LESSON TWO - Magis Center › ... › 07 › TRS_Lesson2_Presentation.pdfLESSON TWO Video...

LESSON TWO

Is There Any

Evidence for a

Creator in the

Universe?By Claude LeBlanc, M.A., © Magis Center, 2016

LESSON TWO

LESSON TWOOpening Prayer

Father, you give us the ability to learn

about the world you created. Through

our senses we experience the things

you made; and through our minds,

how they came to be and why they

exist. As we learn more about your

creation, may we come to know you

better. Amen.

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LESSON TWOPre-Viewing Questions

1) Is there any evidence for a Creator in

the Universe?

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1) Is there any evidence for a Creator in

the Universe?

2) Do you think God’s existence can be proven, or at least supported, by

science?

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The REASON Series LESSON TWO

Supplemental Video 1: The Expanding Universe (Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I37enbWROo)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I37enbWROo

“So, it’s quite simple really. Follow the clues and we can

deduce that a very long time

ago the universe simply

burst into existence.”From Stephen Hawking’s

“The Expanding Universe”

LESSON TWO


3) Stephen Hawking’s video said, “We

can deduce that a very long time ago

the universe simply burst into existence.” Do you believe a universe, or any reality,

could suddenly bring itself into

existence…from nothing?

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LESSON TWO

Watch Video

Episode Two:

Is There Any

Evidence for a

Creator in the

Universe?, taking

notes on Handout

2a—Video Review

and Discussion.Th

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LESSON TWOActivity

BIG BANG BALLOONS

Directions

1) Each pair of students

gets a balloon and a

permanent marker.

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LESSON TWOActivity

BIG BANG BALLOONS

Directions



permanent marker.

2) Place dots on balloon as in the video.

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LESSON TWOActivity

BIG BANG BALLOONS

Directions



permanent marker.


3) Blow up balloon, hold it without tying

it. Discuss expansion of the universe.

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LESSON TWOActivity

BIG BANG BALLOONS

Directions



permanent marker.


3) Blow up balloon, hold it without tying

it. Discuss expansion of the universe.

4) Deflate balloon slowly. Discuss time

limit for deflation and BB implications.Th

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LESSON TWOVideo Comprehension

1. What does Tyler say science can do to

any proof for God’s existence developed from philosophy, and what evidence

does he use to support his claim?

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1. What does Tyler say science can do to

any proof for God’s existence developed from philosophy, and what evidence

does he use to support his claim?

He claims “There’s no evidence for God that

can’t be explained away by science,” but gives no evidence to support this.T

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2. What does it mean that “before the universe existed it was nothing?”

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2. What does it mean that “before the universe existed it was nothing?”Before the Big Bang there was no time,

space, matter, or energy. The physical

universe was essentially NOTHING.

(continued)

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2. (cont.) If the

universe was

nothing, it could not

have made itself

into something.

Something outside

of it had to move it

from nothing to

something.Th

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3. What can we learn from philosophy

about what is required for things to exist?

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3. What can we learn from philosophy

about what is required for things to exist?

Logically, we know that nothing comes

from nothing. That means that, through

cause and effect, everything that exists

in the universe comes from something

else. Given that the universe had a

beginning, prior to which it was nothing,

it too must have been caused by

something outside of it. (continued)

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3. (cont.) Furthermore, there must be

at least one uncaused cause or being,

because, as Aristotle showed about

2,400 years ago, all of reality cannot

be caused beings. Why? (continued)

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3. (cont.) Why? Because:

a. Caused beings are nothing before

they are caused, and

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b. If all the causes are nothing before

they are caused,

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b. If all the causes are nothing before

they are caused,

c. Then all there would be is nothing at

all (zero times infinity is still zero).

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4. Even though his theory

of relativity had predicted

the universe was

expanding, why didn’t Einstein want to believe it?

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4. Even though his theory

of relativity had predicted

the universe was

expanding, why didn’t Einstein want to believe it?

He wanted to believe that the universe

had always existed in a steady state,

neither expanding nor contracting. He

believed that an expanding universe was

too disordered and difficult to believe.Th

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5. What contribution

did Fr. Georges Lemaitre

make in convincing

Einstein the universe

was expanding?

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5. What contribution

did Fr. Georges Lemaitre

make in convincing

Einstein the universe

was expanding?

Lemaitre formulated

the Big Bang Theory in

response to a problem

related to Einstein’s theory of relativity.T

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6. What contribution did Edwin Hubble

make in convincing Einstein the universe

was expanding?

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6. What contribution did Edwin Hubble

make in convincing Einstein the universe

was expanding?

Hubble showed

Einstein

observational

evidence that

the universe

was expanding.

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7. What was the result of Lemaitre’s mathematics and Hubble’s evidence?

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7. What was the result of Lemaitre’s mathematics and Hubble’s evidence?Einstein accepted the Big Bang Theory.

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8. What is some of the other evidence for

the Big Bang that science has discovered?

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We have discovered :

a. Microwave Background Radiation

equally distributed all over the universe,

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b. the age of the universe (about 13.8

billion years), and

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b. the age of the universe (about 13.8

billion years), and

c. how much matter there must be in the

universe, and what kind of matter it is.Th

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9. Though most physicists believe the

universe started with the Big Bang, why

don’t all of them?

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9. Though most physicists believe the

universe started with the Big Bang, why

don’t all of them?Some don’t believe the Big Bang was the beginning, but they hypothesize a pre-Big

Bang period (for

which there is

currently no

evidence).

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10. What do these other physicists think

are better explanations for the existence

of our universe?

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10. What do these other physicists think

are better explanations for the existence

of our universe?

There may have been something that

existed before the Big Bang, such as a

multiverse that the universe came from,

or that our universe is an oscillating, or

bouncing, universe that expands and

contracts over and over again.

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11. What evidence do these

physicists use to support

their beliefs?

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11. What evidence do these

physicists use to support

their beliefs?

There is NO evidence for

any of these theories. They

are based on speculation.

Even if there is a multiverse

or bouncing universe, they

would have to have a

beginning (BVG theorem).Th

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12. How do these scientists’ beliefs in speculative theories compare to Einstein’s belief in the steady state theory.

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12. How do these scientists’ beliefs in speculative theories compare to Einstein’s belief in the steady state theory.

They give credence to assumptions not

proven, leading either

to retractions when

evidence becomes

available (like Einstein),

or continued rejection of

the evidence causing more confusion.Th

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13. What is the BVG Theorem?

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13. What is the BVG Theorem?

In 2003, Arvind Borde,

Alexander Vilenkin, and Alan

Guth devised a proof that was

named after them. It has only

one requirement—that the

average rate of expansion of

any possible universe be

greater than zero.

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14. What does the BVG Theorem suggest

about speculative theories of the universe?

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14. What does the BVG Theorem suggest

about speculative theories of the universe?

It means our universe, and any multiverse

it may be a part of, require a beginning

and therefore, is very difficult to refute. If

the purpose of a speculative theory is to

‘get around’ the beginning, and a

Creator, it most

probably won’t.Th

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15. What is the significance

of Dr. Vilenkin’s statement, “Inflation without a beginning is impossible.”

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15. What is the significance

of Dr. Vilenkin’s statement,

“Inflation without a beginning is impossible.”As long as the average

rate of expansion is

greater than zero, any kind

of universe must have a

beginning, implying they

were created. (continued)Th

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15. (cont.) He uses the word ‘impossible’ because his conclusion is derived from a

proof, and if one denies the conclusion to

a proof, one is confronted with an intrinsic

contradiction in logic, which is impossible.

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LESSON TWOSmall Group Activity:

Share your thoughts

about these Reflection

and Discussion

Questions then share

them with the class.

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LESSON TWOSmall Group Activity:

Share your thoughts

about these Reflection

and Discussion

Questions then share

them with the class.

1) What do you think of the claim that

philosophy can prove that there must be an

eternally-existing being outside of the

universe? Why?

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LESSON TWOSmall Group Activity (continued)

2) Why do you think some scientists reject

the evidence for the Big Bang, but accept the

speculative competing theories?

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3) What is the real significance of the BVG

Theorem to science and faith?

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3) What is the real significance of the BVG

Theorem to science and faith?

4) Have you ever been biased, not accepting

evidence that is verifiable while holding onto

beliefs that are not? What did it take (or

would it take) for you to finally accept the

evidence in the way Einstein did?Th

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LESSON TWOAssessment of Understanding

(Match the scientist with their contribution)

1) Albert Einstein

2) Alan Guth, Alexander Vilenkin, Arvind

Borde

3) Edwin Hubble

4) Fr. Georges Lemaitre

a) Formulated the Big Bang Theory.

b) Contributed to the BVG Theorem.

c) Developed the general theory of relativity.

d) Found evidence the universe is expanding.

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(Match the scientist with their contribution)

1) Albert Einstein

2) Alan Guth, Alexander Vilenkin, and

Arvind Borde

3) Edwin Hubble

4) Fr. Georges Lemaitre

a) Formulated the Big Bang Theory.

b) Contributed to the BVG Theorem.

c) Developed the general theory of relativity.

d) Found evidence the universe is expanding.

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(Modified True or False—if a statement is

false, change it to make it true)

5) Philosophy demonstrates there has to be

an eternally-existing being or nothing else

could exist.

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(Modified True or False—if a statement is

false, change it to make it true)

5) Philosophy demonstrates there has to be

an eternally-existing being or nothing else

could exist.

6) While the evidence for the Big Bang is only

speculative, there is much evidence for

competing theories

such as bouncing

universes or the multiverse.Th

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7) Scientists are always unbiased in

evaluating scientific evidence.

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8) The BVG Theorem has only one condition

for proving a universe would have a

beginning; that is has a rate of expansion

greater than zero.

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8) The BVG Theorem has only one condition

for proving a universe would have a

beginning; that is has a rate of expansion

greater than zero.

9) The significance of the BVG Theorem is

that any possible universe we can imagine

would have to be expanding and have a

beginning.Th

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LESSON TWOAssessment of

Understanding

10) This episode

of The Reason

Series concludes

that Tyler was

right—science

can disprove any

proof for the

existence of God

from philosophy.

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The REASON Series LESSON TWO

Supplemental Video 2:The Universe Has A Cause—Evidence for a Creator

(Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CulBuMCLg0)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CulBuMCLg0

“The Cosmological Argument shows that,

in fact, it is quite

reasonable to believe

that God does exist. From “The Universe Has a Cause—

Evidence for a Creator”

LESSON TWO

LESSON TWOSo, what does all this MEAN for you?

The video said, The cause of the

Universe must be, “spaceless, timeless,

immaterial, uncaused, and unimaginably

powerful…in other words, God.” If we

can know so much about God, then why

are so many losing faith in Him?

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LESSON TWOAdditional Activities (for class or home)

Your teacher may assign one or both of these

activities due the next class session:

Handout 2b:

What Caused Aristotle

to Consider an

Uncaused Cause?

Handout 2c: Vilenkin’s Response to Hawking:

The Worst Present Ever!Th

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LESSON TWOClosing Prayer

Dear God, through science, you have

given us the ability to learn that the

universe had a beginning, and

through philosophy, that it couldn't

make itself, meaning it was created.

May we always be open to truth,

whether it comes from science or

philosophy, but most of all because it

comes from you. Amen.Th

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SEE YOU NEXT TIME!

LESSON TWO - Magis Center › ... › 07 › TRS_Lesson2_Presentation.pdfLESSON TWO Video...

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