Nuggets of Wisdom

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Isaac Newton Refutes Stephen Hawking

Isaac Newton Stephen Hawking



Another great quote from Isaac Newton:



World-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking recently created controversy with his new book “The Grand Design,” which allegedly proves there is no God. Of course, contrary to the media spin, Hawking’s intention was not to disprove God, but rather to explain how scientific laws such as gravity could have allowed the universe to create itself (illogical as that may sound).

But this raises an important question: where did these scientific laws originate? One could assume that they always existed, but then how is that different from assuming God always existed? This point is elucidated by theologian Alister McGrath (who has also debunked biologist Richard Dawkins), who states: “Laws themselves don't create anything. They are merely a description of what happens under certain conditions….Hawking seems to think [the universe’s existence] is a question of either the laws of nature or God. Yet this simply fails to engage with the question of agency.”

Scientific laws alone are insufficient in explaining the existence of the universe. This truth was understood by the very scientist who developed the theory of gravitation, Sir Isaac Newton. Aside from being a famous scientist and mathematician, Newton was also a devout theologian, having studied the Bible more than he studied science. He realized that gravity could explain how objects in the universe attracted each other, and how those objects remained in motion, but it could not explain how the universe itself was created. For that, a First Cause was required, namely God. Science may explain “how” we are all here, but it can never explain “why.” For that, there will always be theology (and thus, God).