Stephen Hawking's - Brief Answers to the Big Questions

JMJ

So Dr. Hawkings is making a bit of a splash from beyond the grave with the publication of his last book.

Here's some quotes and my comments:

"If there were such a God, I would like to ask, however did he think of anything as complicated as M-theory in eleven dimensions," Hawking wrote.

Something interesting about editing, one version of this quote made it sound very proud. In this version what becomes obvious is that Hawking is simply ignorant in this regards. Simply put, M-Theory is an expression of an understanding of reality, but as any model it is not a complete expression.

I was curious as to what M-Theory is ...

M-theory is a theory in physics that unifies all consistent versions of superstring theory. It's probably not the question most other people would ask a Supreme Being, but then, Hawking was one of a kind.(C-Net)

So ... moving on.

"There is no God. No one directs the universe," he writes in "Brief Answers to the Big Questions."

This is an assertion - Dr. Hawking's appeared to believe that the constrained theories actually explain the reality. That is a wee bit of a stretch.

"For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God," he adds. "I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature."

I wonder where he learned this? I'm not familiar with God inflicting a 'curse' upon Mankind. Adam is the one who gave us Original Sin.

"There are forms of intelligent life out there," he writes. "We need to be wary of answering back until we have developed a bit further."

Is not God a form of intelligent life? What Hawking's denies is that there are other orders of beings that we know of because they have either revealed themselves or being revealed: God, Angels and Demons.

"I think the universe was spontaneously created out of nothing, according to the laws of science," Hawking, who died in March, wrote. "If you accept, as I do, that the laws of nature are fixed, then it doesn't take long to ask: What role is there for God?"

Well, that is a question - how does something come from nothing in the material world?

In life, Hawking was a vocal champion of the Big Bang theory — the idea that the universe began by exploding suddenly out of an ultradense singularity smaller than an atom.

It is amusing that the Big Bang Theory was the result of the work of a Jesuit searching for the moment of creation (ie something coming from nothing).

To Hawking and many like-minded scientists, the combined laws of gravity, relativity, quantum physics and a few other rules could explain everything that ever happened or ever will happen in our known universe.

Obviously they haven't dealt with Dark Matter fully yet ... and if/when they do ... something else will pop up because the Universe is not as simple as they would like to think it to be!

"If you like, you can say the laws are the work of God, but that is more a definition of God than a proof of his existence,"

How is that a definition of God. It would be a result of God's action not a definition.

"We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe," Hawking concludes the first chapter of his final book, "and for that I am extremely grateful."

Ok - so the Universe has a design. Therefore it must have a Designer. The problem with scientists who specialize themselves into knowing more and more about less and less is that they tend to believe that what little they know explains everything. I would like to know how biology evolved to create various systems that can't evolve. Like eyesight.

"Did God create the quantum laws that allowed the Big Bang to occur?" Hawking wrote. "I have no desire to offend anyone of faith, but I think science has a more compelling explanation than a divine creator."

Well, frankly there are a lot of things that science can't explain and ... frankly science is in large part just theories.

"We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in," Hawking wrote. "For me this means that there is no possibility of a creator, because there is no time for a creator to have existed in."

Ok so for all their intelligence, I guess they haven't figured out that God is outside of time.

I guess they haven't thought this through very well.

Aside from the Mercy of God, given his background, I don't give much chance for the salvation of Dr. Hawking.

He is most likely in need of prayers.

P^3

Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/16/health/stephen-hawking-final-book-intl/index.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/stephen-hawking-claims-no-possibility-god-last-book-ncna921806
https://www.cnet.com/news/there-is-no-god-stephen-hawking-writes-in-final-book/

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay. Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3

The Vatican and SSPX – An Organizational Culture Perspective

Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection. The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements. So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

+ JMJ An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'. Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like. No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included. I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith. While...

Battle Joy

+ JMJ I was listening to a Cd of John Vennari on Battle Joy ( Recapture the Flag: Dedication and Battle Joy - by John Vennari ) and it really captures a key point that Catholics (Traditional and otherwise labelled) need to adopt. We should see this conflict as a chance to prove our mettle for our King and to earn our unending reward. As veterans we'll be able to talk about the old battles in which we fought and the honour we gained in fighting for our King! Attached is a preview of course that, although secular, contains some of the elements of Battle Joy. P^3 https://www.coursera.org/learn/war/lecture/VDwfk/the-joy-of-battle

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

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