Origin Story #1 of 5

Thoughts on David Christian’s Origin Story: A Big History of Everything

At the moment of the big bang,

      the entire universe was smaller than an atom…

Distinct structures and forms emerged

      within a second of the big bang.

Why is the universe not just a random flux of energy?

      This is a fundamental question. (Origin Story, p. 23)

In the beginning

      God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void,

      and darkness was upon the face of the deep;

and the Spirit of God

      moved over the face of the waters. (Gn 1:1-2)

That moment of the big back is “Threshold 1 of 8” of the “modern origin story” told by David Christian in his book Origin Story. Such stories need to be told. Without an origin story we “fall into a sense of despair and meaninglessness” (p.8). His new origin story needs to be 1) global rather than tribal, and 2) scientific rather than religious—an origin story without god.

I’ve only read through this first threshold about how something hot and dense the size of an atom (not a real atom because atoms had yet to take form, but the size of an atom) blew up and formed our universe. All the energy and matter of our universe was stuffed into this hot, dense something the size of an atom—actually, “smaller than an atom”. Atoms are small. You can squeeze a million atoms into the dot that forms the period at the end of this sentence. That little hot, dense, smaller than an atom blew up 13.8 billion years ago and continues its explosive expansion to this day. In 4.5 billion years from now our sun will burn out. In a few gazillions of years our universe fades into some sort of dark soup. But for now, this is a good time for our planet—a Goldilocks time when everything is just right for folks like us.

It’s a breathtaking read. As the author himself exclaims, it’s all so “mysterious”, “magical” and “miraculous”.  He’s optimistic that “we moderns are not doomed to a chronic state of fragmentation and meaninglessness.” (p. ix)  There’s even a kind of saving gospel to the story: “The modern origin story …can prepare us for the huge challenges and opportunities that all of us face at this pivotal moment in the history of planet Earth.” (p. 10) 

Though he intends to tell a new, modern and thoroughly scientific origin story without a “creator god”; he acknowledges, from time to time, the challenges a godless universe presents. “If our story had a creator god, explaining structure would be easy. We could just assume that God preferred structure to chaos.” (p. 25) I hadn’t thought much about the wonder of structure, order and the arrangement of things. Why did this explosion result in a universe embedded with “fundamental laws of physics”? Why does math work? Christian (the author’s name not my faith), gives us a sense of the odds with a parable (that’s kind of Christian too): “If you throw a bomb into a construction site full of bricks, mortar, wires, and paint, what are the odds that when the dust clears, you’ll find an apartment building all wired up, decorated, and ready for buyers?”

It’s quite a story. Like the author, I find it all immensely interesting, even wondrous. For some reason I’ve never felt my faith threaten by this scientific story (article written for church denomination: https://www.cmalliance.org/news/2017/03/06/a-b-simpson-on-creation-and-science/). Do these wondrous scientific discoveries destroy our story about how “in the beginning” God decided to create the heavens and the earth? Or, the big story about how God has decided to stick with his creation—how He “remembered Noah”. The story about Christmas and Easter and a new heaven and new earth. About how “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1). Or, one could translate it, “In the beginning was the Meaning, and the Meaning was with God, and the Meaning was God.”

I doubt science, of itself, can give us the “meaning” the author hopes for. It’s too mechanical and disciplined. Can a godless and spiritless creation grace us with meaning? I don’t think so. Maybe that’s why I never feel threaten by scientific wonders. Christian’s modern, scientific origin story fills me with greater wonder. Creation is bigger and more real than anyone could ever imagine. It’s so immense and wondrous, miraculous and awe inspiring, that one cannot help but think of “God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth”.