Did the Universe Create Itself? The Laws of Thermodynamics Cry No

Published On: October 8, 2025

ENERGY, ENTROPY AND THE ETERNAL CREATOR

The universe is running down. Stars keep burning out. Energy dissipates. Order gives way to chaos. This isn’t speculation—it’s observable science, confirmed by one of the most fundamental principles in physics: the Second Law of Thermodynamics. And surprisingly, this law poses an insurmountable problem for anyone claiming the universe created itself. The laws of thermodynamics don’t just permit belief in a Creator—they practically demand it.

THE SECOND LAW: A UNIVERSE WINDING DOWN

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that in any closed system, entropy—a measure of disorder—always increases over time. Think of a hot cup of coffee cooling to room temperature, or a sandcastle crumbling in the wind. The universe naturally moves from order to disorder, from usable energy to unusable energy.

Here’s the problem for naturalism: if the universe were eternal and had no beginning, it would have already reached maximum entropy eons ago. We’d be living in a cold, dead, perfectly disordered universe where no stars shine, no life exists, and nothing happens. Scientists call this “heat death.” But we’re not there yet. The universe still has incredible order—galaxies, solar systems, the intricate machinery of living cells. This means the universe must have had a beginning, a point where it was “wound up” with low entropy and tremendous order.

What—or WHO—wound it up? Natural processes can’t, because they only run things down. The answer points beyond nature itself.

Scripture testified to this reality thousands of years before modern physics. The Psalmist wrote, “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment” (Psalm 102:25-26). The Bible describes a universe that had a beginning and is wearing out—exactly what thermodynamics confirms. Genesis 1:1-2 shows God bringing order from chaos, establishing the precise conditions necessary for life. A universe running down must have been wound up by Someone outside the system.

THE FIRST LAW: NATURE CANNOT CREATE ITSELF

The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed by natural processes—only converted from one form to another. The total amount of energy in the universe remains constant. This is perhaps the most experimentally verified principle in all of science.

But notice what this means: if natural processes cannot create energy or matter, then nature cannot create itself. The universe cannot be self-caused. Every naturalistic origin story—whether an eternal universe, a universe from quantum fluctuations, or a multiverse—runs headlong into this immutable law. Natural law cannot transcend itself.

The solution? The First Law doesn’t apply to God. He exists outside the natural system He created. As Hebrews 11:3 declares, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” God spoke, and energy and matter came into existence by supernatural command. Romans 1:20 tells us God’s “eternal power” is revealed in creation itself—and the First Law confirms that such power transcends natural processes entirely.

Even the Big Bang theory, accepted by most scientists, agrees: the universe had a definite beginning point. Whatever began the universe must exist outside it. The First Law eliminates natural causation, leaving only a supernatural cause.

ORDER REQUIRES INTELLIGENCE

Walk into any room and you can immediately tell the difference between order and chaos. A neatly organised desk versus papers scattered everywhere. A programmed computer versus random electrical noise. Order—especially specified complexity—requires intelligence.

Life is spectacularly ordered. A single DNA molecule contains 3 billion base pairs of precisely sequenced information. Cells contain molecular machines more sophisticated than anything human engineers have designed. Ecosystems display breathtaking interdependence and balance. Yet thermodynamics tells us the natural tendency is toward disorder.

Some argue open systems receiving energy (like Earth receiving sunlight) can spontaneously generate order. But energy alone doesn’t create complexity—it usually accelerates decay. A tornado blowing through a junkyard doesn’t assemble a 747. Sunlight doesn’t write DNA code. Information and complexity require an intelligent source.

Proverbs 3:19 reminds us, “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.” Job 38:4-7 records God challenging Job: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.” The staggering order in creation reflects the wisdom and power of an intelligent Designer who defies thermodynamic probability.

THE VERDICT: SCIENCE CONFIRMS SCRIPTURE

The laws of thermodynamics deliver a threefold testimony: the universe had a beginning, it required a cause outside nature, and its complexity demands an intelligent Designer. These aren’t gaps in scientific knowledge—they’re fundamental principles of physics.

John’s Gospel opens with these words: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him” (John 1:1-3). Colossians 1:16-17 adds that in Christ “all things were created” and “in him all things hold together.” The same God who created the universe sustains it moment by moment, temporarily holding back the entropy that will one day bring this present order to its appointed end.

The evidence doesn’t contradict faith—it confirms it. The universe didn’t create itself. It can’t. The laws of thermodynamics cry out the truth Genesis declared from the beginning: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

The question isn’t whether science supports creation. It’s whether we have ears to hear what creation is emphatically telling us.

DID THE UNIVERSE CREATE ITSELF? RELATED FAQs

What do creationist scientists say about thermodynamics and evolution? Dr Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research and a hydraulic engineer, argued that the Second Law makes molecules-to-man evolution thermodynamically impossible without massive external inputs of organized information. Dr AE Wilder-Smith, a three-time doctorate holder in chemistry, noted that while local decreases in entropy can occur (like a seed growing into a tree), these always require pre-existing information and machinery—which evolution doesn’t provide. Both scientists emphasised thermodynamics supports creation because organised complexity requires an intelligent source outside the system.

Doesn’t the sun provide enough energy for evolution to overcome entropy? Energy alone cannot create order—it must be directed by information and machinery. A pile of lumber receiving sunlight doesn’t spontaneously assemble into a house; it requires blueprints and construction equipment. Similarly, Earth receiving solar energy doesn’t explain the origin of DNA’s information content or the molecular machines needed to harness that energy. As Dr Duane Gish, biochemist and creation scientist, pointed out, every known process that creates order from disorder (like photosynthesis or growth) relies on pre-existing genetic instructions—something evolution must explain but cannot.
What about the argument the universe started from quantum fluctuations? Quantum fluctuations still require pre-existing quantum fields, physical laws, and the quantum vacuum itself—none of which are “nothing.” Physicist Dr John Hartnett notes that appealing to quantum mechanics merely pushes the question back: where did the laws of quantum mechanics come from? Additionally, quantum fluctuations obey thermodynamic principles and cannot create the vast, ordered universe we observe from true nothingness. Only God creates ex nihilo—from nothing (Hebrews 11:3).

How do we explain the apparent age of the universe? Many creationist scientists, like Dr Russell Humphreys (physicist), propose that time itself may have operated differently during creation week, with gravitational time dilation allowing billions of years of cosmic processes to occur in Earth’s six days. Others, like Dr Jason Lisle (astrophysicist), suggest light was created in-transit or that the speed of light has changed. All agree God may have created a mature, functioning universe with apparent age—just as Adam was created as an adult, not an embryo—a universe that began with low entropy and high order.

If entropy always increases, how do living things grow and become more complex? Living organisms are open systems that decrease their internal entropy by increasing entropy elsewhere—primarily by consuming food and releasing heat. However, this process only works because of pre-existing genetic information and cellular machinery that direct energy into building structures. The real question isn’t how living things maintain order (we understand that), but where the original information and machinery came from. Thermodynamics tells us that information doesn’t arise spontaneously from disorder—it requires an intelligent source, which points to the Creator.
What about the multiverse theory—couldn’t infinite universes explain ours without God? The multiverse is an untestable, unfalsifiable hypothesis invented specifically to avoid the implications of fine-tuning and cosmic beginning. Even if multiverses existed, they would require their own thermodynamic explanation—an overarching system with even lower initial entropy to generate all these universes. Dr Hugh Ross, astrophysicist and old-earth creationist, notes multiplying universes only multiplies the problem: you’d need a universe-generating mechanism more finely tuned than any individual universe. The multiverse hypothesis is metaphysics disguised as science, and it still cannot escape the need for an ultimate First Cause.

How does the Big Bang theory fit with creation and thermodynamics? Many creationist scientists see the Big Bang as confirming Genesis 1:1—the universe had a definite beginning from nothing physical. Dr Danny Faulkner, astronomer, notes that the Big Bang’s requirement for a beginning point, fine-tuning, and initial low-entropy state all align with biblical creation, even if the timescale differs in young-earth vs. old-earth models. The critical point is that thermodynamics makes an eternal universe impossible—something must have started the expansion with precisely calibrated initial conditions. Whether that beginning was 6,000 or 13.8 billion years ago, it required God’s creative word to bring the universe into existence and establish the physical laws that govern it.

DID THE UNIVERSE CREATE ITSELF? OUR RELATED POSTS