The Grand Design

The latest book by the Oxford genius, Stephen Hawking: The Grand Design, will be in bookstores next week. In advance, I read the following catchphrases on CNN's website: Spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, and why we exist, and it is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper [fuse] and set the Universe going. I pre-ordered the book immediately.

The question of Intelligent Design has occupied me for years and is a permanent topic of discussion in the States, where many people fight against Darwinism. 

When I finished Hans Küng's last book, Der Anfang aller Dinge (The Beginning of All Things), in 2005, I discussed the topic at one of Freiburg-Madison's Stammtische in 2006. Near the end of this book, Professor Küng gives a small glimpse of what he believes. I wanted to learn more.

Since then, Küng has published a new book in 2009: What I believe. Although I was hot on the topic the book is still lying on my desk unread. When I now opened it, I started reading at the end and found what I expected: Saint Paul’s visio beatifica from 1 Corinthians, 13: Die Liebe kommt niemals zu Fall: Prophetische Gaben – sie werden zunichte werden; Zungenreden – sie werden aufhören; Erkenntnis – sie wird zunichte werden. Denn Stückwerk ist unser Erkennen und Stückwerk unser prophetisches Reden. Wenn aber das Vollkommene kommt, dann wird zunichte werden, was Stückwerk ist. Als ich ein Kind war, redete ich wie ein Kind, dachte wie ein Kind, überlegte wie ein Kind. Als ich aber erwachsen war, hatte ich das Wesen des Kindes abgelegt. Denn jetzt sehen wir alles in einem Spiegel, in rätselhafter Gestalt, dann aber von Angesicht zu Angesicht. Jetzt ist mein Erkennen Stückwerk, dann aber werde ich ganz erkennen, wie ich auch ganz erkannt worden bin. Nun aber bleiben Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe, diese drei. Die größte unter ihnen aber ist die Liebe. (Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. Right now, three things remain faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.)

Spontaneously, I decided to read Küng's book first before digging into Hawking's The Grand Design. Hawking's book has already started a new debate on the fundamental question of creation. 

The head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, said that physics alone will not settle why there is something rather than nothing. Belief in God is not about plugging a gap in explaining how one thing relates to another within the Universe. It is the belief that there is an intelligent, living agent on whose activity everything ultimately depends for its existence.

Britain's Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said: Science is about explanation. Religion is about interpretation ... The Bible simply isn't interested in how the Universe came into being.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, endorsed the Chief Rabbi's eloquent statement about the relationship between religion and science.

As I had expected, Imam Ibrahim Mogra, chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain, expressed his fundamental belief: If we look at the Universe and all that has been created, it indicates that somebody has been here to bring it into existence. That somebody is the almighty conqueror.

Like in physics, where the Standard Model matured into the Grand Unified Theory (GUT), Intelligent Design evolved into a more extensive Grand Design (TGD). Perhaps I should have read Hawking's book first.

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