Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: Most scientists would agree that, in the beginning, the “earth was without form and void, and there was darkness everywhere.” It is generally accepted that the universe had a beginning and, before that beginning—well, nobody really knows, exactly. Scientists make important-sounding guesses, but they don’t actually know. As far as anyone knows, neither energy, nor matter, nor time, nor space as we know it even existed. Human beings have a terrible habit of acting like they know things when they really don’t. Just a few hundred years ago, a renown physician would tell you, with utter assurance, that your illness was caused by an imbalance of humours, and should be treated by sticking leeches on you to remove excess blood. Scientists, like every other kind of expert, often have a hard time saying “I don’t really know.” Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist, declared in his later years that God does not exist. Because of his popularity and status as a famous scientist, an “expert” on the beginning of the universe, people seemed to think he had some sort of special insight into the issue. But he didn’t. In the beginning Hawking actually said that the reason he did not believe in God is that he could not see how God could exist in time and space. Apparently he simply cannot grasp that something might transcend time and space. He has become so focused on the intellectual shoebox of physics that he cannot conceive of the lid being raised. The underlying assumption: “If my brain cannot understand it, it doesn't exist.” Neither Hawking nor any other physicist even attempts a coherent proof of what existed before the Big Bang, or how or why it happened. Hawking’s own explanation is that, well, the universe just popped into existence! This isn’t a diatribe against science, or all the wonderful things done by all the brilliant and hard-working people that have improved our lives so much. And I don’t mean to pick on Mr. Hawking; there are innumerable similar lame-brained statements from all sorts of people. The point is: Steven Hawking’s opinion on the existence of God has no more validity than that of a washerwoman. And even worse, he is pandering to the bias of a world community that seems ever more eager to turn away from God. What we Christians understand, that Hawking does not, is that God cannot be known simply with the mind. Spiritual knowledge cannot be found by mathematics. It is prideful to think that our puny brains are capable of grasping God. We can only find God with our heart and our spirit, and with the innocence of a child. We must pray for those like Hawking, that they may find the light of the Spirit so that their souls might be saved from their own pride. And just as an interesting aside, in case you hear atheists talking about Christians being “stupid”: Of the top 10 IQ scores recorded, there is one atheist and at least six (probably seven) Christians. (Sorry, the original article in the Guardian is not available.) And, besides, what could possibly be stupider than going to Hell?