Famous British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking says pope told him not to study beginning of universe

Northwest Florida Daily News ^ | 15 JUNE 2006 | Min Lee

[BaBaStooey]

I think the Pope may have simply found Hawking's lack of faith disturbing.

There are things science can't explain (or can't yet explain). One of these things is the creation of the universe. Faith is supposed to fill the gaps.

I find the search for the truth a noble cause, and those who search are noble persons. However, to search for the truth because one has no faith to fill the gaps, that is a troubling thought.

[sinkspur]

Hawking is obviously lying, and lying about someone who is now dead and cannot answer the charges.

Yes. He is embellishing.

[wideawake]

You make a good point.

There is a profound difference: I was obviously making a joke, and Hawking's slander was deadly serious.

[GOP Poet]

This sounds apocryphal, to me. John Paul II was a keen intellectual and respected other intellectuals. I can't believe that he would ask anyone to refrain from investigating anything, especially in the absence of a like request of some other scientist.

Exactly. Some one also mentioned in another post that John Paul II is gone and can't defend himself. I smell a rat and its name is Stephen Hawking.

[wallcrawlr]

great comment

He urged people with physical disabilities not to give up on their ambitions.

"You can't afford to be disabled in spirit as well as physically," he said. "People won't have time for you."

[AnotherUnixGeek]

There are things science can't explain (or can't yet explain). One of these things is the creation of the universe. Faith is supposed to fill the gaps.

Better, I think, to just admit that there are some things that we don't know but are trying to find out. I don't understand how the search for knowledge can be satisfied by taking on faith the suppositions of people who lived thousands of years ago and had even less information to work with.

[Prokopton]

What does this mean?

"It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not enquire into the beginning itelf because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."

It's OK to study the beginning of the universe but not OK to study the beginning itself? This doesn't make sense and I doubt it is an actual quote.

[refermech]

And the infallible popes of the past insisted the earth is flat. No wonder the Catholic church is dying.

[kitkat]

***And the infallible popes of the past insisted the earth is flat. No wonder the Catholic church is dying.***

As far as infallibility is concerned, it is a very VERY rare occurence within the Catholic church. Please do not assume that every statement by every pope is within the bounds of infallibility.

[Unam Sanctam]

I doubt it, and I would like to see some corroborating evidence. The man who wrote Fides et Ratio has nothing to fear from objective scientific inquiry.

[refermech]

OK, I'll bite. Which ones are and which ones aren't?

[Ichneumon]

There is a profound difference: I was obviously making a joke, and Hawking's slander was deadly serious I jumped to an unshakable conclusion about Hawking's statement based only on my own presumptions and I refuse to consider that I might possibly in any way be mistaken.

There, I fixed your post so that it's correct now.

[Diplomat]

Pope John Paul II once told scientists they should not study the beginning of the universe because it was the work of God.

Seems to me that if what Hawkings states is true, there are other witnesses who can verify it.

So Steven "don't call me JF Kerry" Hawkings, who are the other scientists who witnessed the pope making this statement? Don't tell me they're all dead too.

[Antoninus]

"I was glad he didn't realize I had presented a paper at the conference suggesting how the universe began. I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to the Inquisition like Galileo."

What a jokester.

Somehow, I think ol' Steve either is making stuff up, or misunderstood what the Pope said to him.

[wideawake]

It was correct as it stood. Hawking presented his slander to a public audience and characterized it as a direct quote of the late Pope.

It is clear from the context of the article that he intended his lie to convey the following propaganda: (1) that the late Pope was trying to censor him (when in reality the late Pope had actually invited him to speak freely on a topic of his own choosing) and (2) that the late Pope was a stupid man who did not even realize what the topic was of the paper Hawking presented at the conference the late Pope himself was sponsoring.

[Junior]

OK, I'll bite. Which ones are and which ones aren't?

The pope is only infallible on matters of dogma and faith.

[avg_freeper]

"I think the Pope may have simply found Hawking's lack of faith disturbing."

I'm ashamed to admit it, but if it's between Darth Vader and Jar-Jar I'd side with the Pope and go with Vader.

[pgyanke]

And the infallible popes of the past insisted the earth is flat.

They didn't invoke infallibility (you wouldn't understand it anyway) nor was it a doctrine or dogma of the Church. In other words, your post is nonsense.

No wonder the Catholic church is dying.

Wishful thinking.

[eleni121]

Hawking ended his lecture saying, "We are getting closer to answering the age-old questions: Why are we here? Where did we come from?"

---

It won't be long now that we find out Stephen...for any of us.

[pgyanke]

The pope is only infallible on matters of dogma and faith.

Please don't mislead. Infallibility is rarely invoked and only when he is speaking "ex Cathedra". Not every pronouncement from his mouth, even on matters of faith, is infallible. Jesus rebuked Peter immediately after conferring his office and Paul rebuked Peter for his treatment of gentiles... it's a tradition that goes way back.