The Big Bang and Jesus: In Wonder, We Believe in the Unseen and Unknown

Would you agree that some things are true yet unseen and unknown? Would you say that some things are inherently complex, beyond human comprehension and our current scientific capabilities?

For example, consider what we call “black holes” in outer space. They are called black holes because inside of them gravity is so dense at the center that when light nears it, it is trapped and cannot escape. 

A black hole is formed when a star is depleted of its nuclear fuel, causing it to collapse. For instance, our sun is a star, and at its core is nuclear fuel. Our sun shines due to nuclear fusion (the process in which hydrogen turns into helium), which means an enormous amount of energy is released to form light and give off heat and radiation. If the sun exhausted itself of its nuclear fuel at its core, it would collapse and become a black hole.

However, here is what many of us do not understand about another force at work: gravity. This outward release of energy is countered by an incoming gravitational force trying to collapse our sun. The good news is that our sun has plenty of fuel, so there is a balance between the inward pull of gravity and the outward push of energy. However, when a star like our sun is depleted of its nuclear fuel, gravity takes over with such force that the star collapses. This becomes a black hole in that the gravity is so dense it approaches infinity, and not even light can escape.

Certain realities and realms, like black holes, cannot be fully understood since they are beyond human comprehension and inquiry. With black holes, gravity is so dense and magnetic that light cannot escape, but who can conceive or imagine such phenomena? Some scientists would word themselves this way: this density approaches infinity. Such a description is nothing short of evocative and awe-inspiring. Of course, such “infinite” density is beyond conceivability and imagination. 

This means scientists cannot make observations or do experimentation in the center of a black hole. These inner regions are hidden. In other words, black holes do not abide by our current understanding of the laws of physics and present a mysterious, complex, and abstract reality. Much is unseen and unknowable, yet the reality and realm of some of these phenomena are in front of our telescopes. With a sense of wonder, we are on the outside, seeing the unseen and knowing the unknowable—at this time.

Without going into detail, there are differing types of black holes, yet the dynamics remain the same. Furthermore, we know black holes are there, even though we can’t see them directly, because we observe objects and matter getting pulled into them. It’s a bit like a vacuum cleaner that we can’t see, but we can see debris disappearing into it.

Referring back to our opening question, would you say that some things are true yet unseen and unknown? Can you agree that some things, such as a black hole, are inherently complex, beyond human comprehension and our current scientific capabilities?

The same can be said about the universe’s expansion, which points back to what is known as the Big Bang theory. Scientists have substantiated a beginning by putting the expanding universe in reverse (mathematically) and when they do, pointing back to a starting place. Those claims make sense. However, though the effects of this cosmic kaboom are observed, the nano-second prior to the Big Bang—the precondition, so to speak, setting this “explosion” up—is beyond our capability at this juncture to know what exactly happened and why. When it comes to the creation of the universe, with a sense of wonder, we are on the outside, seeing the unseen and knowing the unknowable—at this time.

The Same Sense of Wonder Can Be Applied to the Miracles of Jesus

Most scientists maintain an openness to an explanation for the non-natural elements. Though much of it is counterintuitive and appears impossible related to the current laws of physics, they await a theory of everything.

Here I wish to pivot and draw a comparison with what the Bible reports as the incarnation of Jesus—God became man and dwelt among us—and the miracles of Jesus in the New Testament. 

Like black holes that remain beyond human understanding and empiric inquiry at this time, the incarnation of Jesus remains beyond human understanding and empiric inquiry. Who can “prove” the merging of the divine and human? How can the infinite and finite unite? As the inner workings of the black holes are hidden, in looking at Jesus, there is a sense of wonder. We are on the outside, seeing the unseen and knowing the unknowable—at this time.

So, too, the miracles of Jesus, as reported, are also counterintuitive and appear impossible, which is what those who personally watched Jesus also said. For example, the narrative in the Gospels describes the healing of a blind man. How did those aware of this supposed miracle respond? We read in John 9:32, “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.” This healing was “non-natural.” 

Can I extend an invitation to maintain an openness toward the testimony about Jesus Christ as a miracle worker who acted beyond our current understanding of the law of physics? We see the effects of His life and ministry on humanity, not the least of which is that I write this in the year of our Lord 2023. 

Sure, we can claim the writers penned a story to deify Jesus by claiming He did miracles. That’s easy to do since we have not encountered the miracle of a blind man seeing after having mud rubbed on his eyes and can argue that is impossible since it is beyond our experience and rational understanding. Such a non-natural event did not take place, one can easily claim. It is a fabrication to cause people to believe and behave a certain way. 

However, we also read that Jesus stated that He operated in a realm alongside the earthly realm. He called it the kingdom of God, and it did not function based on the traditional laws of physics. To the Pharisees, He stated in Luke 17:20, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed” (NIV). He informed Pilate, in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world… My kingdom is from another place” (NIV). 

Jesus asserted another realm beyond this world that we cannot see, and with an infinitely wise heavenly Father, we do not know much of it. Later, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (NIV). Paul also wrote in Romans 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

To Jesus, for instance, there are angels. He announced in Matthew 26:53, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (NIV). There are also demons. In Matthew 12:28, He said, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (NIV). 

Jesus expects us, with a sense of wonder, to believe in the unseen and unknown. To Nicodemus, a famous teacher in Israel, He said in John 3:12, “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” (NIV).

When we look back, Jesus affected the history of humanity second to none. Of course, His existence is not in question; rather, the critical inquiry lies in whether He is who He claimed to be according to the narrative and whether He accomplished the miracles attributed to Him.

Jesus’ Miracles Are a Matter of History, Not of Science

Insofar as Jesus is concerned, each of us faces the call to accept or reject His self-proclaimed identity (“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” [John 14:9]) and the accounts of His miracles. This isn’t a matter of pondering whether such events are possible within the framework of a belief in a supernatural God since if Jesus is God, He can act supernaturally. Rather, it’s about examining whether these miraculous events transpired as historical occurrences, even though they defy our current understanding of the laws of physics.

In this context, it’s worth considering whether a scientist who openly acknowledges their inability to fully grasp events that fall outside the bounds of conventional physics, such as in the precondition to the Big Bang, is in a position of greater intellectual honesty and substance compared to a theologian considering miracles that fall outside the bounds of conventional physics.

I don’t mean to compare apples to oranges. We do see the effects of what is referred to as the Big Bang. Something happened. But we also see the effects of Jesus Christ on humanity, our date alone evidences this. Something happened roughly two thousand years ago.

We observe in science the claim that non-natural events happened in the precondition of the beginning. We also observe in Scripture the claim that non-natural events happened in the three-year ministry of Jesus.

Though scientists seek to follow the scientific method and could easily dismiss the biblical account, the Bible is a historical document, and the truth cannot be proven based on the scientific method—we cannot make empirical observations or test hypotheses. Instead, it must be assessed by examining the available historical records, comparing accounts, considering the credibility of witnesses, and recognizing how people considered Jesus’ testimony. Like other historical accounts or like the way the courts determine evidence, the life of Christ must be studied through the lens of legal and historical evidence, not by scientifically testing hypotheses. 

In asking if the Big Bang is true, science must weigh in. In asking if Jesus Christ is true, historians must weigh in. 

What fascinates me is a comparison of the Big Bang with Jesus Christ. 

As I think of these things, certain phenomena fall outside what can be empirically tested. Not all, but certainly the precondition of the Big Bang and the center of black holes, though scientists will claim we could see and know in the future. Well, the same holds for the miracles of Jesus. We could one day have an “a-ha” moment: “Oh, now we know how He did what He did!” 

As for each’s significance, both fundamentally transformed our understanding of the world we live in. As for reality, both require that we look beyond the natural laws to the non-natural as the explanation of certain phenomena. And as for verification, both lack empirical evidence that we may never see or know. In both cases, in wonder, can we believe in the unseen and unknown without burying our brains?