Creation and the Big Bang: How God Created Matter from Nothing

By Clare Raynard Magoon Jr.

Although the so-called big bang theory has been proven and is accepted by over 99 percent of scientists, many of us no doubt still wonder about the beginning of the universe and how something came from nothing. We may know how it began, but what caused the big bang? And more importantly, how do we fit into the broader picture?
In Creation and the Big Bang, author Clare Raynard Magoon Jr. explores the big bang and helps explain the answers to some of these big questions about our origin and our purpose. The big bang, he argues, proves the creation of matter from nothing, which in fact confirms the opening verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, which states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” It also looks at new scientific discoveries and the founding scientists who studied our origins, showing how greats like Sir Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein were all believers and sought after a creator behind the majesty of the cosmos.
It is reassuring to know that there is a creator of the universe. It is even more satisfying to know that the creator, God, is a personable being who cares about us and watches over us, keeping the conditions in the universe, and particularly our planet Earth, fine-tuned at all times to accommodate our existence. With both facts and faith, we can enjoy this knowledge and this reassurance as we reflect on the fingerprints of God in his creation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973631330

Clare Raynard Magoon Jr.

Clare Raynard Magoon Jr. was born in Rockford and raised in Cedar Springs, Michigan. After attending the Moody Bible Institute for one semester, he joined the US Army, making it his career. Magoon was on active duty as a soldier for six years and then served as a civilian, working as an engineer and executive for an additional twenty-nine years. Traveling the world, he was able to observe a variety of cultures and religious practices throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and Creation and the Big Bang draws on these experiences.

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Copyright © 2018 Clare Raynard Magoon Jr.

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Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3131-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3132-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3133-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018907105

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/23/2018

To my wife and soul mate,

Eleonore Brill Magoon.

CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

Recognition

Introduction

CHAPTER 1       The Beginning Of Time

CHAPTER 2       The Controlled Explosion

CHAPTER 3       The Expansion Of The Universe

CHAPTER 4       The Role Of Temperature In The Early Universe

CHAPTER 5       Defining Matter

CHAPTER 6       Matter Versus Mass

CHAPTER 7       Nuclei Forms

CHAPTER 8       Hydrogen And Helium Atoms Form

CHAPTER 9       The Dark Ages

CHAPTER 10     Star Formation

CHAPTER 11     Supernovae

CHAPTER 12     Our Solar System Forms

CHAPTER 13     The Scientists Who Proposed The Nebular

Hypothesis

CHAPTER 14     Our Incredible Sun

CHAPTER 15     The Earth Forms

CHAPTER 16     Composition Of The Planets

CHAPTER 17     The Majestic Moon

CHAPTER 18     Earth, Sun, Moon, Jupiter

CHAPTER 19     The Copernican Principle

CHAPTER 20     The Anthropic Principle

CHAPTER 21     Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation

CHAPTER 22     The Sataloon

CHAPTER 23     The Scientists Who Discovered Cosmic

Microwave Background Radiation

CHAPTER 24     The Discovery Of Cosmic Microwave

Background Radiation

CHAPTER 25     After The Discovery Of Cosmic Microwave

Background Radiation

Glossary

PREFACE

From the time I was a teenager, the topic of creation has been a subject of interest to me. It has remained in the back of my mind and followed me throughout my lifetime. It began in high school when a biology teacher encouraged me and other students to read The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin and Julian Huxley. Two important features occurred to me as I read.

The first was the close correlation in the sequence of events in Darwin’s theory of creation and events in the biblical theory as listed in the first and second chapters of the book of Genesis. I was very familiar with the biblical version after hearing it many times at the local church during various Bible classes. Comparing it with the Darwinian theory was relatively easy, since they both followed the same general pattern.

The second feature was that Darwin’s statements were continually prefaced by the words it appears to me that. This indicated that there was no ironclad proof of many of his ideas and particular theories. Often his ideas were derived by visual observation in nature and in discussions with other scientists rather than by hard facts and proofs taken from studies and experiments in scientific laboratories.

One can hardly discredit Darwin on the sources used and the final results in many of his discoveries. For example, he made tremendous progress in his theories on common descent. He also made great discoveries and generalizations of how various changes and adaptions were made within a species to adjust to its environment. He didn’t explain when and how the universe began; neither did he explain the critical balance and relationships in the laws of nature. In all fairness, he did not have a telescope that could look back billions of years in the pages of time; neither did he have a microscope that could multiply small subjects of inquiry by trillions of times. These tools were perfected a century after his time.

Discoveries made by scientists in the twentieth century have changed all of this—proof of creation exists today, and it is explained in this book. The odds of the universe coming into existence, governed so precisely by the laws of nature, are literally trillions to one. This book explains many of the details of the discoveries, and these ideas place believers in a Creator on very solid ground. Comments made by past scientists such as Sir Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton, Max Planck, and Albert Einstein, who were all believers, are mentioned. Discoveries of proofs regarding the beginning point of the universe by the big bang and cosmic microwave background radiation are analyzed and explained. Our curiosity of how it all began is satisfied.

I don’t feel alone in my concern and curiosity for the realities regarding the beginning of the universe and time as we know it. In reality, likely almost everyone has had a similar curiosity at one time or another, wondering where it all began and how each person’s own particular existence fits into the broader picture. This book will help explain the answers to those questions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful for the contributions made by numerous people in the preparation of this book, especially to my son Michael who read portions of the manuscript in draft form and offered comments and suggestions that I ultimately used to formulate some of the thoughts and ideas presented in the text; to my daughter Patricia, who helped edit the content; to my daughter Jacqueline, who offered suggestions and comments; to those editors from Westbow Press, who, in addition to editing the first draft, offered advice and assistance in the formatting of various sections of the book; to Katia Lara, the artist who created many of the illustrations and pictures used throughout the book; and finally to friends and family members who offered support and encouragement as I wrote the book and prepared it in its final format.

I am also grateful to the scientists and theologians who, throughout history, have dedicated their lives to the discovery and formulation of the facts and proofs that this book attempts to present in an orderly and understandable fashion. It is understood that there are many scientists who have made discoveries quoted in this book, rendering invaluable scientific proofs and facts that are not necessarily of the same philosophical conviction as the author. Therefore, it is not intended that my presentation of facts and discoveries made by them implies political, philosophical, or religious agreement, either in conviction or belief. It is with honor and respect, however, that we present theological truths, scientific evidence, and facts.

RECOGNITION

I would like to express my thanks and grateful recognition to the military and civilians who served with me during my long military and civil service career.

Especially meaningful and rewarding was the service in foreign lands, supporting the cause for the freedom of others countries as well as ours. It was a pleasure working with military personnel and local nationals in the Republic of Germany, the Republic of Viet Nam, the Republic of Korea, and with the many countries of NATO, while I was stationed in Brussels, Mons, and Chievres, Belgium.

I am and will be forever grateful to the Commander, 5th Signal Command and the commanders who served in the 39th Signal Battalion, 5th Signal Command, at Chievres, Belgium, and the commander of the 80th Area Support Group, United States Army, Europe, also stationed at Chievres. They and their families were instrumental in lending immense support to my wife and me and the troops and families under their commands, making service to those organizations both pleasurable and meaningful.

INTRODUCTION

Do you not know or have you not heard? The Lord is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the Earth.

—Isaiah 40:28 (SJE)

It is reassuring to know that there is a Creator of the universe. It is even more satisfying to know that the Creator is a personable being who cares about us and watches over us, keeping the conditions in the universe, and particularly our planet Earth, fine-tuned at all times to accommodate our existence.

It is also uplifting to know that, historically and currently, the greatest scientists in the scientific community—Sir Francis Bacon, Sir Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Max Planck, Albert Einstein, and Werner von Braun to mention only a few—shared this view. We are in such great company with our belief in a Creator that this book will often mention the accomplishments of our great scientists and quote them in their affirmation of God, the Creator.

Many of us can remember posing, early on in our lives, the rather serious questions to a schoolmate, parent, or sibling: Where did we come from? How did we get here? The various answers might have been surprising and mixed, depending on who provided the answer. No less mysteriously we have looked at our surroundings and have wondered how the stars and moon attained their positions in the sky, or where the flowers, grass, and trees came from. Again, the answers could have been very mixed, depending on the person we asked—a friend, teacher, or religious leader.

Through the learning processes of listening, reading, and observing, we have learned much, and rightfully so. Our cumulative knowledge and experience can be very informative and practical in gaining answers and knowledge. To this end has this book been written—to pass on to the reader some of the scientific and theological knowledge that has been collectively gathered by scientists and theologians over the centuries.

I prefer to state my case for a Creator of the universe by presenting facts rather than theories, although both are obviously appropriate and important. I will therefore seek to present facts and data that have been discovered by scientists, often quoting them, in an attempt to preserve and pass on their findings to the reader. Consider the following quote by Albert Einstein:

In view of such harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognize, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support for such views.¹

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) has certainly become a familiar household name throughout the world. He is most famous for establishing the special theory of relativity and the general theory of relativity. He was also famous for discovering the photoelectric effect for which he received the Nobel Prize. His formula, E = MC² (energy equals mass times time to the second power), is likely the most-often-quoted formula of all time. His view on creation is both elegantly and humorously stated in the quote I have included here. It is very fittingly attributed to him, as he was well known for his good nature, wit, and genius.

Werner von Braun (1912–1977) has also become a household name, especially to those of us who are intrigued by NASA’s accomplishment of putting a man on the moon. He was the most influential rocket scientist of all time and has been proclaimed by NASA as the Father of Rocket Science. He stated, The farther we probe into space, the greater my faith.

Von Braun’s faith in God as Creator is somewhat surprising due to his background. He was one of the German rocket scientists who invented the V-2 rocket, used in the Second World War. He later came to America and designed the Saturn V rocket.

The Bible gives us a surprisingly accurate account of creation. Many persons who have sought to diminish and belittle the biblical account, comparing it to crude accounts put forth by primitive cultures, have likely not seriously studied the books of Job, Isiah, Psalms, or the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy); neither have they studied the words of Christ himself. Take, for example, the first three words in the Bible: In the beginning (Genesis 1:1 KJV), these words establish a beginning point in the evolution of the universe. These words were not considered accurate by many, if not most, scientists until the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation in 1965. A beginning point was then undeniable, and almost all scientists accept a beginning point today as put forth in the big bang theory, and referenced approximately 1,440 years ago by Moses.

Major scientific discoveries in the twentieth century introduced many convincing proofs of a creator of the universe. For example, the four-letter simplicity of the complex deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) code, a four-digit code in which a molecule carries the genetic instructions for the growth, functioning, development, and reproduction of living things, discovered in the middle of the twentieth century, puts our computer programs far behind. The data stored in the nucleus of the tiny cell could hardly be written and contained on hundreds of reams of paper. In any logical way of reasoning, there can be little—even miniscule—doubt that the code was written by a grand designer who is far beyond our level of competence and capability.

Many of the atheistic ideas put forth in the nineteenth century were not founded in scientific fact, formulated in a hypothesis, and proven beyond doubt; rather, they were often phrased in a form of scientific speculation and introduced with the words it appears to me that or it seems to me that.

Such speculation is unfortunate since, when we hear the words that come from the mouths or pens of popular scientists, we often assume that they are correct even though the suggested facts have not been proven in accordance with the accepted scientific standards set forth in the sixteenth century by Sir Francis Bacon, in which he insisted that empiricism, employing observation and experiment, using knowledge, inductive reasoning, and observation of events of nature be used to prove scientific theory.

Many scientists are today examining the scientific contributions made by Darwin and his colleagues during the nineteenth century. Consider the words from the pen of a renowned, modern, scientists, professor, and writer:

Biology has progressed tremendously by the model that Darwin put forth. But the black boxes Darwin accepted are now being opened, and our view of the world is again being shaken.

Michael J. Behe, PhD

Michael Behe (born in 1951) is an accomplished American biochemist, author, and professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. In this statement he puts forth two important facts. The first is that Charles Darwin is recognized as an important contributor to the progression of scientific study. The second is that Darwin was severely limited in his study by the lack of scientific equipment that is available to the scientific community today. One of his black boxes was the cell itself. A cell appeared only as a blob on the microscope in the nineteenth century. Today scientists look inside the cell with electron microscopes and observe many specific functions. Mutations are not common occurrences in the cell, but when they occur, they are generally harmful to the cell and, if a species is involved, they are harmful to the species. It is not surprising that many conclusions differ today from conclusions made in earlier times, since today we can see a much clearer and defined picture in our microscopes.

Much Darwinian evidence was and is supportive of common ancestry, but evidence does not support mutations that create a new species. In fact, there is a great deal to support the fact that mutations always lead to the degeneration of the species. It is reasonable to say, then, that each species was created one at a time, following a progression of life as creation advanced forward century by century.

Certainly, species do attempt to adapt to new conditions, especially as their environments undergo climatic or terrain changes. However, in the process of adaptation, they do not become different species. One species does not evolve into another, although there are often numerous changes within a species. The millions of fossil records discovered before and since Darwin do not support gradual change from a specific species into a new species. In fact, the fossil records merely support countless new species suddenly flooding the planet during the Cambrian explosion. Diversification of multicellular animal life came at an amazingly rapid pace, especially during that period.

Many persons are of the opinion that almost all of the renowned scientists became atheists during the Darwinian era and have remained so. This supposition is simply not true. Many great, historically well-known scientists were believers during Darwin’s time, never wavering in their opinion. For example, in addition to the scientists already mentioned, others, such as Louis Pasteur, a famed French chemist and microbiologist, who lived from 1822 to 1895 and invented many of the first vaccines and discovered the causes of several diseases such as anthrax, rabies, various forms of silkworm disease, and some forms of cholera, openly expressed his belief.

Then there was James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), a Scottish physicist who excelled in the field of mathematical physics, who is famous for his Maxwell equations in which he demonstrated that electricity, magnetism, and light are all part of the electromagnetic field. He is famous for the formation of a theory of electromagnetic radiation, declaring electricity, magnetism, and light as manifestations of the same phenomenon. His equations for electromagnetism were often referred to as the second great unification in physics. Isaac