Hawking says pope told him not to study beginning of univers

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HONG KONG (AP) — World-renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said Thursday that the late Pope John Paul II once told scientists they should not study the beginning of the universe because it was the work of God.
Hawking, author of the best-seller A Brief History of Time, said John Paul made the comments at a cosmology conference at the Vatican. He did not say when the meeting was held.

Hawking quoted the pope as saying, "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 scientist then joked that he was glad John Paul did not realize that he had presented a paper at the conference suggesting how the universe began.

"I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition like Galileo," Hawking said during a sold-out audience at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The church condemned Galileo in the 17th century for supporting Nicholas Copernicus' discovery that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

But in 1992, Pope John Paul II issued a declaration saying the church's denunciation of Galileo was an error resulting from "tragic mutual incomprehension."

Hawking is one of the best-known theoretical physicists of his generation. He has done groundbreaking research on black holes and the origins of the universe, and he proposes that space and time have no beginning and no end.

During a question-and-answer session, Hawking was asked where constants like gravity come from and whether gravity can distort light.

But there were several humorous moments.

The wheelchair-bound Hawking, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, communicates with an electronic speech synthesizer. Hawking was asked why his computerized voice has an American accent.

"The voice I use is a very old hardware speech synthesizer made in 1986," he said. "I keep it because I have not heard a voice I like better and because I have identified with it."

He said he once considered using a machine that gave him a French accent, but he did not because his wife would divorce him.

But Hawking said he is shopping for a new system because his current hardware is large and fragile, using components that are no longer made.

"I have been trying to get a software version, but it seems very difficult," he said.

He urged people with physical disabilities not to give up on their ambitions.

"You can't afford to be disabled in spirit as well as physically," he said. "People won't have time for you."

Hawking ended his lecture saying, "We are getting closer to answering the age-old questions: Why are we here? Where did we come from?"
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P1234567890

FFT · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:33 pm Post subject:

The Catholic church is doing better. Can't really say the same about the protestants as a whole.

P1234567890 · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:43 pm Post subject:

FFT · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

Well it's not like the Pope is going to stand up and say "sorry guys, we really have no idea what we're doing. We don't think there even is a god, we just liked all the shiny bits we've been collecting."

P1234567890 · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 4:21 pm Post subject:

admin · Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 10:10 pm Post subject:

I'm surprised no one is talking about the article. That the Pope asked him not to delve into the beginnings of things......this is EXACTLY medieval type thinking....and once again coming from the church.

Things have not changed. The church resides in the dark areas of the unknown and must constantly retreat as new irrefutable facts are found.....the fewer facts found....the longer time and more area it can reside in. This seems exactly the kind of thinking still prevading between religion and science....in my not so humble opinion.
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P1234567890 · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:30 am Post subject:

admin · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:43 am Post subject:

I wholeheartedly agree with the increased science education of the general public for the church not being able to skate as much now - personally I think even most recently the internet has had a major hand in that.

Regarding Galileo, I had someone several months ago get very angry about it. They are a devout Catholic and was very angry that people always bring up Galileo and the Catholic church - and they said "the catholic church can't make a little mistake in 500 years, it never happens today"

So I presented them with a list of current trends, which they refused to comment on. This latest Hawking event is just one in a long list.

My stance overall:
Enjoy the beauty of science and learn - and also enjoy the beauty of our faith. But in both cases use the brain. It's connected quite conveniently to the rest of the body.
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FFT · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 1:27 pm Post subject:

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7005 Location: USA

FFT · Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:53 pm Post subject:

P1234567890 · Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 1:24 pm Post subject:

RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7005 Location: USA

Please P123, we see it everyday on this board and many others like it. TOE fallacies are addressed all the time, the inconsistencies of the theory and its failings are pointed out ad nauseum. The thing is though, that you and yours refuse to acknowledge them, or you refute them (not successfully BTW) and feel confident that you have done a good job because it is what you WANT to believe.

Anyone can read through the numerous threads in this forum and see that the problems with TOE have been addressed over and over again and just because YOU do not accept that opposition does not mean it does not exist. I personally have read the arguments, both sides, and am still far from convinced that TOE is nothing more than assumption and hope - hope for an existence devoid of the Almighty God, so for you and yours to say "best scientists that Christianity has to offer can't point out inconsistencies and contradictions with evolution", is a load of trash.
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P1234567890 · Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 5:34 pm Post subject: