People may agree to disagree about whether God created the universe. But scientists apparently believe that man can create one.
“The Idea of Creating a New Universe in the Lab Is No Joke,” a new article at Big Think, explores that very idea, saying that the notion of “cosmogenesis” is “less comical than ever.” It also dives into some of the big questions inherent in the conversation:
“What would happen if it were truly possible? How would we handle the theological implications? What moral responsibilities would come with fallible humans taking on the role of cosmic creators?”
The author of the article, Zeeya Merali (who wrote the book A Big Bang in a Little Room) met with a number of physicists and cosmologists to explore the questions. One of them was Don Page, a physicist and evangelical Christian at the University of Alberta in Canada. Merali notes that Page believes God created the universe ex nihilo—from absolutely nothing—but regards the possibility of human-created universe as “little threat to his faith.”
“But flipping the problem around,” writes Merali, “I started to wonder: what are the implications of humans even considering the possibility of one day making a universe that could become inhabited by intelligent life? [C]urrent theory suggests that, once we have created a new universe, we would have little ability to control its evolution or the potential suffering of any of its residents. Wouldn’t that make us irresponsible and reckless deities?”
