The Cosmic Microwave Background and the Biblical Holy Spirit
From ancient civilizations to modern times, the quest to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos has been a profound and unifying human endeavor. Each one of us has felt a sense of wonder and awe when contemplating the vastness and beauty of the Universe.
Universe comes from the Latin word universum, which literally means “to be turned into unity”. As in the modern meaning of the word, the Universe is just the esamble of all space and time, including all the galaxies, stars, and planets.
What generated the Universe? Every culture has answered this fundamental question. In Egyptian mythology, the creation of the Universe was attributed to the god Atum, believed to have emerged from the primordial waters of chaos. In Hindu cosmology, the Universe undergoes cyclical creations and destructions, with the god Brahma responsible for creation, while the god Shiva is associated with destruction and renewal.
Modern science has provided us an almost clear picture. Approximately 13 billions of years ago, a primordial explosion known as the “Big Bang” generated the Universe.
As the Universe expanded, its intense primordial heat gradually dissipated, allowing fundamental particles to form and merge, leading to the creation of the fundamental forces that govern the cosmos. In the first three minutes, the first atoms, predominantly hydrogen and helium, were formed.
Under the influence of gravity, regions of higher density began to coalesce, forming vast cosmic web-like structures composed of galaxies, galaxy clusters, and superclusters. Within these galactic ensembles, stars ignited and planets took shape, fostering the potential for life to flourish in the vastness of space.
Do we have proof of this? Well, for most it yes. Theories need to be corroborated with observable data, otherwise they are merely mathematical philosophy.
One of the main observables of the “Big Bang” theory of the Universe is the Cosmic Microwave Background (or CMB). The Cosmic Microwave Background represents the relic radiation that was finally free to travel in the Universe after protons and electrons formed neutral atoms.
The Cosmic Microwave Background represents the furthest point in time (and space) of the Universe that we can directly probe with current technology, as it dates back to when the Universe was “only” about 400 thousands years old (or 0.003% of its current age).
The Cosmic Microwave Background was discovered in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, where they had built a radiometer. Their suprise came when they made their first measurement that showed an excess of about 4K (-269C or -452F) in temperature, present everywhere in the sky. Penzias and Wilson received the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery.
Later, more precise measurements confirmed that the temperature of the Cosmic Microwave Background is about 3K (-270C or -454F), and that it permeates the whole Universe in an almost smooth and uniform way.
By broadening our perspective, one can draw a qualitative parallel between the Cosmic Microwave Background and the concept of the Holy Spirit found in biblical faiths. Within these faiths, the Holy Spirit represents the divine influence of God on the Universe and all living beings.
The similarity appears striking. The Holy Spirit is believed to possess an omnipresence that permeates every aspect of creation, just as the Cosmic Microwave Background is the omnipresent fossil radiation, which witnessed the formation of the fist atoms that build up the Universe and, ultimately, life.
It is unlikely that the founders of the biblical faiths possessed any knowledge of the radiation relic of the origin of the Universe. The scientific understanding of the Cosmic Microwave Background is a relatively recent development.
However, the intriguing parallel highlights once more the fascinating intersections between scientific discoveries and the timeless questions posed by religious and philosophical traditions.