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New Frontiers of 4 July, 2012, reaffirmed these points as well. b. Science and the Pursuit of Truth about the Universe It is clear from this discussion that the success of the search for the God particle has not only given us valuable new ideas, but also reconfirmed, in one shot, several important theories. This also shows that the new ideas are closely linked to the old ones. In Super-Symmetry. It has been found that our universe is mostly made up of dark matter and dark energy, the normal matter being but a tiny part. In fact, scientists point out that approximately 70% of the universe is dark energy, while dark matter makes up about 25%. This means that all that we have observed so far with all our sophisticated instruments amount to a paltry 5%. Dark energy and dark matter today remain very much are appropriating capabilities which were traditionally reserved for God. For instance, the Big Bang scenario which involves almost infinite energy was considered beyond the capabilities of humans. With the breakthrough of the LHC experiment humans seem to be very close to reenacting the Big Bang type of creation. It won’t be too long before humans themselves begin bringing into existence new worlds fact, in some significant ways, they are building upon past theories and ideas, thereby contributing to science’s search for truth. The great success of the present project affirms that science is on the right track in its commitment to uncover the secrets of nature. These developments seem to be taking science closer to its ambition of “reading the mind of God.” c. Explaining Unexplained Phenomena A historic breakthrough of this kind may shed valuable light on many hitherto unexplained or partially explained phenomena like dark matter, dark energy as well as theories like shrouded in mystery. It is hoped that this discovery will help science to have better access to this mystery. Some Implications for our Christian Faith a. Scientific Discoveries and the Possible ‘Eviction’ of God Although the God particle is a misnomer, having very little to do with God directly, the whole development has very important implications for God and religion. Many may hail this as another important step in science’s alleged ongoing effort to evict God from the face of the earth. It looks as though one by one humans are gaining control over the secrets of the Creator. Humans of their choice and make, thereby empowering them to play the Creator. Or, at least, the role of God the Creator may be reduced to one of creating only the original universe. If this is done, humans can take over, since they will be capable of bringing about creation and managing it. In a way, God then can be dispensed with; God may be rendered superfluous, raising again, with renewed vigour, the famous rhetorical question of Stephen Hawking: “What place, then, for a Creator?” How do we respond to this speculation? While admitting that the success achieved by science is admirable, the achievement of science, how ever, JIVAN: News and Views of Jesuits in India OCTOBER 2012 8
Cover Feature does not undermine and, much less, eliminate the role and importance of God in creation. What science has done is to make known the ingenious way God has fashioned our fabulous universe, inviting us even more urgently to appreciate and admire the wisdom and power of God. Even if humans one day become capable of recreating fully the Big Bang event, the importance of the uniqueness of the original creation remains, because what science can do will only a duplication. Making a duplicate is a matter of imitation, whereas making the original involves originality and creativity. Creation, as understood traditionally, involves bringing something out of nothing, not transforming something out of what is already existing. The Creator needs no raw material to work with. On the other hand, what science does is to use matter which has been invested with incredible capabilities to carry out certain operations. In the case of the LHR experiment almost infinite energy could be produced, because matter has already been invested with the capability by the Creator to produce infinite energy if and when it is enabled to move with the velocity of light. If matter did not already possess this incredible capability, no effort made by science would have produced the near-Big Bang condition. Hence science is severely limited by the raw material available to it and the capabilities these raw materials possess. Science’s role is confined to identifying the capabilities locked up in matter and making creative and ingenious use of them. b. Nature Outsmarting Science There is another important consideration also, taken from the history of science, which cannot be overlooked. The history of modern science for the last four centuries shows that whenever science solves one mystery of nature with a groundbreaking discovery, several other puzzles seem to surface. For instance, When Lord Rutherford in1910 made his startling discoveries about the structure of the atom, many thought that humans had resolved the puzzling questions of the structure of the atom. But later history has shown that it was but a simple and humble beginning of a whole world of knowledge and ideas concerning the atom and material reality. A very similar situation arose in the world of biology when Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1953, which also opened up a plethora of new puzzles challenging science. Many such cases can be cited from history. Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that when science successfully resolves one puzzling mystery of nature, several other related ones prop up seeking resolution. Nature seems to be having an inexhaustible store of mysteries and puzzles. It seems that nature can never be outsmarted by human ingenuity. This is what keeps science going; this is what makes science an exciting and rewarding experience. This is what keeps God and religion alive despite all the breathtaking breakthroughs to science’s credit. c. Supporting God and Religion More specifically, in the case of the discovery of the God particle and the developments associated with it, there is an important positive development in support of God and religion. These developments are closely linked to the Big Bang Theory of Abbe Georges Lemaitre which was officially presented in 1931. Since, according to the Standard Model, the Higgs bosons could be produced only in the near Big Bang condition, the success of the God particle project is an important addition to the overwhelming support Lemaitre’s theory has been receiving from the mid-1960s onwards. It is well known that the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe can argue for the existence of a divine Creator, since the cause of the Primeval Atom of the Big Bang is left open. In fact, this was the main reason why Fred Hoyle and other atheistic cosmologists opposed the theory of Lemaitre, and proposed their rival theory of the Steady State Theory of the origin of the universe. This new source of evidence for the Big Bang theory is lending further support to the traditional view that the creation of the universe required an external divine agency (See edit on p.3). Conclusion The discovery of the God Particle is an outstanding achievement of contemporary science not only because of what it has already accomplished, but even more because of what it promises to do in the coming years. Far from being a source of unrest and alarm, this should be a source of joy for believers in the true God. As the Fathers of Vatican II reaffirmed in their “Closing Message to Scientists,” both true religion and genuine science share the common mission of the search for truth. Science is engaged in the search for truth assisted by the best of reason, true religion does the same with the special help of divine revelation. These two should not contradict, rather they should complement each other. Certainly recent developments in science have far-reaching consequences for religion, particularly in its understanding of the nature and role of God in the universe. In the light of the information and insights being revealed by contemporary science, some of the old ideas will have to be re-visioned; some others will have to be modified. This should come as no surprise. As the late Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote in 1988 to Fr. George Coyne, SJ, the then Director of Vatican Observatory, “Contemporary developments in science challenge theology far more deeply than did the introduction of Aristotle into Western Europe in the thirteenth century. Yet these developments also offer to theology a potentially important resource.” Instead of being alarmed by these developments, he held the hope that “the sciences of today... may invigorate and inform those parts of the theological enterprise that bear on the relation of nature, humanity and God.” • Fr Job Kozhamthadam, SJ, is the President of Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth in Pune. He can be contacted at: jobksj@gmail.com. JIVAN: News and Views of Jesuits in India OCTOBER 2012 9
Page 2 and 3: By Kinley Tshering, SJ Garden Out o
Page 4 and 5: New Frontiers By Job Kozhamthadam,
Page 6 and 7: New Frontiers Science. Non-technica
Page 10 and 11: Jesuits - Assistancy Assam governme
Page 12 and 13: Jesuits - Assistancy Students of th
Page 14 and 15: Interview Only love defeats exhaust
Page 16 and 17: Perception By William J. O’Malley
Page 18 and 19: Mosaic At least 3,000 people sought
Page 20 and 21: Jesuits - World Efforts to re-creat
Page 22 and 23: Jesuits - Asia Pacific Cardinal Sha
Page 24 and 25: Jesuits - World Why healthy people
Page 26 and 27: Jesuits - World Exiled Jesuit pries
Page 28 and 29: Obituaries G.V. Doorssealaer, SJ (M
Page 30: By Joseph Cardozo, SJ Lessons 10 Le

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