May 21, 2011
Most folks have heard of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.
Over the past 50 years Hawking has lived with Lou Gehrig’s disease, but has managed to become the foremost authority on the origins of the universe. For years, while not denying the existence of God, Hawking made it known the Universe did not need God — then finally this past week he just came right out and said there is no God. The professor said tiny quantum fluctuations in the early universe sowed the seeds of human life.
Sounds like an educated statement, but one that cannot be proven. There is no doubting the genius of Hawking as he has been a staple of every physics class for the past 30 years, but learning does not equate to wisdom and understanding.
There are a lot of Bible scriptures to be trotted out about how God turns the wisdom of the wise into foolishness, but they don’t get to the foundation of the Creator God whose designs hold so much wonder.
“Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.’” — Isaiah 1:18
So, when Hawking called believing in an afterlife is akin to believing in fairy tales, God is calling Hawking to come to him and discuss the situation. Most of us could never approach Hawking’s mental acumen or be able to understand the complex theoretical models he deals with on a daily basis.
With all of that understanding, though, is his mind and heart really open? Or for that matter, is your mind or heart really open.
The Psalmist tells us in Psalms 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.”
God declares in Malachi 3:6, “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”
God was telling the people of Judah he expects the same from them now as he did when they were brought up out of Egypt and that he will demand a reckoning from those who oppress the least among the people.
Even though God makes this statement, our loving Father will listen to a broken and contrite heart — and he means it when God says, ‘Come, let us reason together.”
Where is reason, though, when there is no willingness to understand? A reasonable man’s heart can be changed, but the stubborn are hard to reach.
“They refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so they could not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.” — Zechariah 7:11-12
In spite of professor Hawking’s great learning, he has stopped his ears from hearing anything outside of his narrow purview. He has ignored God’s calling. More than perhaps any other person alive today Hawking has seen the inner-mechanics of God’s magnificent creation, yet he refuses to believe. He refuses to reason with God.
Even though we have rebelled against God, even though we have denied Him, even though we have led others astray, if we will fall down at the cross and confess our sins before God Christ’s blood will wash us clean.
The arrogant and the proud have no place with God.
“Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed.” 1 Samuel 2:3
For those whose only pursuit is knowledge why do they flail about like fish out of water? Why do they seek understanding away from the one who set all life into motion?
The answer is simple. To admit the existence of God is to deny self. Selfishness, arrogance, pride and hubris cannot exist in the presence of God. When Stephen Hawking stands before Christ, will his science explain the scars in his hands? Will his vast knowledge understand the reason for Christ’s death? Will his denial of the Creator make any difference?
No. As Paul noted in Romans 1, all of creation cries out for the existence of God. The order of the world around us is astounding. We cannot fathom the rich complexity of the universe and comprehend its overall simplicity.
Sir Isaac Newton, who held Hawking’s same position at Cambridge in the 1600s, believed science was the perfect realm in which to discuss and learn about God.
“Since every particle of space is always, and every indivisible moment of duration is every where, certainly the Maker and Lord of all things cannot be never and no where....God is the same God, always and every where. He is omnipresent not virtually only, but also substantially; for virtue cannot subsist without substance.…It is allowed by all that the Supreme God exists necessarily; and by the same necessity he exists always and every where....And thus much concerning God; to discourse of whom from the appearance of things, does certainly belong to Natural Philosophy.”
That’s above my head, but not when he said, “Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.”
In the end all of our knowledge cannot delay our meeting with God. We can reason away his existence to the best of our abilities, but we cannot out reason God. We cannot hold more knowledge than God. We cannot understand the whats and the whys.
What we can do is throw off this cloak of arrogance we have and admit there is something greater than us who puts life into motion. When we do that great and wondrous mysteries will be opened to us.
No comments:
Post a Comment