“This Religious Faith of the Scientist”

THE PREVAILING scientific theory is that the universe had a beginning, known as the Big Bang and also postulating an expanding universe. It harmonizes with the first verse of the Bible, which speaks of a beginning for the universe. Robert Jastrow comments on this in his book “God and the Astronomers” (1978):

“Theologians generally are delighted with the proof that the Universe had a beginning, but astronomers are curiously upset.” He quotes some of the reactions over the idea of an expanding universe. Albert Einstein: “This circumstance irritates me.” British astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington: “The notion of a beginning is repugnant to me . . . it leaves me cold.” Phillip Morrison of MIT: “I would like to reject it.” Allan Sandage of Palomar Observatory: “It cannot really be true.” Jastrow continues:

“Their reactions provide an interesting demonstration of the response of the scientific mind​—supposedly a very objective mind—​when evidence uncovered by science itself leads to a conflict with the articles of faith in our profession. It turns out that the scientist behaves the way the rest of us do when our beliefs are in conflict with the evidence. We become irritated, we pretend the conflict does not exist, or we paper it over with meaningless phrases.” Later on Jastrow comments: “There is a kind of religion in science . . . This religious faith of the scientist is violated by the discovery that the world had a beginning . . .”