Evidence of Purpose: Scientists Discover the Creator.

edited by John Marks Templeton.

Continuum Books...... New York. NY........ 1994.

Just thought I'd jump in here with a few interesting quotes from some of the world's leading scientists:

Henry Margenau, Professor of Physics & Natural Philosophy, Yale Univ.-

The existence of man, indeed of the entire universe, has long been regarded as a miracle, incomprehensible without assuming the existence of a Creator who is omnipotent and omniscient. British astronomer Fred Hoyle is noted for the statement that believing the first cell (in the universe) originated by mere chance is like believing a tornado ripping through a junkyard full of airplane parts could produce a Boeing 747. God created the universe out of nothing in an act which also brought time into existence. Recent discoveries, such as observations supporting the big Bang and similar astronomical phenomena, are wholly compatible with this view.

Dr. Arno Penzias, Nobel Prize for Physics, 1978-

When we look at distant objects in the sky--galaxies so far away that their light takes millions of years to reach us--we find that they are all moving away from us. At the start, each needed a staggeringly large amount of energy just to escape the gravitational pull of its neighbors. Furthermore, the matter from which the pieces were made seems to have appeared out of nothing in an instant.

According to Einstein's General Relativity, we must assume not only the creation of matter and energy out of nothing, but creation of space and time as well. Moreover, the energy given to the emerging matter must be enough to move it fast enough to escape the bond of gravity, but not so fast that the particles lose all contact with each other.

Enough of the initially-created matter must pull together under gravity to form galaxies, stars and planetary systems which allow for life. Thus the second "improbable" property of the early universe, almost as improbable as creation out of nothing, is an exquisitely delicate balance between matter and energy. Third--and this one puzzles scientists at least as much as the first two--somehow all these pieces, each without having any contact with the others, without having any way of communication, ALL must have appeared with the same balance between matter and energy at the same instant.

Wolfgang Smith, Professor of Mathematics, Oregon State University-

To me personally, nothing is more evident than the reality of God. I incline in fact to the view that the existence of God constitutes the only absolute certainty. To resolve the riddle of origins is ultimately to know the one Origin from which everything in the universe has sprung--and that is God. To be sure, scientific explanations have their validity; they do not, however, resolve the problem but only shift the enigma to a deeper plane.

If science begins in wonder, as indeed it does, it ends in a sense of wonder that is greater still. The latest physics inspires in us a profound sense of awe in the face of the physical universe. If the physics of the last century prompted atheism, the physics of today is inciting the more thoughtful to reexamine "the question of God."

Arthur Schawlow, Nobel Prize for Physics, 1981-

Science cannot prove or disprove religion. Religion is founded on faith. When confronted with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just how. The only possible answers are religious. These answers for me have withstood the test of a lifetime.

Herbert Uhlig, Prof. Emeritus, Dept. of Materials Science & Engr., MIT-

The origin of the universe can be described scientifically as a miracle, here defined as a natural event having a very small probability of happening. Life has an origin similarly described as a miracle. Faith in the concept of a God who is concerned with his creation is essential to human hope, an optimistic world view, and ultimate survival of the human race. Any contrary view aligns humanity with the frustration of a drifting, meaningless universe.

Professor Christian B. Anfinsen, Nobel Prize for Chemisty, 1972-

We must admit that there exists an incomprehensible power with limitless foresight and knowledge that started the whole universe going. Einstein-

That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning Power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible Universe, forms my idea of God.

Professor Louis Neel, Nobel Prize for Physics, 1970-

Religion and science are two very separate domains. The progress of science, no matter how marvelous it appears to be, does not bring science closer to religion but leads to dead ends and shows our final ineptitude at producing a rational explanation of the universe. I advise scientists and philosophers to read Ecclesiastes as well as St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians 13:1-13---with great humility.

Sir Nevill Mott, Nobel Prize for Physics, 1977-

God can speak to us and show us how to live. I believe that we can and must ask God which way we ought to go, what we ought to do, how we ought to behave. In doing this, we must not be too impressed by the insights of modern molecular biology and astrophysics. It has been said that he who tries to marry his religion to the beliefs of one period risks widowhood in the next. We must respect the wisdom and insights of our ancestors.

Professor John Polkinghorne, Physicist; Dean, Trinity Hall; President, Queens' College, Cambridge University-

I accept the theistic doctrine of God the Creator, the One who holds the world in being. Creation is not an act of the remote past but a continuing act of the divine will in every present moment.

I see humankind as qualitatively different from the animals because of its self-consciousness and its ability to know and worship its Creator. In that sense, we are indeed spiritual beings, but inescapably embodied (not apprentice angels). I take God very seriously. I am a Christian believer ....and I believe God has made himself known in human terms in Jesus Christ.

Walter Thirring, Director, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Vienna-

Some scientists consider mankind only as an accidental feature of the universe. Thus they refuse to give us the title of "coronation of creation" and do not believe God guides us individually since he is much too busy with bigger astrophysical jobs. Such thoughts are foreign to my mind. I do not believe I can understand God with my human logic. I can only appeal to my personal experience when I believe that He guides me as He appears to do with every little bit of his creation.

quotes are from Cosmos, Bios, Theos

by Roy Varghese and Professor Henry Margenau.

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