Is The Universe Eternal?

The only tie to legitimacy that the Genesis creation myth has enjoyed may be shriveling.  The big bang theory, like the myth, suggests a beginning.  But this theory is coming under increasing scrutiny by scientists, as it may no longer offer the best explanation of the evidence observed.  The universe may in fact be eternal.

From an article by the BBC:

But what if the Big Bang wasn’t actually the start of it all?

The growing number of these competing theories suggests that it might now be time to let go of the idea that the Big Bang marked the beginning of space and time. And, indeed, that it may even have an end.

Perhaps the Big Bang was more of a “Big Bounce”, a turning point in an ongoing cycle of contraction and expansion. Or, it could be more like a point of reflection, with a mirror image of our universe expanding out the “other side”, where antimatter replaces matter, and time itself flows backwards. (There might even be a “mirror you” pondering what life looks like on this side.)

Or, the Big Bang might be a transition point in a universe that has always been – and always will be – expanding. All of these theories sit outside mainstream cosmology, but all are supported by influential scientists.

Many competing Big Bang alternatives stem from deep dissatisfaction with the idea of cosmological inflation.

“I have to confess, I never liked inflation from the beginning,” says Neil Turok, the former director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada.

“The inflationary paradigm has failed,” adds Paul Steinhardt, Albert Einstein professor in science at Princeton University, and proponent of a “Big Bounce” model.

“I always regarded inflation as a very artificial theory,” says Roger Penrose, emeritus Rouse Ball professor of mathematics at Oxford University. “The main reason that it didn’t die at birth is that it was the only thing people could think of to explain what they call the ‘scale invariance of the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations’.”

Question:  If science discovers that the universe is eternal, that is had no beginning, how does the declaration “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” hold up?

 

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Article URL : https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200117-what-if-the-universe-has-no-end