As Christians, we already have a firm belief in God. Not only do we have the Scriptures, but we can see His handiwork in the endless heavens, (Psalms 19:1-2). We can also peer into a microscope and observe the tiniest creatures and atoms themselves, the building blocks of the universe.
For me, this proves God’s existence in of itself.
Yet, for much of the world, they still have their doubts.
However, there is one scientific study about to take place that could very well change that for the world…
The James Webb Space Telescope
On Christmas Day, NASA is scheduled to launch the new James Webb Space Telescope.
This telescope will be 100 times more powerful than the famous Hubble Telescope, but more importantly, this telescope was designed to look back to the beginning of time itself.
Science believes our universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. The James Webb Space Telescope will have the ability to look back to the very first stars that were formed in order to learn about the creation of our universe.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson explained,
The James Webb Space Telescope will “open up secrets of the universe that will be just stupendous, if not almost overwhelming.” Webb will enable a “quantum leap of understanding of who we are, how we got here, what we are and how did it all evolve.”
Space
How we got here?
One of man’s most often asked questions.
Questions that have perplexed the wisest of men since the dawn of mankind.
Let’s talk a little more about that so you can understand why this telescope mission is so important for mankind.
The Big Bang Theory
During the 1920s, astronomers discovered that the wavelengths of light coming from distant galaxies were stretched out, or “red-shifted,” as if the galaxies were moving away from us. Just as sound coming from a train whistle drops in pitch as the result of the sound waves being stretched out as the train recedes, light coming from a distant galaxy changes color (becomes more red) as light waves are elongated as galaxies move away from Earth.
Stephen C. Meyer
Not long after the discovery of red shifted light, Belgian priest-physicist Georges Lemaître and Caltech astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that galaxies farther away from earth were receding faster than those close to us.
This suggested a spherical expansion of the universe in all directions of space. Just like a balloon inflating, all from one single explosive beginning.
Thus giving birth to the Big Bang Theory.
Initially, this theory caused problems for non-believing scientists, those who doubted God’s existence. Even today, the Big Bang Theory causes problems for their evolutionary model.
You see, the Big Bang Theory by definition indicates, there was a beginning.
Study and news with a fresh Christian perspective in your inbox.
Just as Genesis 1:1 explains.
So no matter the rationale used to discuss evolution as is common today, mainstream science cannot get around the fact, there was a beginning. The James Webb Space telescope could very well confirm the Big Bang Theory.
Let’s see what else Mr. Meyer of Intelligent Design has to say,
The light that NASA’s new telescope seeks to detect comes, not from those very earliest moments after the beginning, but from the first stars and galaxies that formed an estimated several hundred thousand years later. Detecting that light will nevertheless provide further confirmation of an expanding universe.
Since the new telescope can detect infrared light—invisible light with extremely long wave-lengths—it can establish whether the most distant galaxies exhibit the amount of red shift that astronomers expect given the Big Bang. As space plasma physicist and long-time NASA contractor Rob Sheldon has explained, “The light coming from these ancient, extremely distant galaxies, should be ‘ultra red-shifted’ into the infra-red range that the Webb telescope is designed to detect.”
This additional evidence of an expanding universe would further deepen the mystery associated with the Big Bang and add weight to a growing science-based “God hypothesis.” If the physical universe of matter, energy, space, and time had a beginning—as observational astronomy and theoretical physics increasingly suggest—it becomes extremely difficult to conceive of any physical or materialistic cause for the origin of the universe. After all, it was matter and energy that first came into existence at the Big Bang. Before that, no matter or energy—no physics—would have yet existed that could have caused the universe to begin.
Stephen C. Meyer
This would mean, whatever caused the Big Bang, and the ensuing universe must exist beyond space and time itself.
That can only mean one thing.
There is a God.
Christians do not need to refute the Big Bang Theory. Instead, they should understand it. We do not know how God breathed life into the universe, only He can explain that to us. We simply know, He spoke it into existence.
The Webb Telescope Is A Modern Marvel
For those who would like to learn a little more about this mission and see how the space telescope will be deployed. I encourage you to watch this video, our family enjoyed it.
It almost seems like it will take a miracle in of itself for everything to go perfect according to plan.
The Stars Document God’s Glory
As you consider all of this, I want to share a guesstimation about the sheer vastness of space.
There are anywhere from 100 to 400 billion stars in the Milky Way (our galaxy) and more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, potentially 500 billion.
If you multiply stars by galaxies, at the low end, you get 10 billion billion stars, or 10 sextillion stars in the Universe – a 1 followed by 22 zeros. At the high end, it’s 200 sextillion.
This simply means, there is anywhere between 5 to 10 times more stars in the heavens than sand on the earth, (Universe Today).
The heavens truly declare the glory of God.
Romans 1:20
ESV
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Will these new discoveries and a confirmation of the Big Bang lead more people to God?
I can only pray, but if so, then Father, please let this mission be successful.
In Jesus name, amen.