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.