Father Joseph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea parish in San Francisco, gave a 16-minute homily on God and science on Sunday, February 23.
This is our monthly school Mass. We have 14 servers and 25 in the choir today. All education, expecially empirical sciences, are good. Catholic education sees the face of God in these sciences.
How to we get beyond the rules? By studying science.
Fred Hoyle, author of The Intelligent Universe, came to God after studying science.
The more science you know the more you believe in God.
Most real scientists believe in God – from Albert Einstein, to Max Planck, Kurt Godel.
Of Nobel Prize winners in journalism, only 30% believe in God.
Those who write or talk about science don’t believe as much as those who do science.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics. This led to the Big Bang theory: the universe had a beginning and it will have an end.
It was caused by a cause outside the universe.
Kurt Godel: Mathematics can only be explained by a higher intelligence.
Dr. Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project made a journey from atheism to belief in God and even Christianity.
The scientist is studying the heavens, which declare the Glory of God. Is it any wonder many of them rejoice in that Glory? Nobel Prize winners in journalism don’t study the heavens but focus on man, by and large, and consequently it isn’t a big surprise that so many are atheists.
Hmm… he didn’t quote the scientist atheist Richard Dawkins? Nor Neil Degrasse Tyson? That’s called the logical fallacy of stacking the deck.
Is this meant ironically? I sincerely cannot tell.
https://catholicvote.org/nih-official-shrugs-admits-covid-botched
Francis Collins was not very Catholic, very scientific or very moral in relation to Covid and the “Covid jab”.
“Most real scientists believe in God”…. the “no true Scotsman” fallacy.
I hope they are teaching logic in their classical school.
Obviously Einstein was a great scientist, but residents of Los Alamos still talk about hoq he would have breakfast with various local housewives and then fool around while the husbands were at work at the Lab. These were women who thought it was cool to have a fling with a celeb; he didn’t bother those not interested, but still not the best morals.
Perhaps you can explain what you know, of Einstein being at Los Alamos, NM? History says he was never there, but Oppenheimer was there– and was a womanizer, too, as were other scientists, there. When and why was Einstein at Los Alamos? That might be interesting to know. Einstein made it clear that he believed in adultery, having lovers, even if married. He was twice married, and he said he did not really believe in marriage vows (monagamy), and was a womanizer. He was at Princeton U., did not participate in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, and was an outspoken leftist and pacifist, closely watched by the FBI. He did not like any association with the nuclear bombs at the end of WWII. J. Robert Oppenheimer didn’t like it either. Oppenheimer was against further developments of nuclear warfare, after the bomb droppings in Japan that ended WWII. He said, “I have blood on my hands.” Government officials did not agree with him, and he had problems with them. He and some of the other scientists at Los Alamos, with the Manhattan Project, were immoral, notorious with adultery, and both he and Albert Einstein had illegitimate children. Their personal lives were crummy, not good for history books that kids might read.
I guess neither Albert Einstein nor J. Robert Oppenheimer became religiously inspired due to their serious scientific work. It is a good idea, for a priest to note in sermons to Catholic school children, the few special scientists who have drawn closer to God, and even had religious conversions, as a result of their fine scientific work. Best of all– it’s great if any of the famous scientists were devout Catholics, practicing their faith well. Good for Catholic school children to learn about! A few of them were saints, too. St. Albertus Magmus (1193-1280) is the Patron Saint of scientists. Here is a link to a wonderful article in “Aleteia,” about 10 saints who were leading scientists:
https://aleteia.org/2020/02/29/10-saints-who-were-leading-scientists
Regarding the Second Law of Thermodynamics– if maximum entropy ever occurs, known as “heat death”– then perhaps God’s purposes for creating the physical universe will have been fulfilled. At the end, all will simply return to the Creator, who is immortal, spiritual and changeless– not physical. All things in the physical world are unstable, changeable, impermanent, fleeting and transitory. But the realm of Eternity where God dwells, has no beginning and no end. It does not move, all is well, there is no pain, no sorrow no disharmony, no imbalance, no illness, no hunger, no thirst, no sin, no suffering, no problems, no njustices to fix…. all is forever and ever stable, fixed, changeless, permanent, silent and still. Incomparably beautiful, total joy, love, and peace– Paradise! With all the Angels and Saints, along with Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, praising and adoring God, ceaselessly. All is well. I used to love to hear about all of this long ago, in religious poetry and literature, music and art, and in beautiful religious teachings, and in the liturgy of our Church. Our Church used to focus a lot on Heaven and the pathway to union with God. These are good things to think about, during Lent, preparing for Easter.
I’m sad that a priest prefers the speculative, unproven and unprovable materialist explanation for the origin of the universe known as the “big bang” to Divine Revelation.
Young earth creationists are not welcome.
Einstein– I heard this as a rumor from relatives at Los Alamos. They were there long after that time. I didn’t say what he was working on and neither did they, nor did they give any dates. I am sure however, that both now and in the past, not everything was nuclear and never is just one project going on. Also, experts can visit and not be there long tern. Perhaps that explains it or maybe it is a false local legend.