 | Dismantling the Big Bang |
Source: Review copy from the publisher.
Book Description from Back Cover (modified):
The idea that all matter, energy, space, and time once exploded from a point of extreme density has captured the imagination of scientists and laypersons for decades. The big bang has provided a central teaching for the eons of time of "cosmic evolution," undermining the history and cosmology of the Bible.
Yet it is a theory that fails, violating even the physical laws on which it is purportedly based.
In this easy-to-read format, authors Alex Williams and John Hartnett examine this naturalistic explanation for the universe (what it teaches and where it fails) and compare it to the biblical model, which they believe provides a far better explanation of our origins. This fully indexed, illustrated analysis is an invaluable help in understanding and countering the arguments for the big bang theory.
My Review:
Dismantling the Big Bang is an excellent book about the big bang, its problems, and other cosmological origins models (including young-age ones). Of the books I've read on this topic, these authors have done the best job at clearly explaining what can be complicated ideas. The book was very readable (written in a conversational tone) and easy to follow. It included black and white photographs and illustrations. I'd highly recommend it for high school students and adults.
Chapter 1 gave a historical overview of cosmological ideas throughout recorded history. Chapter 2 explained the basic assumptions that everyone has to make in the study of origins. Chapter 3 explained what chance and physics can account for in cosmology. Chapter 4 explained the Big Bang model (including the variations that are commonly held), what it can't and doesn't explain, and other problems. Chapter 5 explained how people try to measure age when they don't actually know the starting date and the assumptions made in these methods. It also covered some of the different young-age creationist origin models for the universe and how they deal with the "distant starlight" problem.
Chapter 6 covered what the Bible says about the origin of and in general about the universe and how that compares to what we obverse in the universe today. It briefly covered the theological and linguistic problems with several of the compromise positions (which say God created, but the universe is billions of years old). Chapter 7 compared the Big Bang model to the biblical model to see which best fit the evidence. There's also a comparison chart in Appendix C. Chapter 8 took a brief look at the current trends in cosmology to see where future study will probably be concentrated.
The appendixes included a brief look at other naturalistic models for the origin of the universe, an explanation of the theological consequences of compromise, a chart comparing the Big Bang model to the biblical explanation for the origin of the universe, and an open letter by (naturalistic) cosmologists stating that the Big Bang model has fatal flaws and that funding and scientific magazine space should also be given to alternative models.
If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.
Excerpt: Read the table of contents and an excerpt from chapter one.
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