SECOND CHAPTER SUMMARY
from “What is Man? Adam, alien or ape?” I am posting here periodically the chapter summaries of each of the 14 chapters of “What is Man? Adam, alien or ape?” Here is the summary for Chapter 2, “The Cheshire Cat Cosmos (or can a universe create itself from nothing?)”
If you don’t already have the book this might further stimulate interest (please share these posts with your friends!)
“If the universe is an accident of nature, then Man is also likely to be a meaningless accident. If, on the other hand, the universe was created by God, then humanity is also likely to be a purposeful creation. So the question “where is Man?” will directly affect the way we resolve the basic issue, “What is Man?”
Until about 100 years ago, most scientists who studied the universe as a whole (cosmologists) believed the universe was eternal and had no beginning. But this began to change in 1916 when Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity, which implied that the universe could not be static or unchanging. Subsequently in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that the universe (or cosmos) is expanding, and this result was confirmed in 1963 by the discovery that the earth is bathed in a background of weak microwave radiation — now interpreted as the remnants of a “hot big bang” origin of the universe. The Bible’s opening verse declares that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”, and the theological implications of these new discoveries greatly alarmed those who reject the ancient idea of divine creation.
In this chapter we trace the development of atheistic thinking about cosmic origins, and the successive ideas advanced to sidestep the conclusion that creation demands a Creator. The current atheistic claim is that the universe created itself from nothing without the involvement of any spiritual agency, alleging that the laws of nature must lead to the spontaneous creation of a material cosmos. Her we gently point out that even if this were the case, someone or something having a non-material nature would have to create and host the laws of nature. Since these laws are essentially mathematical, only a non-material intelligence could have composed them and put them to work. The atheists’ theories therefore lead logically to the necessity of God.