Faith & Science Icon Faith & Science

From Isaac Newton to Stephen Hawking in Three Catastrophic Steps

Hawking zero gravity
Photo credit: Jim Campbell/Aero-News Network [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Theism is pressed by a range of challenges but none is greater than the perception that science has “buried God,” as Oxford mathematician John Lennox puts it. Nothing is more poisonous, for the young and the old alike, than the perception that the smart money is all on atheism. Of course, it’s not. In a video presentation, Lennox considers, among other questions, how and why the profile of what a great scientist must believe has evolved since Isaac Newton:

Newton was a devout if slightly unorthodox religious believer. Today the most iconic scientist-genius we know is the late Stephen Hawking, an atheist. Does the transition simply reflect the advance of scientific knowledge? Lennox says no. He identifies three catastrophic steps the culture has taken on the road from Newton to Hawking. They stem from “False logic,” “False ideas about the nature of God,” and “False ideas about the nature of scientific explanation.”

Lennox stars in the upcoming documentary Against the Tide: Finding God in an Age of Science, with actor Kevin Sorbo and including an exclusive post-movie conversation between Lennox and Discovery Institute philosopher of science Stephen Meyer. You can see it one of just three nights this month: November 19, 20, and 23. Those are a Thursday, Friday, and Monday, respectively. That’s just a little over a week away, so you are advised to get your tickets before they sell out.

David Klinghoffer

Senior Fellow and Editor, Evolution News
David Klinghoffer is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute and the editor of Evolution News & Science Today, the daily voice of Discovery Institute’s Center for Science & Culture, reporting on intelligent design, evolution, and the intersection of science and culture. Klinghoffer is also the author of six books, a former senior editor and literary editor at National Review magazine, and has written for the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Seattle Times, Commentary, and other publications. Born in Santa Monica, California, he graduated from Brown University in 1987 with an A.B. magna cum laude in comparative literature and religious studies. David lives near Seattle, Washington, with his wife and children.

Share

Tags

Against the TideatheismDiscovery InstituteIsaac Newtonjohn lennoxKevin SorbologicmathematiciansOxford Universityreligionscientific explanationscientistsStephen HawkingStephen Meyertheism