The Search for God Can Science Help John Houghton Irvine, California 18th February 2003

1. The Search for GodCan Science HelpJohn HoughtonIrvine, California18th February 2003

2. The search for God; can science help • The Big Bang; - the Universe created with humans in mind? • Where is God; an analogy from science? • Caring for the Earth - both a scientific and a spiritual challenge.

4. Hubble Space Telescope

6. Solar system Pluto’s orbit has a diameter of about 12,000 million kilometres

7. Two views of our galaxy Our sun is 30,000 light years from the galaxy’s centre.

9. 2 billion light years Background galaxies

10. Galaxies near the edge of Universe - 5 billion light years away

11. THEBIG BANG

12. 10-33cm Stars & Galaxies Hydrogen and Helium Quarks 10-43s 1 second 1million y 12By

13. Conversion of mass to energy The sun is our nearest example. Two nuclei of Deuterium fuse to form a Helium nucleus. Mass is lost and energy released, according to E = mc2

14. 500 light years

17. Evidence for the Big Bang • Redshift of galaxies • Microwave background radiation • Abundance of helium

18. Doppler Effect Waves from an approaching object are compressed. Waves from a receding object are stretched.

19. The first ground-based measurement of microwave background intensity at about 7cm wavelength(4 GHz) Wilson and Penzias

20. Pigeon droppings or Big Bang relics?

21. Abundance of Helium in Universe 1 atom of Helium to 3 atoms of Hydrogen as predicted by Big Bang Theory

22. Is there meaning in the Universe;has it been designed?

23. Designed with humans in mind? • Human brain is, so far as we know, most complex object in universe

24. ‘the most incomprehensible thing about the Universe is that it is comprehensible’

25. Designed with humans in mind? • Universe needs to be as large as it is and as old as it is for human life to be possible.

26. How special is the Universe?- it is not any old Universe • Incredibly fine tuning needed at the Big Bang

27. How special is the Universe?

28. Make yourself a universe!Dials must balance to 1 part in 1060

29. 1 part in 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

30. Roger Penrose

31. How special is the Universe? • Roger Penrose in The Emperor’s New Mind argues that initial order specified to ~ 1 part in 10 to the power of (10123)

32. Possible universes To produce a universe resembling ours, the Creator aims for a tiny volume of the ‘phase space’ of possible universes (after Penrose).

33. Can science explain everything?

34. Conflictingor Comple-mentary?

35. Which is it? • Science OR God • Science AND God

36. Where is God?- an Analogy from Science

37. Albert Einstein

38. Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity • Essentially described by 4-D Space-Time construction

39. FlatlandThe cover of Abbott’s book

40. A sphere from Spaceland over Flatland

41. God in action when we pray

42. Complementary stories • God story - Creator and Sustainer • Science story - orderly & precise • Faith story - events seen in terms of our relationship with God

43. Caring for the Earth- both a scientific and a spiritual challenge

45. Gardeners of the Earth . . . provides • food, water and resources for human life and industry • a place of beauty and diversity • for human creativity • for future generations

46. Adam/Eve cartoon “This place is vast; we couldn’t pollute it if we tried!”

47. Some Global Problems • Population Growth • Resource Use & Degradation • Poverty • Global Warming & Climate Change

48. Global Warming & Climate Change • The earth is warming • Sea level will rise • More floods and more droughts • Poor nations worst affected • Many environmental refugees

49. Global Warming presents a challenge to: • scientists • industry and technologists • governments • everybody

50. Environmental Action “Mostly we know what to do, but we lack the will to do it” Sir Crispin Tickell in the Doomsday Letters