and time. I reject the notion of a creator and of intelligent design.

 

[_Mav_]

What if we're all Neos living inside our own individual matrices?

 

[_Mav_]

For some really wild musings, check out John Wheeler's theory of the "Participatory Universe."

 

[Col. Angus]

Aliens are just time travelers from the future where that technology has been developed.

 

[Col. Angus]

I’m a born and raised southern Baptist. I think all versions of how our existence began (including the Bible) are totally whack. Big Bang science, Genesis, or whatever … if we don’t have real proof yet, we’re probably never going to find it. So just live your lives as you wish and don’t judge anyone else for how they live theirs.

Whose *** is that in your profile pic?

 

[JimmyWa11]

The universe consists of time, matter and energy. God is infinite, immaterial, and omnipotent. I.e. a first “cause” who needs no first cause because He is wholly different than the material universe.

 

[Fact_Checker]

Genesis 1:1 is what I envision, tbh. I never thought belief in science and belief in religion was incompatible, although much of the Bible is not intended to be taken literally (e.g. world was not created in 7 days). I know some (many?) will disagree.

Yep, a void and God spoke things into existence into that void.

 

[SDC888]

The question doesn't actually make sense; space-time are linked properties, can't have one without the other.

What you are essentially asking is what time before there was time? What space existed then? It would have to be something that is not spacetime, but our minds can only grasp "something" as it exists in time and space.

Also, when you get close enough to the moment of the big bang, the laws of physics collapse totally, so absolutely nothing can be said about that moment.

 

[funKYcat75]

Yep, a void and God spoke things into existence into that void.

Not arguing, just hashing things out. Since God is eternal, what was going on before that?

What you are essentially asking is what time before there was time? What space existed then? It would have to be something that is not spacetime, but our minds can only grasp "something" as it exists in time and space.

Yes. Exactly that. I guess the crux is that my brain won’t allow me to imagine nothingness before whatever Universe this is came to be.

 

[Fact_Checker]

Not arguing, just hashing things out. Since God is eternal, what was going on before that?



Yes. Exactly that. I guess the crux is that my brain won’t allow me to imagine nothingness before whatever Universe this is came to be.

A void is a void. So nothing.

 

[Tskware]

Yes. Exactly that. I guess the crux is that my brain won’t allow me to imagine nothingness before whatever Universe this is came to be.

Nor will mine, we are in agreement on that point.

 

[_Mav_]

Since God is eternal, what was going on before that?

Pretty sure it was St. Augustine who answered this question with (paraphrasing), "God was preparing hell for those who ask such questions."

 

[Rebelfreedomeagle]

One theory is that all time happened/s/ing simultaneously.

I can’t even get through the scientific explanation of gravity without a headache so I know I’m not working with enough head muscle for this.

 

[ukcatz12]

my brain won’t allow me to imagine nothingness before whatever Universe this is came to be.

I think that's the answer. Whatever came "before" the universe is so abstract humans can't understand it. What if time isn't something that just flows forward, that's just how we perceive it? Slightly related: anyone who hasn't seen the movie Arrival should watch it as soon as they can.

 

[entropy13]

While considering the OP's question, also consider this. We are the universe perceiving itself, and thus the universe wondering about its own origins.

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

I love studying astronomy. It’s my belief (the only thing that makes sense at all) is God created everything we see, and what we don’t. I think he made it so simple to understand too, but for some reason humans just can’t understand simple.

I love watching atheist scientist because they make me believe more than a preacher or man or God ever could. Example?

atheist scientist - God didn’t create that. We’ve studied it, that comes from ———— and we’ve seen how it’s formed. It’s made up of a gas mix and over time blah….

I love the way they study what God created, and because they can break down how it’s formed, it points to no God.

It would be like me looking at a car engine saying mechanics don’t exist because I can clearly see the engine in front the me and what it’s made of.

Brian Cox is the one astrophysicist that actually explains this pretty well, and says there’s room for an infinite God even if he might not believe so.

In my view God has already shown his existence. consciousness cannot derive from rock and dust, and rock and dust cannot appear from nothing. It’s that simple.

Yet humans…….

 

[Tskware]

^
To follow up on the above a friend of mine who is an atheist once told me the greatest single factor that argues in favor of the existence of God is the orderly world and universe that exists in balance, very hard to imagine it all just came to be without some form of higher power putting it into action.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

I’m still trying to wrap my head around how large objects like the sun can warp space-time.

 

[UKGrad93]

I think the Big Bang is a good model that goes back far enough to the beginning of the universe as we know it. I agree though that thinking of a tiny speck in a huge sea of black nothingness, seems like the nothingness is still something- we just don’t have the language to describe it.

Infinity going forward and back is hard to think about since we try to put limits of time on everything. Sometimes I wonder if when people die, we just go back to the nothing that we were before we were alive. I don’t remember any experiences before I existed, so maybe eternity in death is similar. I’d be ok with that, especially since I wouldn’t know any better. Although I hope there is a heaven and that I get to see my daughter there. I’d feel better about things if that’s the case.

I try not to dwell too much on the origins of the universe. I did a bible study with some old dudes a while back. They seemed to think it was important. To the point that all science boiled down to the Big Bang and then evolution. I tried to explain that science is mostly a way to model things. Some models are better than others. A lot of science can be done without really involving origins of the universe or evolution.

To sum up all this rambling, Carl Sagan was a weird dude.

 

[Gromcat_rivals]

I’m still trying to wrap my head around how large objects like the sun can warp space-time.

Imagine pool balls laying over an open sheet hovering above the ground. A good guide of the warp of space and also gravity.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

Imagine pool balls laying over an open sheet hovering above the ground. A good guide of the warp of space and also gravity.

I know the basics.

 

[MoneyMuntz]

I love studying astronomy. It’s my belief (the only thing that makes sense at all) is God created everything we see, and what we don’t. I think he made it so simple to understand too, but for some reason humans just can’t understand simple.

I love watching atheist scientist because they make me believe more than a preacher or man or God ever could. Example?

atheist scientist - God didn’t create that. We’ve studied it, that comes from ———— and we’ve seen how it’s formed. It’s made up of a gas mix and over time blah….

I love the way they study what God created, and because they can break down how it’s formed, it points to no God.

It would be like me looking at a car engine saying mechanics don’t exist because I can clearly see the engine in front the me and what it’s made of.

Brian Cox is the one astrophysicist that actually explains this pretty well, and says there’s room for an infinite God even if he might not believe so.

In my view God has already shown his existence. consciousness cannot derive from rock and dust, and rock and dust cannot appear from nothing. It’s that simple.

Yet humans…….

I consider myself agnostic because there is just no way to know what created the universe and therefore I leave open the possibility of a creator. Though I think a “creator” is more likely the result of a lab experiment or a simulation than some omnipotent, omniscient figure represented in the Christian Bible or other religions. To me that’s just not logical, though I do leave the possibility open to a “God.” That said, we can already contemplate the possibility of creating a universe, either naturally or via computer simulation. I think it’s highly likely we’d possess the ability to do so during some point in our existence.

 

[lex cath]

It all comes down to the alligators

 

[runningbears_rivals310920]

You can NOT start something from Nothing. It's really that simple. Any linear regression table MUST start somewhere above zero. SO, man with their infinite wisdom, created the word "IF"... every theory other than creation slips that 2 letter injunction into the explanation. FROM THERE people have spent their entire lives formulating scenarios that simply are mathematically impossible.

I own some businesses.. "IF" you let me set the price I'll give you whatever percent off you would like ... 90% off!!! Today only... my $100 hot dog is yours for only $10... I can create an entire economy giving people great buys at 90% off!!!! ..

ROMANS 1:20 is pretty clear. Men are without excuse.

Dr RB

 

[MoneyMuntz]

You can NOT start something from Nothing. It's really that simple. Any linear regression table MUST start somewhere above zero. SO, man with their infinite wisdom, created the word "IF"... every theory other than creation slips that 2 letter injunction into the explanation. FROM THERE people have spent their entire lives formulating scenarios that simply are mathematically impossible.

I own some businesses.. "IF" you let me set the price I'll give you whatever percent off you would like ... 90% off!!! Today only... my $100 hot dog is yours for only $10... I can create an entire economy giving people great buys at 90% off!!!! ..

ROMANS 1:20 is pretty clear. Men are without excuse.

Dr RB

Who created God? The creationist argument that you can’t have something from nothing has never made sense to me since you have to assume God came from nothing and has existed forever. Humans can’t even intuit what “nothing” is. Our brains aren’t capable of understanding it. Im not sure what math has to do with the problem. We can use math to understand a vast amount of the cosmos and the universe’s history. However your point about nothing has little to do with math and more about “what happened before the Big Bang?” That answer, which is likely impossible to know, would tell us if the universe came from nothing.

 

[jwheat]

We live in a firmament

 

[JimmyWa11]

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Who created God? The creationist argument that you can’t have something from nothing has never made sense to me since you have to assume God came from nothing and has existed forever. Humans can’t even intuit what “nothing” is. Our brains aren’t capable of understanding it. Im not sure what math has to do with the problem. We can use math to understand a vast amount of the cosmos and the universe’s history. However your point about nothing has little to do with math and more about “what happened before the Big Bang?” That answer, which is likely impossible to know, would tell us if the universe came from nothing.

See my post above...God is of a wholly different "substance" than the universe.

 

[LordEggForgotHisPassword_rivals]

Was the vacuum of space always there and matter expanded or is the vacuum part of the expansion too?