"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special." -- Stephen Hawking
At a recent talk at a university in Hong Kong, famed physicist Stephen Hawking talks about some exchanges that he had with Pope John Paul II in the past:
Hawking recalls pope's views on research
Some highlights:
"Famed physicist Stephen Hawking said Thursday that Pope John Paul II tried to discourage him and other scientists attending a cosmology conference at the Vatican from trying to figure out how the universe began.
The British scientist joked he was lucky the pope didn't realize he had already presented a paper at the gathering suggesting how the universe was created.
"I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition like Galileo," Hawking said in a lecture to a sold-out audience at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. John Paul died in 2005; Hawking did not say when the Vatican meeting was held.
Galileo ran afoul of the Roman Catholic Church in the 17th century for supporting Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun. The church insisted the Earth was at the center of the universe.
In 1992, John Paul issued a declaration saying the church's denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."
Hawking said the pope told the scientists, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."
The physicist, author of the best seller "A Brief History of Time," added that John Paul believed "God chose how the universe began for reasons we could not understand."
John Paul insisted faith and science could coexist. In 1996, in a message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, he said that Darwin's theories were sound as long as they took into account that creation was the work of God and that Darwin's theory of evolution was "more than a hypothesis."
But Hawking questioned whether an almighty power was needed to create the universe.
"Does it require a creator to decree how the universe began? Or is the initial state of the universe determined by a law of science?" he asked ... "
While the pope's views on evolution were encouraging and in contrast to a lot of Christians', it is unfortunate that he had to have a qualifier. Whether you are a Christian, Muslim, agnostic, atheist, whatever ... ultimately the goal of your life should be the quest for truth. I've heard many Christians say that to me. But if you are saying that you can only look for truth sometimes or only in certain places, what is the point?
That is the major weakness of creationism ... selective truth-seeking. You can't allow prejudices to influence your collection of data. And once you get the data, don't cherry-pick the information that reinforces the belief you came in with.
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -- Stephen Hawking
6 comments:
That's probably the major issue I have with Christianity. It puts subject areas beyond investigation and says that there are questions we are just not meant to ask - because we already *know* the answers from Scripture.
The whole idea that certain lines of enquiry are 'off limits' because of an ancient Middle Eastern belief system is, to me anyway, complete BS and is why I am not now nor will I ever be a Christian.
"Seek the Truth though the Heavens fall."
CK said, "... says that there are questions we are just not meant to ask ...". -- My biggest problem with Christianity also. It was asking those unaskable (is that a word?) questions that led me to be politely removed from Sunday school.
I never got the whole "There are some things we're not meant to know" PoV. Just too weird.
I've been politely (and not so politely) told to shut up or leave more than once myself... [grin].
Dback: You got thrown out of sunday school too?? I got tossed for laughing.
I have no quarrels with people who believe in mythic forms of creation, it's when they try to force them on everyone else where I get pissed off. If you want to believe that an invisible man created everything exactly the way it is now, fine. Just don't go shoving it in my face as "science". Want to discuss it in Philosphy class? OK - Lets.
I also don't think that religion and science are completely incompatible, as long as neither promotes itself as the end-all, be-all of experience.
Laura said, "I have no quarrels with people who believe in mythic forms of creation, it's when they try to force them on everyone else where I get pissed off." -- Yep, exactly. I have my certain beliefs on religion, but here on my blog is one of the few places that I will openly express them. My family and close friends know but none of my client or casual acquaintences. If anyone asks, I have no problem letting them know, but I'm not going to try to change them. People who feel the need to "testify" irk me, but I'll be polite to them.
Unfortunately, life is more comfortable if you only look for truth in places in which you are familier.
Most people only pretend to seek truth, because really seeking it might take them out of their comfort zone.
That is my biggest gripe with religion.
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