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As scientists find more and more evidence, the picture of creation becomes clearer. That is not to say that science has the entire creation of heaven and Earth figured out. However, studies have allowed us to see what was done, even if we do not understand and will never understand how it was done in this life.
Science has identified four fundamental forces involved in creation. They are the electromagnetic force, the weak nuclear force, the strong nuclear force, and the gravitational force. These forces work on particles that science has observed or particles for which science has found evidence but has not observed. For example, photons are responsible for electromagnetism. Particles called gluons are responsible for nuclear forces, with eight gluons causing the strong nuclear force and three gluons causing the weak nuclear force.
The recently discovered particle called the Higgs boson gives mass to the force particles and controls their behavior. Physicists are studying how that happens and are looking for a particle that causes the gravitational force. As research continues, science strongly suggests that those forces began as a single force. Our standard rules of physics cannot deal with this concept, and the time during which the forces originated is called the “Planck era.” The creation of heaven and Earth is a complex process, and science is trying to understand it.
The so-called “standard model” of particle physics has so much supporting evidence that most physicists accept it as a starting point to understanding the creation process. Some scientists have developed an approach called “string theory” to understand what took place in the Planck era. The mathematics of string theory forces us to believe that creation has come about from dimensions higher than our own. A prominent string theory called “bulk” has creation originating in an eleven-dimensional arena. We live in a three-dimensional world with time as a fourth-dimensional quantity. The idea of eleven dimensions is beyond our comprehension. Although we can describe it mathematically, we cannot visualize it.
The Bible summarizes the creation of heaven and Earth by simply indicating that an Intelligence in a far higher dimension than our own created time, space, and the physical world in which we exist. “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth” accurately describes what our research and observations tell us.
In summary, there was a beginning often described as the “big bang.” In that beginning, there was Planck time when our laws of physics did not apply. The creation event was caused by Elohim, an intelligence outside of space/time operating in dimensions outside our physical universe. The creation included the matter/energy from which everything is made and the three-dimensional space, shamayim translated as “heaven” in your Bible. It also included the planet we call home, erets in Hebrew, created from that matter/energy.
The simple words of Genesis 1:1 describe something that we have yet to fully comprehend. The more we know of the creation, the more we know of the Creator.
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Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website.