Hi! Newbie to the forum, but long time Christian and used to be a theoretical/mathematical physicist...
My mother often speaks with affection of one of her lecturers from when she studied theology at Melbourne Uni, for a BD. He said: "They can split the atom, and split the atom, but they won't find God." Quite so. This wise old theologian was not rejecting the notions of science or atomic structure; but pointing out that whether atoms are made of waves, or particles, or quarks, or baryons, or whatever else, is not telling is anything much about God Himself. Quarks, or inflation, or spacetime curvature, are neither proofs nor disproofs of God's existence or goodness.
Hi Sylas... Couldn't have put it better myself, though I would add "Beginnings and endings of time, or the lack of such things are neither proofs nor disproofs of God's existence or goodness."
Too many theists seem to think that the "big bang" is a good thing because it gives a moment of creation, where-as many non-theists seem to think that a universe without beginning provides no place for a creator.
And this concept of a one dimensional string? That just seems silly. The very idea of something being one dimensional escapes me.
Hi 1.61803... never judge a theory by how silly it sounds... Your last sentence is the important bit. My mother thinks relativistic time-dilation is silly... doesn't worry me too much :-) nor the guys at CERN and FermiLab. Unfortunately, "silliness" is often the sited evidence for refuting many ideas, whether they be string theory, the big bang, black holes, evolution, theism, Christianity, etc.
BUT.....I guess what I am saying is I do not fully understand String theory and hope for our sakes the universe is not as complex and unfathomable as String suggest.
Well, string theory appears complex at the moment becasue we don't really know what it is... Hopefully one day it will become as simple as say General Relativity... which cannot be beaten for its simplicity and elegance. In fact, I'm particularly annoyed at God for not stopping with GR and spoiling everything with all this quantum gravity nonsense. Then again, I guess He knows what He's doing...
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