Theories about the origin of the universe inevitably raise profound questions. So when science writer and independent physics researcher Eric Lerner reported that NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) had collected images disproving the widely-accepted Big Bang theory, the ensuing media excitement was perhaps understandable. Writing in a journal published by the British Institute of Art and Ideas, Lerner reported that NASA’s new telescope detected galaxies that are older and more numerous than astronomers expected. He then argued that this discovery supported his decades-old claim that “the Big Bang never happened” and also that astronomers are “panicking” about this. Though many media outlets picked up the story, astronomers aren’t actually worried and for …
Many teens are beginning to think about life’s big questions: Does God exist? Does life have purpose? Is the Bible at odds with science? They’re at the stage where they need answers to their questions, especially as peers, teachers and employers challenge their childhood beliefs. Christianity and science start to seem more opposed to each other than they are in agreement. To help your teens better understand and defend their faith, tell them about three mind-blowing scientific discoveries of the 20th century that strongly point to an intelligent designer. These discoveries will affirm and support their belief in God. The good news? Your teens don’t have to ditch science to follow God! By pursuing the evidence for God, they will be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who …
Andrew Klavan’s reference to the popular Bell Curve Meme calls to my mind a particularly provocative version of that Meme, in which the three figures representing the different levels of insight and intelligence address the relationship between science and belief in God. The dullard on the left-hand tail of the curve says, “don’t listen to science, all the answers come from God.” The representative of conventional wisdom sitting at the top of the curve says, “God isn’t real. You should trust the science.” But then, as in all versions of the meme, a twist occurs. The jedi-savant figure at the extreme right-hand tail of the curve reaffirms the existence of God because of, not in spite of, what science has discovered. Something like this progression has played out in …
During the winter holidays, Jews celebrate a miraculous, unquenchable light and Christians celebrate the incarnation of God revealed by the light of a star. It’s fitting, therefore, that on December 22 NASA will launch a new satellite capable of seeing the first starlight from just after the Big Bang—a light, and an event, that tell us about the creation of the universe and, in their own ways, reveal God to the world. NASA’s new James Webb Space Telescope will be carried into space this week from French Guiana on the back of an Ariane 5 rocket. The $10 billion, 21-foot telescope features a massive umbrella-like sun shield. It also boasts 15 times the range of motion and six times the light-gathering capability of the Hubble Space Telescope—NASA’s next best instrument …
With the passing last month of Steven Weinberg, the world lost a great theoretical physicist. Born to Jewish parents in New York in 1933, Weinberg received the Nobel Prize in 1979 for unifying two of the four fundamental forces of physics, the electromagnetic and weak nuclear forces. His proposed unification, later confirmed by experiment, proved key to the development of the Standard Model of particle physics, the best current theory of fundamental physics and our guide to the strange world of elementary particles. In addition, Weinberg made seminal contributions to quantum theory, general relativity and cosmology. His death also marks the twilight of an increasingly dated view of the relationship between science and religion. Though Weinberg was a friend to the State of …
As crazy as it all sounds, scientists have long posited the possibility of aliens on our planet. But no alien being within the universe can explain what scientists have discovered about the structure of the universe.
These days, we surround ourselves with technology to stay in touch, to keep ourselves informed, and to manage the challenges of our daily lives. We also recognize in our devices and machines all the hallmarks of design, understanding reflexively that they express the ingenuity of engineers or software developers. Our appreciation for applied intelligence comes as second nature to us—we intuitively recognize the work of other minds.
In the book River Out of Eden, Oxford biologist and atheist superstar Richard Dawkins famously wrote: “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.” Dawkins and other “new atheists” have long insisted that science has excluded the possibility of a creator or has, at least, rendered it unnecessary. Turns out this belief may be scientifically out of date. According to a new book, the biggest discoveries of the last century challenge a materialistic worldview and call science back to its theistic roots. Cambridge-educated philosopher of science Stephen Meyer wrote two books, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, that both argue against …
John Zmirak: First of all, thank you for your trilogy of books laying out the reasons why Intelligent Design is a more rational, and hence more “scientific” hypothesis than others. I was especially impressed with your ability to shift gears from physics to biology, and then to epistemology, engaging top level practitioners of each. Your latest, The Return of the God Hypothesis, is vastly ambitious. I think it rivals Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles in that respect: a comprehensive “answer to the pagans.” How would you sum it up in 50 words for potential readers? Stephen Meyer: Thank you John for your interest and for that extremely generous compliment. Return of the God Hypothesis argues — contrary to “new atheist” writers who often claim to speak for science — that …
Three major scientific discoveries during the last century contradict the expectations of scientific atheists (or materialists) and point instead in a distinctly theistic direction.
Throughout history, many prominent scientists have believed in God. Far from seeing their faith in God as incompatible with scientific investigation, most have found the two things complementary. Seventeenth-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, for example, believed that science was only possible because God made the world to be “intelligible” to the human mind. In his view, the same God who designed the world in a rational and orderly way also gave human beings rationality so they could understand the world He made. Thus, Kepler described scientists as having the high calling of “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Many early scientists were not only inspired to do science because they believed in God; they also thought that the natural world revealed the attributes …
Throughout history, many prominent scientists have believed in God. Far from seeing their faith in God as incompatible with scientific investigation, most have found the two things complementary. Seventeenth-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler, for example, believed that science was only possible because God made the world to be “intelligible” to the human mind. In his view, the same God who designed the world in a rational and orderly way also gave human beings rationality so they could understand the world He made. Thus, Kepler described scientists as having the high calling of “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.” Many early scientists were not only inspired to do science because they believed in God; they also thought that the natural world revealed the …
Stephen Meyer with Bart van den Dikkenberg at Reformatorisch Dagblad
Bart van den Dikkenberg
June 16, 2021
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The Dutch newspaper Reformatorisch Dagblad interviewed Dr. Stephen Meyer about his new book, Return of the God Hypothesis. The article was written in Dutch by their science editor, Bart van den Dikkenberg. Here we include a few sentences from the introduction as a preview. View the full article in Dutch at the link below. The title of Meyer’s book, The Return of the God Hypothesis, is a nod to a famous, but probably apocryphal, statement by the French mathematician Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749-1827). When he presented his book Traité de Mécanique Céleste in 1802 to the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Laplace was asked what the role of God at the origin of the solar system had been. The mathematician replied: “Sire, I had no need of that hypothesis.” That moment …
