Free 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Guy P. Harrison Page A

not understand very well ...
    Almost all the matter in the universe was born in the first few
minutes of creation. (Seife 2003, 63-89)

    Wow, so these scientists are trying to tell us that everything-and they
mean everything-was compressed into a tiny space smaller than the
period at the end of this sentence. They claim that, for unknown reasons, all this compressed stuff suddenly started flying apart and the
result of that event was everything in the universe, eventually even us.
That is a spectacular and admittedly difficult-to-believe story. It
doesn't sound any more reasonable or likely than the numerous creation myths about a giant egg hatching the universe or gods simply
wishing the universe into existence. But there is something very different about the big bang. This story, unlike all the others, comes from
science and that means it must be supported by evidence. Unlike every
other explanation that our species has come up with for the creation of
the universe, this one has scientific observations and experiments that
back it up. This explanation for how the universe started is not a belief
and has no need for faith. However, it is not conclusive and remains
open to correction or rejection, just like everything else in science. It's
also important to understand that it doesn't even answer the question
of why the universe started. The big bang theory currently does not
explain what caused the sudden expansion of all that compressed
matter. It only describes the process once it began.
    The big bang was not easy to accept for some scientists when it was
first proposed. It was more convenient when one simply could say that
the universe was infinite, with no beginning and no end. But science is
driven by evidence rather than convenience and the evidence points to
the big bang. Interestingly, some believers claim that the big bang is the
work of their god and go so far as to cite it as validation of their creation beliefs. (Note that it is always "their" god and never any other
gods who might have been behind the big bang.) But at this time there
is nothing to suggest that a god had anything to do with it. The big bang
is a big theory with many components. Cosmologists are still working
on it to see what holds up and what doesn't. As they make discoveries,
wrong ideas will be discarded and the theory will be improved. If too
much ends up being discarded, the entire theory would be tossed out.
This is why the big bang is superior to all creation stories from religions at this time. It is not an inflexible conclusion based on inflexible belief.
It is not a law written in stone that can never be changed-even if
someone shows that it is wrong. The big bang is an excellent partial
explanation for the beginning of our universe, but only for as long as
the evidence supports it and not a second more.

    Believers who see the big bang theory as science finally catching
up to religion would do well to slow down and consider that science
is still totally silent about the existence of any gods, much less a god
being responsible for the big bang. Yes, some people try very hard to
make that connection but they are way out of line with the evidence
and do not represent the views of most cosmologists and astronomers.
To date, all claims that a god has been discovered are hollow and misleading. Cosmology has not unveiled any gods, despite the statements
sometimes printed on book covers and in magazine headlines. The
most believers can do at this time is point to unanswered questions
about the universe and attempt to plug in their god as the answer. But
understand that what may seem like magic or a god today often
becomes an elementary school science lesson tomorrow.
    A final point about believers who see their god in the big bang is
that attributing the event to a super intelligent being does not necessarily have to mean it was their god who lit the fuse. It just as easily
could have been the god