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samboct -> RE: Hawking: God Did Not Create Universe (9/14/2010 5:54:10 AM)
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"This is really a pointless argument. I can't give you anymore proof of the existence of God than to tell you to look around. Take a peek into space...Every time I see pictures of the universe it amazes me. What's the old saying.."You can lead a horse to water..."
This post shows why science and religion are at each other's throats these days. In a nutshell, it's everything that scientists find so distressing about religion.
Consider...
Science has made real progress in the human condition in the past several hundred years. We have both greater understanding of the natural world, and greater control of it. We challenge diseases and pestilences that have killed millions throughout the centuries. We achieve centuries old dreams- of exploring our world and being able to fly- not to mention traveling to the moon.
All this was possible because science did NOT accept God as an explanation for the universe. When you point to what is knowable and say- God did that, you negate the possible and positive achievements of human intellect. We know what happens when religious thought dominates the world- scientific progress slows to a crawl, as religion requires thought to be in a strait jacket, and consumes a great deal of resources. Religious organizations have dominated the world for centuries, and I for one, have no desire to return to a place where they have such power again.
Consider also the difference between religion and science in terms of answers. Religion offers no hard and fast answers. "Praying to God for guidance" does not answer the reason why if you add an acid and a base together, you get a salt and a neutral solution. Religion does not provide a mechanism to find answers, and as such, drives around in circles. People following religion are forced to follow in these circles, and no progress is made. Furthermore, the followers are not accustomed to actually having their questions answered, because there is no mechanism to determine what is right and wrong. Stymied, the human sits befuddled and confused.
In contrast, science provides answers. Come up with a question- propose a hypothesis- and DO the experiment. Once knowledge is gained, it is possible to progress, to ask new questions with an expectation that they too can be answered. To date, science has been able to answer the questions about the universe without resorting to "God did it" breaking physical laws as we know them.
To the point that we don't know all the physical laws- true- we don't have a good handle on gravity for example, but there's nothing to suggest that by continuing our experiments, we'll learn about them. Being a creator doesn't imbue one with magical powers, any more than siring a child requires magic. Nor are magical powers needed to create the universe.
I suspect I may be proposing the most dangerous heresy of all-that the creator is not only potentially knowable, but understandable. No gods need apply.....
Sam
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