Is the Big Bang theory compatible with Judaism?
Some Orthodox JewA Jew who lives by the Torah and rabbinic law (halakhah) and who only accepts changes that can be supported by the Torah. believe that as the Torah has been given by God, everything in it must be the literal truth. Therefore some Orthodox Jews believe that the world was created in seven days. As they believe that God is omnipotent (all powerful), they believe that God could have created the universe, virtually instantly, without contradicting the evidence for the Big Bang theory.
Other Orthodox Jews describe the references to days of creation as an allegory, or refer to stages or periods of time lasting many millions of years.
While most Reform JewA Jew who has adapted their laws and practices as modern life changes. and Liberal JewA Jew who is willing to adapt religious law to modern life. may not believe the creation story to be literally true in every detail, many acknowledge that God was in control of the beginning of the universe and oversaw the process.
The belief is that they can also learn lessons from the story about the importance of humankind and the responsibility humankind has for the rest of creation. The understanding is that the Genesis story promotes the belief that the world is valuable and that, if it exists as God intended, it is good.
Many Jews acknowledge that, as human beings find out more about the universe, scientific understanding grows. They accept the Big Bang theory and do not think that this affects their belief in God as the Creator of all things.