Christian view of the Big Bang

Professor Stephen Hawking’s faulty recall in 2006 of a statement by Pope John Paul II continues to do the rounds, fuelling what many people think is the Christian view on the study of the universe and its origin.

The Associated Press reported at the time that Hawking had told students in Hong Kong that at a conference at the Vatican at which Hawking had given a paper, the pope had expressed the view that, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we [scientists] should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."

Hawking’s A Brief History of Time (1988, p120) offers a similar account of what the pope had told scientists at the conference, which was in 1981. In fact, as well as making the statement that can be read at the link just given, at that Vatican conference the pope said:

Any scientific hypothesis on the origin of the world, such as the hypothesis of a primitive atom from which derived the whole of the physical universe, leaves open the problem concerning the universe’s beginning. Science cannot of itself solve this question: there is needed that human knowledge that rises above physics and astrophysics and which is called metaphysics; there is needed above all the knowledge that comes from God’s revelation.

The pope certainly did not limit scientists in that statement but proposed that they go further in employing their human powers through metaphysical exploration, that is, reasoning about “ultimate reality” beyond the physical, forgoing quick absolutes arising from speculation within a rapidly changing field of study, opening themselves up to a higher-level consideration as to the “Why?” of the cosmos. See further material on this matter here,  here and here. Also see my earlier post, Christian view on evolution.

Christian view on evolution

Mainstream Christians accept evolution as a fact. However, there are limits as to the conclusions that can be drawn from the information provided by scientific endeavour. Some clarity as to what Christians - for the most part - accept as to human being's evolutionary past is found in a critique by the US Catholic Bishops Conference of a book written by Elizabeth A. Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Theology at Fordham University, a Jesuit institution in New York City. The book, Quest for the Living God, Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God, was published in 2007, and the bishops' doctrine committee offered two formal critiques, with its 2011 statement providing the insight into Catholic teaching on evolution that follows.

The bishops state:

Human beings necessarily [are] part of the material universe. Bodily existence is an intrinsic part of human nature. Consequently, scientific investigation has a great deal to teach us about the human person and human society. At the same time, there is something about the human person that transcends material realities and that escapes the grasp of scientific investigation. There must be another, a non-material explanation for the existence of this aspect of the human person. There is a range of philosophical attempts to provide an explanation. The Catholic Church teaches that the human soul is not the result of material forces, such as the bodies of the parents, but is created immediately by God.

The main issue is about "what can be explained in scientific terms and what cannot be explained in scientific terms". The bishops' stance is that "science by its very nature has no other way of looking at the evolution of human beings than as the result of the interplay of material forces" but they say the author goes too far when she asserts that "Matter evolves to life and then to consciousness and then to self-consciousness, and this can be accounted for without positing divine intervention, scientifically speaking" [author's emphasis].

The counter-argument from the bishops is this:

Science could account for life, consciousness, and self-consciousness, however, only if these were wholly the result of the interplay of material forces. While an adherent of a materialist philosophy would readily agree that material factors account for all reality, this accords neither with Catholic teaching, nor with sound philosophical argumentation.

Although a scientific explanation of life in purely material terms already presents considerable difficulties that could be discussed, the crucial issue is that of self-consciousness. Simply put, human self-consciousness cannot be wholly explained as the result of material causes. The multiple neurons of the physical brain cannot account for the unitary self-consciousness of the human person. The functioning of the brain cannot of itself explain human acts of knowing and willing. This has been amply demonstrated by various philosophical arguments. There is, therefore, one stage in evolution that cannot be fully accounted for by scientific explanation, that of the appearance of self-conscious intelligence and free will.

 It is here that metaphysics is again to the fore in exploring the full nature of the human being. Studies of the functioning of the brain are providing information to enable doctors to repair damage or prevent what may handicap a fully capable person, but in an era of incredible computerised robotic functions, there remains the final hurdle of duplicating the human's "self-conscious intelligence and free will". Though some studies have been hyped so as to posit that higher orders of animals approach humans in such attributes, it is clear these distinctive qualities set humans apart from the purely natural world. Therefore, scientific findings need to feed into the metaphysical (philosophical and theological) considerations of the nature of the human person to lay a foundation for recognition of the dignity that each person deserves.