Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.³  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

It is hard to explain. Has matter always existed? Take it one step further. Has time and space always existed? Is the universe infinite?

Albert Einstein once said: “Only two things ate infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the former.”

He is also famous for his theories of relativity. The first, the theory of special relativity states that space and time are interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time, where time is relative. The general theory of relativity stares that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time.

So the question is: Does space and time exist apart from mass and light, or was there a beginning? Let me explain, or, better yet, let Einstein explain.

Shortly after his appointment at Princeton, Einstein was invited to a tea in his honor. At the event, the excited hostess introduced the great man and asked if he could perhaps, in a few words, explain to the guests the theory of relativity.

Not missing a beat, he rose to his feet and shared the story of a walk he had with a blind friend. It was a warm day, so at one point Einstein said to his friend, “I could really do with a glass of milk!”

His blind friend asked, “I know what a glass is, but what is milk?”, to which Einstein replied, “Why, milk is a white fluid.”

“I know what fluid is,” the blind man responded, “but what is white?”

“Oh, white is the color of  swan-downs.”

“Down, I know what that is, I sleep on a down pillow, but what is a swan?”

“A swan is a bird with a long, bent neck.”

“I know bird and neck, but what do you mean by bent?”

Einstein took his blind friend’s arm, straightened it, and said “There, now your arm is straight.” He then bent his friend’s arm at the elbow, and said, “And now, your arm is bent.”

To which his blind friend exclaimed, “Ah! Now I know what milk is!”

Einstein smiled and nodded at his audience, then he sat down.

And so it is. We know, according to the laws of Thermodynamics  the Universe cannot exist, since nothing can be created out of nothing (first law), that things go from bad to worse (second law), and that nothing can ever be perfect (third law).

But we exist, the whole universe exists, we see beauty and purpose everywhere. As we see how we are wonderfully made, it becomes obvious that this could not have happened by time plus chance plus nothing. There must be a creative force, but we can never grasp it since we are bound, both physically and in our thinking, in a time-space box.

Methinks the beginning of the Holy Bible gives the best explanation of how Creation happened, completely void of scientific jargon.

In those three verses God establishes His principles:

In the Beginning – There was a beginning.

God – God was before the beginning of time and space.

Created – God Created all in the beginning

The Heavens and the Earth. – Yes, indeed every matter.

The earth was without form – Not even the sphere was formed.

And void -No life yet.

And darkness was on the face of the deep – No stars were yet formed, only matter, even water.

And The Spirit of God hovered over the waters – The Holy Spirit – God’s Spirit was there at Creation forming everything.

And God Said – Here is introduced the Word that later became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus Christ was present and active during creation.

Let there be Light – And so, the creation of life could begin.