The Blog

Cosmic Rebound theory suggests the universe has been expanding and contracting forever. Supporters of this theory avoid a definite beginning of the universe.

But there are many problems with this theory:

1. There is no evidence for an infinite number of bangs. The universe appears to have exploded once from nothing, not repeatedly from existing material.
2. There is not enough matter in the universe to pull everything back together. The universe seems determined to continue expanding indefinitely. This was confirmed in 2003 by Charles Bennett of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. After speculating at readings from NASA’s latest space probe, he said, “The universe will expand forever. It will not turn back on itself and collapse in a great crunch.” In fact, astronomers are now finding that the universe’s expansion speed is actually accelerating, making a collapse even more improbable.
3. Even if there were enough matter to cause the universe to contract and “bang” again, the Cosmic Rebound Theory contradicts the Second Law of Thermodynamics because the theory falsely assumes that no energy would be lost in each contraction and explosion. A universe “banging” repeatedly would eventually fizzle out just as a dropped ball eventually fizzles out. So if the universe has been expanding and contracting forever, it would have fizzled out already.
4. There is no way that today would have gotten here if the universe had been expanding and contracting forever. An infinite number of bangs is an actual impossibility. Even if there were a finite number of bangs, the theory cannot explain what caused the first bang.

What other ways do atheists try to explain how the universe exploded into being out of nothing?