God and Stephen Hawking: Do the Laws of Physics Make God Unnecessary? by Prof.Lennox

[John Elessar]

I dislike the dualism inherent in his view, as if math by itself is a dry dessicated concept divorced from all other concerns, while instead it could be just another tool in the toolbox of the Tao.

[Chrysaetos]

Originally Posted by John DiFool

I dislike the dualism inherent in his view, as if math by itself is a dry dessicated concept divorced from all other concerns, while instead it could be just another tool in the toolbox of the Tao.

Believing in any sort of god, soul, or spirit is dualism. If these things have no material basis (and so far we have found no soul, god, or spirit) then they have to be non-material. This leads to dualism. People who follow non-dualists beliefs or ''advaita'' beliefs may say they are not into dualism but their beliefs cannot point in any different direction.

That's why I said that it doesn't matter whether one takes a Christian God or a ''divine source'', a personal god or a non-personal god, or a dvaita or advaita belief.
It does not matter which god a scientist refers to when they are still said to be non-material by believers.

[John Elessar]

If the material world is subsumed by the non-material world, then the former is a subset of the latter, and hence you potentially have monistic idealism.

Originally Posted by Starbuck

I haven't listened to the video yet - and will do - but I was always under the impression that Hawking, as well as Dawson and many other brilliant scientists, refer to the Christian God rather than looking into reconciling science with a Divine source.

I agree, unfortunately most people turn to Atheism immediately after they realize they disagree with ONE story of a God. Sadly only a few of them actually listen to what others have to say.

Ah , the arrogance of scientists ,yet again.

How many times before, has science felt they had the ultimate theory.

Like, the universe is nothing more than a math problem.

[whoguy423]

Ahhhhh.... finally someone with a fantastic mind points out David Bohm.... my favourite physicist!!!

I have not watched the video, so please excuse my ignorance...

I find that most Christian people believe if there is no definitive evidence of where the universe was born out of, then God must have done it.

Then I ask.... If God had done it.... where is the definitive evidence that God did indeed do it. I don't want any reference to any holy books, or you just gotta have faith argument.

I want concrete 100% absolute irrefutable evidence, whether it be geological, astronomical, cosmological and any other concrete source!!!

Yes, the criticism of Hawking is justified. Science can't ever answer the question "why is there something rather than nothing?"

And anyway...philosophy can't die, because the world keeps changing.

Originally Posted by starfish

God and Stephen Hawking: Do the Laws of Physics Make God Unnecessary?
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More importantly... if we don't pay on a speeding ticket within the 15 days allotted, what happens then? :^)

[phoenix101]

Hawking is a brilliant theoretical physicist; his Black Hole Entropy Equation is most elegant. However, his Black Hole Radiation paradox (that information disappears once matter crosses the event horizon of a black hole) was disproved by Susskind. He responded not by suggesting that they were both wrong, and went on to postulate that the information does disappear in universes where black holes exist, but that this is balanced out in universes where black holes do not exist. Many physicists theorize "undetectable" forces such as extra-dimensions, dark matter, God particles (Higgs Boson), and multiverses as ways to get the mathematics to work out; even Einsteins equations break down at point singularities (such as black holes).

Hawking's theory that the universe came from nothing (or that nothing existed before time existed) arises from yet another undetectable force he calls negative energy to explain a balance of equal amounts of positive and negative energy yielding "nothing". If "nothing more" he creates ripples that perhaps will yield new discoveries by others.

Philosophically speaking; if you were to consider "God" to be all that is unseen and not understood, then even to a theoretical physicist "God" will always exist :)

Then there's "Junk DNA", much of what Hawkins has claimed has been slowly debunked.