Editorial: Stephen Hawking is Wrong. Church is a Defender of Life, Science and the Person

By Deacon Keith Fournier
6/10/2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The Church enthusiastically supports research on Adult Stem Cells

Pope Benedict XVI and Stephen Hawkings.

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NEW YORK, NY (Catholic Online) - World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking was in New York this past week to be honored by the World Science Festival. He gave an interview to Dianne Sawyer of ABC News. He posited his personal opinions that human life is "insignificant in the universe" and that there is an adversarial relationship between science and religion. He told Sawyer "There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, [and] science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works."

First out of the gate to defend the Church was New York's "pugilist with words", the President of the Catholic League, Bill Donohue. He responded: "How any rational person could belittle the pivotal role that human life plays in the universe is a wonder, but it is just as silly to say that all religions are marked by the absence of reason. While there are some religions which are devoid of reason, there are others, such as Roman Catholicism, which have long assigned it a special place.

"It was the Catholic Church that created the first universities, and it was the Catholic Church that played a central role in the Scientific Revolution; these two historical contributions made possible Mr. Hawking's career.

"Reason, in pursuit of truth, has been reiterated by the Church fathers for nearly two millennia. That is why Hawking posits a false conflict: in the annals of the Catholic Church, there is no inherent conflict between science and religion. Quite the contrary: science and religion, in Catholic thought, are complementary properties. Ergo, nothing is gained by alleging a "victory" of science over religion.

"Religion without reason, Pope Benedict XVI instructed us in his Regensburg address in 2006, leads to fanaticism. That much Hawking seems to understand. What he doesn't get is its contra: science without faith also leads to disaster-the genocidal regimes in Germany, the Soviet Union, China and Cambodia being Exhibits A, B, C and D."

A Letter of the Venerable John Paul II set forth the proper relationship between Faith and Reason, "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth-in a word, to know himself-so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves." (Fides et Ratio, Faith and Reason)

Hawkings view of the insignificance of the human person is sad. His error concerning how the Church views the relationship between faith, science and reason is just plain wrong. It is one more example of the continual drumbeat against the Catholic Church in an increasingly hostile culture, based on misinformation. One example of this kind of misinformation is the often repeated claim that the Catholic Church opposes "Stem Cell Research." The Church opposes deadly stem cell research such as research done on human embryos which always results in taking the life of the embryonic human person. It is immoral to take innocent human life even if one can then use parts of the human person who has been killed to develop a potential cure for another. The end can never justify the means.

The Church enthusiastically supports research on Adult Stem Cells and cells derived from fetal cord blood. Neither type of stem cell research takes innocent human life. They also show tremendous scientific promise. A spokesman for the Vatican recently made known their strong support for the research being conducted at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine using adult stem cells.

The Catholic Church insists that the human person is indeed significant in the universe. In 2008 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith in the Catholic Church issued an instruction on the "Dignity of the Human Person." It began with these words "The dignity of a person must be recognized in every human being from conception to natural death. This fundamental principle expresses a great "yes" to human life and must be at the center of ethical reflection on biomedical research, which has an ever greater importance in today's world".

The instruction offered "a word of support and encouragement for the perspective on culture which considers science an invaluable service to the integral good of the life and dignity of every human being. The Church therefore views scientific research with hope and desires that many Christians will dedicate themselves to the progress of biomedicine and will bear witness to their faith in this field. She hopes moreover that the results of ...

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1 - 10 of 51 Comments

Robert T. Bobar
1 year ago
Did Stephen Hawking Kill The Big Bang Theory?

This is a serious scientific discussion and not an emotional discussion about atheism vs theism . So please try to control yourselves, just remember I did not bring God into this, Stephen Hawking did. However I will continue on his theme as a device in making some real discovery about the big bang singularity.

For the public record ( since it is in the public ) for ALL to see, In The Discovery Channel's The First Episode of Curiosity titled "Did God Create The Universe" :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcRA-GuzBhI

Stephen Hawking makes the argument that since time itself didn't exist therefore God would have no time to create the universe in. He said it's from science :) But this introduces a subtle paradox that can best be shown using this challenging statement:

"If God had no time to create then also The Big Bang had no time to Bang, what is good for the goose is often also good for the gander as well. Give Up."

Yet we know the universe did not always exist because stars keep time like candles by using up their fuel and dying. It is even more mind boggling to realize that time itself cannot possibly be infinite since time would never be able to tic down to the present time from an infinite past.

About about in circles we go !!!

Your mission should you choice to accept it, is to find a solution to this paradox.

Robert T. Bobar: I can be reached at rbobar@yahoo.com

I am leaving this here in the hope that someone can help me bring this & questions science to The Pope's attention.
Anthony
2 years ago
The efforts of the "faith"ful to rebut any skepticism which impinges on their dependence on this grand fairy tale is touching (although it speaks rather feebly for their capacity to use their God-given capacity for reason in finding their way in life) but the array of logical flaws in what they say is more than the holes in a fishnet.

One example: Einstein's quote about science without religion is lame". and the related confusion in the article between religion and morality. Morality is well rooted in all religions, but it can exist separately without religion, as many enlightened atheists show.

Science without religion is our most powerful tool in exploring and exploiting the universe, as well as damaging it. Morality is a respect for human values, ones which lead to the most human happiness. The two are separate magisteria. Religion is a child of human fears and ignorance, not moral enlightenment. Religions with a fine morality such as Catholicism are called religions, those without are called cults. Their psychological engine is much the same, however: human vulnerability in need of rescue from a great power and authority, called Dad when we are young.

Hawking is quite right to reject religious faith as irrelevant to conquering the material universe. It is relevant only to conquering human weakness, and as a crutch, it should be replaced in the end with true health of the spirit, ie love for one's fellows and all of existence, which is the real miracle.

Those who use silly logic such as "something must have caused the Universe" need to ask themselves that if the answer is God, then who or what caused God?
Bill
2 years ago
Robert, Bill Donohue does a great job defending the Catholic Church from its many detractors. You criticize him for using 5th grade definitions yet you make a wildly unsupported accusation that the Church is hostel (hostile) during this neoconservative movement. Please explain what that means???? Also, I am unaware that Bill Donohue occupies a position of authority within the Catholic Church!! His organization is not funded by the Church. I suggest that Bill Donohue and the Catholic League provide a needed bromide against biased and unfounded attacks.
Michael Evers
2 years ago
MICHAEL ALBANO: You may well be right about the need for the Holy Spirit's intervention. But don't you think God speaks through the mouths of humans like ourselves -- however unworthy we might be -- and however unaware of it we might be of doing so?
Peterman
2 years ago
Were it not for Christianity, Hawking might well have been euthanized long ago. I'm just saying, think about it. He should stop attacking the very religious culture that says to the world that his life has merit no matter what his physical handicaps
GAMM
2 years ago
I always find it amusing when Christians quote Einstein as if he was a friend of religion and other superstitious beliefs. Anyone who had the slightest interest in Einstein would know that he was an atheist and had a great deal of disdain for all faiths.

The relationship between science and faith is given extra importance by misquoting famous historical figures such as Einstein who wrote in a letter during the last year before his death:
"the word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honorable but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish."

"For me," he added, "the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions."

These are hardly the words of a religious man; they are the words of an Atheist.
MICHAEL G. ALBANO
2 years ago
I HAVE THOUGHT VERY HARD ABOUT WHAT HAS BEEN SAID NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE ARTICLE, BUT ABOUT THE COMMENTS. MANY GOOD POINTS, AND MANY BAD POINTS. I'VE NOTICED SOME PRIDE, ANGER, JEALOUSIES, ETC, TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE DEFENDED THE CHURCH AND IT'S HISTORY, GOD BLESS YOU. SOME OF YOU HAVE DONE SO WITH ELEGANCE AND WITHOUT PREJUDICE, ONCE AGAIN, GOD BLESS YOU! UNFORTUNATELY, NONE OF US, NO MATTER HOW WELL THE ARGUMENTS ARE PRESENTED, WILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE DR. L, DUSTIN, KEVIN D., DAVID HUME, AND PHIL UNTIL THEY ARE TOUCHED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. I HOPE AND PRAY THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES TO YOU VERY SOON! THIS ARTICLE AND THE COMMENTS TELLS US WE MUST REMAIN EVER VIGILANT. WE MUST CONTINUE TO PAY THE RANSOM FOR THESE SOULS. THE RANSOM IS OUR PRAYERS FOR THEIR SALVATION.
KD
2 years ago
When Stephen Hawking was 21, a doctor told him he would not live to see 23. To be flirting with age 70 utterly defies science. May God give Mr Hawking the grace to believe.
FreddyG
2 years ago
Although I certainly admire Hawking for his mathematical and scientific insights, he is obviously only capable of using the scientific method to draw his conclusions. This works well for him in his profession, but it adds little to his insights into philosophy, religion, and the ability to evaluate the "deeper" questions man asks of himself and the universe. When it comes to arguments involving "first principles," Hawking is no more brilliant or insightful than the average man in the street. I think the words of Einstein reflect well on Hawking's thinking. He said, "Religion without science is blind. Science without religion is lame." I feel sorry for Dr. Hawking, realizing that he must ultimately regard his own fantastic work as - in the end - lame, and that his life has no ULTIMATE purpose or meaning. In other words Dr. Hawking, as impressive as your work has been (even when you have made mistakes), WHY BOTHER?????
Michael Evers
2 years ago
Dr. L,

For the sake of brevity:

"The truth shall set you free." -- Jesus of Nazareth

Academics have argued that this core belief explains why science arose in Christendom. That said, Christendom -- subject to human nature as it is -- certainly has a fair amount of apologizing to do in terms of not practicing what it preaches.

"It is only by knowing one's limits that a man becomes truly free."
-- Henry David Thoreau

Science, it seems to me, has the unfortunate habit of making claims that its data does not support. The Grand Theory of Evolution is a good example of this. To say that significant evidence affirms the theory of natural selection, and that this process appears to involve random events is one thing. Jumping from this claim to the claim that all events that occur in existence are fundamentally random in nature is really quite a jump. Ditto Drs L and Hawking's claims. The data they have at hand is just not sufficient to support these claims.

This raises the question of why scientists seem so frequently compelled to make such unsupportable claims: pride? ambition? faith?

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