Why do people say the universe could not be eternal?

Question

There is no edge to space, if not correct me.
If so why must there be a beginning (edge) of time as it is essentially no different from spatial dimensions. If not correct me.
So why does there have to be a duration of the universe (magnitude in the fourth dimension)? If there is not a size of the universe (magnitude in the other three dimensions).
If you feel that the physical laws of the universe do not permit this why is it then that physical laws can not change or that there are not exceptions at certain quantities?
People often argue about this in the debate between big bang and creation but why can people not comprehend an eternity as they comprehend an unending strip of space known as a circle. Quite confused, please help.

I want a theistic response because theists often say how could something come from nothing regarding the big bang (which doesn't argue that anyway).

Answer 1

Why is this not asked in the science area of Y!A? Or did you want a theistic response?

Ah, so you don't actually want a scientific or evidentiary supported argument. Ok.

Answer 2

You were born, you will die.
The earth and our sun were born, they will die.
The universe was started off with a bang and will die with a whimper.

Anything that has a beginning has an end and that includes time. Scripture gives a simple but meaningful picture. It was rolled out like a carpet and will be rolled up like a carpet; a carpet in which God is the very fabric.

Added in this mix is the subjectivity of the human mind. I do not know about you, but I cannot imagine a finite universe nor an end to the number line. Nevertheless infinity is the landscape where time is played out.

To the carpet analogy one can throw in the working expansion and contraction of a rubber band and; please, not 3 or 4 but 12 dimensions.

Consider that the scientific measure of time is not possible without space. The true measure of time however is the gift of life. Life is over when the spirit of life is recalled and returns to God who gave it; whether it is the life of a universe or the life of a man.

Answer 3

Space and the universe is vastly more immense than mankind can imagine and every day more is discovered, There can be no ending to space, it must go on eternally or there would be some impassable matter at the end of it.The big bang theory begs the question, what was there before the big bang?By definition it would have had to be a humungous solid mass in order for it to explode, so where did that come from?

Answer 4

Can't go with Barbara on this one. People have great difficulty in imagining infinity, and some have said to me "What about the Big Bang. Didn't that start at the beginning?"
I say "no, it didn't. My theory (and it can be no other, anyway, because, like the afterlife, there is no proof) is that the time (if that's the right word) between the Big Bang, and the Big Crunch (when it all collapses again) is "but a heartbeat of Brahma the Unknowable".
Sort that out, if you can.

Answer 5

The universe is composed of material phenomena. The universe is a material phenomena. Just as the solar system is composed of our sun, (star) and planets our galaxy is composed of solar systems, stars and a host of heavenly bodies. Galaxies compose the universe along with black holes,white holes, novas, nebulae, etc etc. We see all these through the telescopes and advanced scientific instrumentation.
If we look through the microscope we see the same thing growing smaller. An analogy might be a cell represented by a universe, a molecule as a galaxy, an atom as a solar system, quarks, neutrinos, etc. All things are relative.
The laws of attraction adhesion cohesion and repulsion also apply regardless. All things are constantly in a state of changing. NOTHING remains neutral. Our universe is merely one grain of sand on an infinite beach- a tiny thing. There was no beginning and there will be no end. This is infinity.

Answer 6

Our Universe of 3 spatial dimensions and 4 fundamental forces, is a 373,248 dimensional subset of the larger infinite dimensional Cosmos. The Cosmos is in fact eternal without beginning and without end. Our Universe on the other hand came into existence 13.7 billion years ago and keeps expanding at an increasing rate. Eventually the rate of expansion, even in localized space will exceed the speed of light. All matter will be ripped apart and even photons will be unable to interact with another sub-atomic particle. In other words, the Universe in the far, far future will fade to nothingness and cease to exist.

Answer 7

Theological answer: The fist verse of Genesis states "In the beginning G-d created...", so there was a beginning for the universe.

Scientific answer: there was a Big Bang (without noise, though), so there was a beginning for the universe. There has to be time and duration in the universe in order to prevent caos.

Answer 8

The metric expansion of space is a key part of science's current understanding of the universe, whereby spacetime itself is described by a metric which changes over time in such a way that the spatial dimensions appear to grow or stretch as the universe gets older. It explains how the universe expands in the Big Bang model, a feature of our universe supported by all cosmological experiments, astrophysics calculations, and measurements to date.

The expansion of space is conceptually different from other kinds of expansions and explosions that are seen in nature. Our understanding of the "fabric of the universe" (spacetime) requires that what we see normally as "space", "time", and "distance" are not absolutes, but are determined by a metric that can change. In the metric expansion of space, rather than objects in a fixed "space" moving apart into "emptiness", it is the space that contains the objects which is itself changing. It is as if without objects themselves moving, space is somehow "growing" in between them.

Because it is the metric defining distance that is changing rather than objects moving in space, this expansion (and the resultant movement apart of objects) is not restricted by the speed of light upper bound that results from special relativity.

Answer 9

Because the most fundamental law of science is causality. In science nothing can happen without a cause and nothing can exist without an origin. Likewise, nothing material can be infinite. Even the number of atoms in the universe is finite. Therefore the amount of space in the universe is likewise finite.

Answer 10

Its not about whether there HAS to beginning to the universe or not. Its simply scientific fact that there was. We can measure how old it is (roughly). We observe that the universe is still expanding as a result of the big bang.