The "science puts God out of a job" trope has been championed by a number of scientists in recent times. "We have discovered," says Lawrence Krauss, "that all signs suggest a universe that could and plausibly did arise from a deeper nothing. In this sense ... science makes it possible not to believe in God."

Krauss is in Sydney to debate the question "Why is there something rather than nothing?" - the traditional starting point for an ancient argument for the existence of God. Kraus, of course, is a cosmologist, known in the field for his work on the cosmological constant and dark matter, and to the wider public for books such as The Physics of Star Trek and A Universe from Nothing. Krauss's opponent is the Christian philosopher William Lane Craig. He has built a career around the philosophical defence of theism, and is best known outside academia for his many public debates with atheists.

I am, like Krauss, a professional cosmologist and astrophysicist. I've also interacted with a philosopher or two, and I've read a lot of Craig's work. So I thought it might be opportune to offer a guide to the uninitiated.

Science versus God

There is a temptation among the opponents of God to defend the following argument: "Science, science, science, science, science, science. Therefore the universe is all there is." The assumption is that science will automatically push God out of reality.

What is science? Here's what I try to do in my day job. Physics uses a rather peculiar approach to studying the universe. We can translate physical (measured) facts about the universe into mathematical facts about a "model" of the universe. Mountains of data are neatly summarised in a few equations. Having made the leap into mathematical space, we look for mathematical facts corresponding to measurements we haven't made yet - in other words, predictions. We can then, for example, build a 27 km long, multi-billion dollar machine under France to smash protons together at ludicrous speeds to see if we were right about a type of particle predicted on paper in 1964. This actually works. Continue reading

Sources

• ABC Religion & Ethics
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Robert's piece appeared in Tui Motu. It is not available online: Read below

As I advance towards the end of my seventh decade I am increasingly aware that a significant number of my Catholic contemporaries have left the Church. Many have also ceased to believe in a creator God. Many are theologically literate and have played an active role in parish communities. Some are former priests and seminarians well-trained in the minutiae of Catholic teaching.

I have learnt that the choices they have made to leave the Church are mostly well thought out and rational. Often the initial trigger to leave the Church was disgust at the corruption, intellectual dishonesty and the evil of clericalism.

I respect and understand these choices. They are based on another way of trusting life. However, I choose differently!

These friends and colleagues have continued to live exemplary lives committed to social justice, feeding the hungry, campaigning for the environment, in short following the teachings of Jesus.

Astrophysics calculates that the world was created more than 13.7 billion years ago with the 'big bang.' Modern human beings originated about 150,000 years ago.

The bible began to emerge 3,500 years ago. Christianity emerged less than 2000 years ago. The Enlightenment, which sought to understand the world solely on the basis of reason based on evidence and proof, emerged a mere 300 years ago.

I recently acquired a photo of the planet earth taken by the Cassini-Juygens probe when it arrived at the ring of Saturn. This mind-blowing photo shows the earth as a speck of dust! Only 4% of the universe is known. What we know is a drop - the unknown is an ocean.

In times of doubt I have often wondered if the idea of God is simply a projection of a human need. Millions of human beings have felt this need for thousands of years, and acted accordingly. This in itself could be enough.

Until the Middle Ages the meaning and purpose of life was assumed to be the glory of God. All cultures have historically created some religious belief. The discarding of one belief is normally replaced with another: new age, the market, the rational, Marxism, fascism, astrology, science, politics. Are these other forms of projection?

Faith in a creator God has to be intellectually satisfying and credible. It cannot ultimately depend on the contemporary state of any institution including the Catholic Church! It also has to satisfy me emotionally, spiritually, intuitively and above all, experientially. It has to be reasonable. The rational by itself is far too limiting.

As my life journey has evolved, no matter how chaotic or traumatic, I have always had a trust in people and their inherent goodness. This sense of the divine permeating all of life was embedded in me from a very early age - family, church, school. Some of the most faith-filled people I have met were working in third world slums, war zones, prisons and ghettos.

Living with doubt is an important element of the journey. My shadow side remains a constant challenge.

Why stay with the Church? Because this precious gift called faith has to be constantly nurtured, maintained, developed and connected to the life of Jesus!

If we consider the time line of 'big bang,' the emergence of modern human beings, the 'Enlightenment' was only yesterday and Christianity the day before. The only thing we know is how little we know!

Divine creation through evolution continues to unfold!

Robert comes from Christchurch and has a passion for social justice, from involvement in the civil rights movement in the USA to international relief in third world countries. He has long been involved in Treaty of Waitangi workshops. With his daughter he is the co-author of "Healing our History" a much-praised book exploring the challenge of the Treaty of Waitangi

This piece was published in the July 2011 edition of Tui Motu Interislands