"Theologians generally are delighted with the proof that the universe had a beginning, but astronomers are curiously upset. It turns out that the scientist behaves the way the rest of us do when our beliefs are in conflict with the evidence." (Robert Jastrow, astronomer for NASA, from God and the Astronomers, 1978, p. 16.)

I had a brief discussion with someone who told me that they didn't believe in Evolution, even as a theory. I have no trouble agreeing with that. But for some, the notion that an intelligent Creator had anything to do with the existence of what we see before us is anathema to them.

"It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated.* Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door" (Richard Lewontin, Harvard Professor of Zoology, from "Billions and Billions of Demons," New York Review of Books, January 9, 1997, p. 28). (*Emphasis mine.)

It would be intelectually dishonest and pretty difficult to pretend that I didn't have an "a priori adherence" to a worldview of my own, but situation is different than those who would decide that God doens't exist. I have God in my heart. This is where some people stop reading. "Nonsense," they say. "The man's fooling himself or he's lying," they say, or they think this writer suffers from some sort of psychosis. That's okay. I've made a choice to believe in the God who created the universe, and who has spoken to my heart in different ways.

The way God speaks to us can either be ignored or acknowledged. Some choose to ignore God in spectacularly rude ways. I say rude, because He is the one who gave them their very lives, and who wants to make their lives last for eternity. He deserves not only their acknowledgement, but also their worship.
Robert Jastrow wrote further, "For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries."

The universe had a beginning, and God began it. The Bible tells us this. Science logically points to this. Finding out whether God exists is fundamental for answering all the questions that matter in life. Where did we come from? Why do we exist? What purpose, if any do we have? So our lives have meaning? Do they have any lasting value? What happens to us when we "die?" God holds the answers to these questions and the question of how the universe began is just a basic step toward getting the answers. At least, that's my humble opinion.