Renowned Cosmologist Draws Sold-Out Crowd (Stephen Hawking)

The Daily Californian ^ | March 14, 2007 | Andrea Lu

[dayglored]

Last night, nearly 3,000 people received a mini lesson on the origin of the universe from perhaps the world’s most famous cosmologist, Stephen Hawking.

Hawking spoke to a packed audience in Zellerbach Hall about how Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and quantum theory explained the creation of the universe.

...

His lecture, which touched upon subjects such as black holes and spacetime, was peppered with quips that drew laughs from the audience.

“If one believed that the universe had a beginning, the obvious question was, what happened before the beginning,” Hawking said. “What was God doing before He made the world?"

...

[andysandmikesmom]

LOL...why of course, everyone else is wrong about the earth orbiting the sun...

Tinfoil hat time...

[editor-surveyor]

No, only your brain wave.

[editor-surveyor]

You missed the issue. The Bible indicates in hundreds of places that the earth is central to all creation.

[editor-surveyor]

"Tinfoil hat time..."

No, take it off, you've been wearing it far too long.

[steveo]

Well thank you... happy to know I'm not the only headline challenged person here!

[andysandmikesmom]

Hardly, I dont go in for tinfoil...you have some of the oddest notions I have ever heard, this one about the earth being the center of the universe, is just the tip of the iceberg...

Nope, the tinfoil definitely belongs with you, and your strange ideas...strange ideas are all fine and dandy for yourself, but dont expect anyone else to buy into your odd notions...they are just too weird and they are also untrue...

[EveningStar]

My brain feels flat after reading some of the comments on this thread.

[gondramB]

>>You missed the issue. The Bible indicates in hundreds of places that the earth is central to all creation.<<

I recognize in the Bible the trueness of the encounters with God. But I don't see any indication that God used those encounters to impart scientific knowledge beyond that already known in that time.

For example in Chronicles 16:30
>>Tremble before Him, all the earth. The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved.<<

But we know the Earth spins and we know the earth circles the Sun.

That doesn't trouble my faith at all. It doesn't mean the author, the Chronicler didn't write truly just because God did not reveal astronomical knowledge to him. I think it means we are to explore and learn of the world with the resources we have been given.

[si tacuissem]

I know for sure that my views are in the huge majority among serious Bible scholars.

So how many "serious Bible scholars" are there in the U.S.? 100,000? 10,000? 10?

[woofie]

My experience leads me to believe in the "Rather Large Pop" theory

[RunningWolf]

So how many "serious Bible scholars" are there in the U.S.? 100,000? 10,000? 10?

And just how many expressions of his beyond infinite consciousness souls (that we are) does he project onto this screen of eternity? There is no answer.

Some reject him, and some don't.

I do not reject him and I never will. I have seen his light briefly and I have heard the whispers of his voice. But I know I am not all to far from those that do reject him, and for that I am humble, and I love them too.

[si tacuissem]

I do accept the earth as a spiritual center of the universe - but to state that the earth is the geometric center of the universe? Remenber what Augustinus said some 1600 years ago:

Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he hold to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn.

So, stating that

A clear read of Genesis makes it obvious that all of creation has a purpose that is earth-centered, so why would earth's location be anywhere other than the center?

and going on to say

I know for sure that my views are in the huge majority among serious Bible scholars.

is exactly what Augustinus warned against and so editor-surveyor is laughed at in scorn...

[Gumlegs]

Peacekeeper357, meet parashift. Parashift, meet Peacekeeper357.

[RunningWolf]

Well for sake of argument, where is the center of the universe and how would you know it?

[RadioAstronomer]

The center of the universe is everywhere. :-)

Here is a good descrip:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/GR/centre.html

[RadioAstronomer]

No Big Bang, space has no atmosphere to carry sound.

Here is a nice site that can answer many questions about cosmology including the Big Bang.

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/cosmolog.htm

[RunningWolf]

I will check it out. I am sure I will find it interesting.

My father got me intrigued by such things at a very early age. I was only 4 or 5 and we sat in the night sky until our eyes adjusted, and he guided my sight to watch Sputnik travel across the sky. I got my first taste of cosmology-astronomy from his explanations. Of course he left out the fact that it was a Soviet satellite over the top of our heads :-)

I used to be good at picking out the constellations.

[RunningWolf]

Those are both good articles and I like the way they are written.

[uglybiker]

Stephen Hawking never really wanted to be a cosmologist.

[si tacuissem]

I concur with RadioAstronomer: The center of the universe is everywhere. :-)

BTW, the link to the balloon analogy is excellent, especially as it points out the typical pit-falls.