Did the universe have a beginning?

Question

The Steady-State theory vs. The Big Bang theory which one to believe?

Answer 1

evidence of expansion and the theory it supports indicate a starting date about 13.7 billion years ago.
I don't quite know what to make of this either. God did it seems to be a horrible cop-out for those who don't want to think, and answers nothing about the questions. Steady state theory does not mach the facts at all. and string theory sounds nice but provides no means of testing.
Here is just one of many stories.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/map_discovery_030211.html

edit. Big bang might be an unfortunate name for the expansion. It tends to make people think of it like a gas explosion. That is not it at all. The Big Bang happened everywhere at the same time. To try and explain most of this in simple English is like trying to explain a space rocket in classic Latin or Homeric Greek. Virtually impossible.

Answer 2

The Steady-State Theory has long since been debunked because it does not and cannot explain some of the properties of the universe. According to the Big Bang Theory, the universe began about 14.5 billion years ago. In stark contrast to the Steady-State Theory, the Big Bang Theory continues to be supported by new data obtained from the HST and the precise measurement of the cosmic microwave background radiation, or CMB as it's called (the light echoes from the Big Bang).

Answer 3

The Steady State Theory was proposed in 1948 by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, Hermann Bondi and others as an alternative to the Big Bang theory. In the steady state view new matter is continuously created as the universe expands, so that the perfect cosmological principle is adhered to. Although the model had a large number of supporters among cosmologists in the 1950s and 1960s, the number of supporters decreased markedly in the late 1960s with the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation, and today only a very small number of supporters remain.

In particular, Stephen Hawking said that the discovery of cosmic background radiation was "the final nail in the coffin of the steady-state theory."

So it is pretty much out of the picture as far as Physicists and Astronomers are concerned, and the Big Bang theory is the now dominate theory with a great deal of evidence in favor.

Answer 4

Try these links. If you want a scientific answer. Which by the way, if you choose to believe in a Higher Power, there is no reason you can't still believe in that even if you accept the Universe Big Bang Theory. Please note that in science, a "theory" has more weight than it does in casual conversation - like this. A theory has already been tested and proved to the best of scientific ability. A hypothesis is just an idea that has not been tested yet. The Big Bang is NOT an hypothesis.

Answer 5

I believe that the Big Bang theory is the most correct. I belive that everything has a beginning; which is one of the reasons that I threw religion out of the window; that and the fact that religion is not logical in most aspects. But the Steady State Theory does seem to be a bit competitive. But I am going to go with the Big Bang Theory. Happy New Year!!!

Answer 6

Yes, it has a beginning, and I don't understand why everyone has to choose either science or creationism, as they are not mutually exclusive. Who is to say that God was not the force behind the Big Bang? The Steady-state theory, while interesting, is now seen as hardly plausible, and the majority of scientists accept the Big bang Theory as as scientific fact, as it can be proved through many different tests.

Answer 7

I think the Big Bang theory makes more sense..

The Steady State theory contradicts a law of thermodynamics. Something cannot be created from nothing. Also, cosmic microwave background radiation was discovered, that also provides greater support to the Big Bang theory.

Answer 8

OK, Where to star, the universe began as two elements nothing more nothing less those two elements where helium and hydrogen, the universe was just a cloud of gas in the Begining, then over time the gases started to bind which cased the big bang as we know it. From there suns where born, the sun then created more elements like nitrogen and oxygen iron, and several others, then the stares started to go super nova which gives us all the rest of are periodic table as we know it. then over billions of years plants formed gravitational pulls from mass of the plants bent light this is a fact, which in turn brings us to where we are today, the universe is still growing and will till it rips all the elements back down to helium and hydrogen then the whole cycle will start over again, Sorry if this disappoints you but it is all fact, You can read up more about this in Stephen hawking's book "the universe in a nut shell". Hope this helps.

Answer 9

The Big Bang theory has proven to be correct. The Universe had a beginning and all mater in the universe was created in that beginning.

Answer 10

Most scientists go along with Big bang, but if you want to read the other side of the coin, go read some books by Hoyle and Wickramasinghe.

Not only do they subscribe to an infinite universe, but that life was spawned on Earth from bacteria-like lifeforms that are present in clouds all over the galaxy. They say that the likelihood of being able to produce the DNA molecule, the basis of life, in the supposed 15 billion year life of the universe is mathematically impossible.

I am inclined to agree. One either has to have a creator, or the universe has always been here, otherwise life is too complex to have been developed since the supposed big bang.