Friday, September 10, 2010

Why Is Modern Physics Biased Against Religious Belief?

In a fascinating discussion of Frank Tipler's book, The Physics of Christianity, lawyer-blogger A.S. Haley, aka The Anglican Curmudgeon, helps us to understand why modern physicists go to great lengths to ignore the signs that are in front of their faces.

"What, then, is the problem? Why are scientists unwilling to accept fully the implications of the three tried-and-true great theories which evolved over the last century? Listen to Professor Tipler, once again, in his own words (p. 47):

"One of the implications of the laws of physics, an implication that most physicists find philosophically and religiously repugnant, is a necessary consequence of the [well-documented] expansion of the universe: it began a finite time ago . . . in a singularity, where the laws of physics themselves do not apply. The laws of physics do not apply at a singularity because, as the initial singularity is approached from inside space and time, physical quantities such as the density of material go to infinity. The laws of physics, however, can govern only the behavior of finite quantities. In the words of the great cosmologist Sir Fred Hoyle (1915-2001), "The problem with a singularity is that not only do the known laws of physics not apply there, no possible laws of physics can apply there." Hoyle is completely correct; no possible laws of physics can control a singularity. Modern physicists hate the idea that something real could be beyond the power of the laws of physics. . . ."

There is more, much more, that will reward a careful reading.

Check it out.

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