Although the Bible does not directly refer to thermodynamics, the physical concepts are implied. The laws of thermodynamics are concerned with heat and mechanical energy and the conversion between the two. All physical, biological, and chemical processes known to man are subject to these laws.
The first law of thermodynamics says that matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed, but they may be converted into one another. Decay is the result of the second law of thermodynamics, which states that disorder always increases, that is, that everything must run down eventually. The first two laws of thermodynamics describe how the universe operates today: the amount of matter/energy in the universe does not change, but the energy of the universe becomes progressively less useful. Time runs forward, not backward, because of the second law of thermodynamics.
The Bible confirms the reality of the first and second laws of thermodynamics by affirming that the universe had a beginning and is now running down. Genesis 1 and 2 tell us of the complete creation of the universe while Psalm 102:25-26 describes the universe wearing out like a garment. The complexity of life and the information in DNA cannot arise from raw energy alone, further supporting the necessity of a divine Creator.
If we extrapolate the first two laws of thermodynamics far into the future, the universe will one day suffer "heat death," when all available energy will be exhausted. The universe will become cold and dark, with nearly the same temperature everywhere.
However, extrapolating these two laws into the distant past results in a contradiction. The sudden appearance of matter and energy would violate the first law, precluding an origin of the universe. But if the universe is eternal, then there was more than enough time for the universe to have already reached a heat death, but that is not the case since we are here talking about it. Therefore, the universe could not have existed forever and must have had a beginning. Consequently , a beginning of the universe breaks the first law, while an eternal universe breaks the second law. Which law should be abandoned, and why?
Rather than trying to rationalize the contradiction of the first two laws when extrapolated into the distant past, it is simpler to acknowledge that this contradiction indicates a limitation of physical laws. The origin of the universe does not have a physical explanation. The only other possible conclusion is supernatural creation.
The naturalistic origin of life from non-life and the development of life from simple to complex as proposed by evolutionary theory violates the second law of thermodynamics. The open systems argument does not help evolution. Earth is an open system since it receives solar energy. But raw energy cannot generate the specified complex information contained in DNA that is essential for all forms of life. Raw energy results in wrong combinations and even destruction of the building blocks as cells naturally decay. Instead, the high information content of living cells points to a Designer and Creator.
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