Cristian vs Atheist

1. The Big Bang Theory Although this theory is unfortunately named with a very misleading title, this is the most widely accepted theory scientists have of how our universe began. Thanks to its inappropriate title, many people have the misconception that the Big Bang was some sort of explosion. We now know that it was not an explosion out of nothing, but rather a literal stretch of space itself that seems to be accelerating today. Now before I explain this theory, many people have a huge problem with thinking that energy and particles can come from nothing. I struggled with the concept too at first, being unable to imagine how or why something could come from nothing. But new evidence and advances in the field of Quantum Mechanics have indicated that empty space is not actually empty. Space is actually a bubbling froth of quantum energy and particles randomly popping in and out of existence. [1] Quantum Theory has unearthed evidence that certain pairs of particles and anti-particles pop into existence and then annihilate each other almost immediately after, leading to a theory by Stephen Hawking. [2] Hawking theorizes that if these pairs were to pop into existence right on the edge of the event horizon of a black hole, one particle would be sucked into the black hole while the other would float on with no opposite particle to destroy it. This has been named Hawking Radiation. So it's important to understand that not only did particles fluctuate into existence at the beginning of the universe, but it has happened and continues to happen all of the time. People are commonly baffled and filled with disbelief after hearing such evidence and experiments. So the next question they ask is usually "how is that possible?" or "why does that happen?" Well, modern physics has now discerned that all particles are just excitations from the particle's corresponding field. [3] An electron is actually just an excitation of an electron field, and the Higgs boson is just an excitation of the Higgs field. Fields extend all throughout space and seem to be interwoven with space itself. Scientists have recently stumbled upon a startling new discovery: if one calculates the total amount of positive energy in the form of matter in the universe, it is positive. If one calculates the total amount of energy in the universe, it is negative because of the fact that gravity is negative energy. When one adds up the total amount of energy and matter in the universe, the sum comes out as zero. If one calculates the total amount of positive and negative charge, the sum adds up to zero. When we add up all of the different and varying spins of galaxies, the math comes out to zero. The universe has zero matter-energy content, zero charge, and zero spin. In other words, it takes no energy at all to create a universe. [4] The previous well-substantiated theories have led to the majority of physicists to conclude that the universe did in fact come from nothing. Some even say that we are but one universe in a multidimensional ensemble of infinite universes constantly being created and destroyed. [5] Each one with different random dimensions, random laws of physics, and random properties. So it is very possible based on observable evidence and experiments that the high density particles that were present in the singularity before the Big bang fluctuated into existence. The problem that comes with asking what came before the Big Bang is that our concepts, theories, and calculations of time break down as we get closer to the beginning. It's like how the concept of North breaks down as you get closer to the North pole until there is no location North of where you arrive. Creating a true vacuum without any quantum fluctations (as stated in the video at the top) actually takes an enormous amount of energy to accomplish. And so string theorists speculate that the previous vacuum of nothing was very unstable and created particles with a sum energy of zero, which is completely consistent with what we observe in vacuums today. What happened after this fluctuation of space and time was an enormous stretch of space itself into incomprehensibly large distances. The culprit of this expansion could very well have been dark energy, a mysterious energy inherent in space that stretches the universe apart and that seems to be accelerating today. [6] Not only is the universe well proven to be expanding, but it also seems to be accelerating thanks to this mysterious dark energy. The main point I have been trying to drive at is that none of these theories of how our universe works and came into existence need a creator. Some Christians like to argue that the universe is too complex to have fluctuated into existence by itself. And they supposedly solve for this complexity problem by positing an infinitely more complex omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, spaceless, timeless consciousness. But hypothesizing that the universe must have had an infinitely more complex creator does nothing to solve the complexity problem. It instead creates an infinitely worse complexity problem of who created God and how did it come into existence. Atheism and Christianity have something in common: they both contain one part that either fluctuated into existence or was uncreated. Most Christians contend that God is the uncreated, eternal, and moral consciousness that governs our universe while most atheists contend that the universe and all of its particles fluctuated into existence, something we observe in quantum fluctuations all of the time. Not only are their mountains of scientific, peer-reviewed evidence for these theories, but Christianity doesn't seem to have much evidence at all. Christianity has faith, not evidence. And this seems to be confirmed by opponent's complete lack of any proposed evidence for Christianity in his opening statements, but I assume he will provide some next round. In conclusion, my opponent in his opening statements has displayed a complete lack of understanding of the Big Bang Theory. His objections result from a lack of understanding or maybe even a lack of willingness to read about the theory. In order to understand everything I have just said, it is important for you to read each source and watch the video. These articles and the video should help you understand more about each theory and the evidence behind it. I hope that I have competently explained and supported not only the Big Bang Theory, but all of the scientific theories I have mentioned so far. I am almost out of characters, so in the following rounds I will continue to provide evidence for abiogenesis, evolution, and materialism in addition to the previously mentioned theories. I also plan to refute my opponent's evidence for Christianity , which he has not stated yet. Sources: [1] Empty space is not empty: http://discovermagazine.com... http://www.youtube.com... [2] Hawking Radiation: http://physics.about.com... [3] Particles are excitations of fields: http://www.symmetrymagazine.org... [4] The universe's sum total of energy is zero: http://www.livescience.com... [5] Multiverse Theory: http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu...'s%20mutliverse.html [6] Dark Energy and the Expansion of Our Universe: http://www.space.com...