The April 8, 1966 issue of Time Magazine had in big red letters on its cover the question, Is God Dead? The cover story sought to answer the question, 44 years ago, had belief in God become irrelevant in our modern society? The form of the question echoed the contention of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who in his book, The Gay Science (1882) said that God is dead in the hearts of modern men — killed by rationalism and science.
In the Time Magazine article, the author stated, “Even within Christianity, now confidently renewing itself in spirit as well as form, a small band of radical theologians has seriously argued that the churches must accept the fact of God’s death, and get along without him.” So, 130 years have passed since Nietzsche’s proclamation that “God is Dead”, and 44 years since Time reported that some religious people agree.
Last week British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking weighed in on the subject with the following quote:
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to ignite the blue touch paper and set the universe going.” (The Grand Design)
The text of Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.” Here we have a group of individuals who for over a century, in their audacity, have shown themselves to be worse than fools.
And yet, they are championed as men of reason and learning. Hawking is known over the world as one of the most brilliant men alive, and is one of the men responsible for the scientific recognition of the existence of black holes. His declaration that the law of gravity is sufficient cause for the creation and existence of the universe will undoubtedly sway weak minds from their faith.
There are two things to consider, however, before accepting Hawking’s claim at face value.
First, scientists are not the only smart people. Because of the explosion of technology, and the fact that many consider these advances to be almost magical, scientists have been almost deified by the common man. They are merely men, with their own faults, prejudices and petty motivations — and are as prone to error as others.
There are many (both scientists and non-scientists) that are as brilliant and educated, who are believers in God, and rightly attribute the existence of both our universe and ourselves to Him.
Second, the Bible clearly predicts the exact scenario we see today. Though the apostle Paul was not writing of our time exclusively, consider how prescient his words truly are, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man — and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:20-23).
Charles Darwin first popularized a theory that accounted for our physical existence and appearance without God. As more and more men have embraced the theory of evolution, science, sociology, and culture in general has forgotten God. In the process, they have become fools.
