Whether to believe in God is a question that most of us grapple with during our lives. Two scientists say in recent books that there is no reason for God to exist. They are the late Stephen Hawking, the wheelchair-bound physicist who died recently, and Martin Rees, Royal Astronomer and former President of the Royal Society. Below are passionate responses from Sai Kung Pastors Lucas Durant, Chris Ponniah and James Trower.
First here is what Stephen Hawking writes in Brief Answers to Big Questions, which amounts to the Cambridge professor of theoretical cosmology’s last words: “When people ask me if God created the universe I say the question makes no sense. Time didn’t exist until the Big Bang so there was no time for God to make the universe in. It is my view that the simplest explanation is that there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realisation: there is probably no heaven and no afterlife either. I think that when we die we return to dust. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe…”
In On the Future, Martin Rees, a former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, writes that astronomers are asked often do they believe in God. “My conciliatory answer is that I do not, but that I share a sense of wonder and mystery with many who do. I would describe myself as a practising but unbelieving Christian. The parallel concept is familiar among Jews: there are many who follow traditional observances — lighting candles on Friday nights and so forth. But this does not mean they accord their religion any primacy, still less that they claim it has any unique truth. They may even describe themselves as atheists. Likewise as a ‘cultural Christian’, I’m content to participate (albeit irregularly) in the rituals of the Anglican church with which I’ve been familiar since early childhood.”
Here is what James Trower, young pastor at Sai Kung’s Destiny Church, has to say.
“To respond directly and succinctly, Mr Hawkins, God created time and so was before it. Mr Rees, Jesus is the centre point, beauty, life and reality of Christianity, the fullness of God made flesh that we would know and have a relationship with Him. To remove God from Christianity leaves you with nothing that is eternal. It is this kind of ‘going through the motions’ religion that many people are fed up with. They want something real. Well, good news! God is Real. Jesus is alive today.
“God exists. I know Him. He speaks. He does incredible things today, all over our world. He heals the sick, opens blind eyes, makes the lame walk, and so much more. A three-year long study found that many Muslims had come to believe in Jesus from initially encountering him through either a vision or dream. He is very real. He is very present. He wants to know you! That’s what Easter is all about. Jesus doing what you never could – making you blameless, so you can come before a perfect God and have a relationship with Him. God exists I know him, and his works are on display for anyone to see. www.destinychurch.hk“
Chis Ponniah is the popular former minister at Resurrection Church, now vicar in an Anglican parish in Christchurch, NZ:
“Stephen Hawking says that time didn’t exist until the Big Bang so there was no time for God to make the universe in. However that, in my opinion, doesn’t say that God does not exist. As Christians, we believe that God has always been there. He existed outside of time and space. In creating the universe, God created time and space. Why do I believe that God exists? It’s because, whilst I can understand the Big Bang theory and evolution, it doesn’t answer this question. How can the complexity of our universe and our planet happen by chance? This complexity, in my opinion, points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe but also sustains it today. Take for example our planet. The size of the earth is perfect. It is the only known planet that consists of an atmosphere that has the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life. Also the earth’s distance to the sun is perfect. A slight variance in the earth’s distance from the sun would make life on earth impossible.
“However I think asking the question, does God exist is really asking the wrong question. For the millions of Christians who have encountered God, they have no doubt that God exists. I have had such a powerful encounter with God that I don’t have any doubt whatsoever that God exists. Can I end with a story? A boy asked his father: What’s the size of God? Then the father looked up to the sky and seeing an airplane asked the son: What’s the size of that airplane? The boy answered: It’s very small. I can barely see it. So the father took him to the airport and as they approached an airplane he asked: And now, what is the size of this one? The boy answered: Wow daddy, this is huge! Then the father told him: God, is like this, His size depends on the distance between you and Him. The closer you are to Him, the greater He will be in your life! Take time to know God. Then the question does He exist won’t exist in your mind.'”
The new minister at Resurrection Church is Lucas Durant, who will take up his appointment in Sai Kung in the summer:
“Science is a discipline which encourages us to draw rational conclusions based on a systematic examination of evidence, as the eminent Drs Hawking and Rees would no doubt agree. So when it comes to the question of the existence of God, the scientifically minded among us must begin by asking — where is the evidence to be found?“Although Christians have pointed to any number of different evidences for God’s existence down through the ages — from the (external) beauty of creation to our own (internal) sense of the moral law — I would argue that the best evidence for God’s existence can be found in the person of Jesus Christ. As we examine the eyewitness testimony written about him in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) we find ample evidence that God not only exists but that he has made himself known to us.“As churches around Hong Kong celebrated the central event of the Christian faith only a few weeks ago, there was no better time to come along and (re-)examine the evidence for yourself. However sceptical you may be, we at Resurrection Church would be most pleased to have you join us on Sunday at 10:00 am.
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