12AR17-36

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Apologia Report 17:36 (1,128)

October 24, 2012

Subject: The overwhelmed science of Nothing

In this issue:

AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY - evangelicals growing isolated, while remaining vibrant

HOMOSEXUALITY - survey finds the LGBT lifestyle far more popular with young adults

ORIGINS - Something from Nothing, or from Speculation?

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AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY

"Christianity Isn't Dying" by Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research <lifeway.com> -- reports on "new numbers from Pew Research released this month" which indicate that "many in the USA who identify as Christian do so only superficially." With a nod to the popular slogan "spiritual, not religious," Stetzer's subtitle spells it out: "Those with only a loose religious affiliation are finally admitting that they don't really have one at all."

Stetzer addresses another popular idea, the one that suggests "Christianity in America is on a trajectory of extinction" and "simply Europe on a 50-year delay." He explains: "Christianity is not collapsing, but it is being clarified." While referring to "studies such as the General Social Survey," Stetzer reports the survey "shows that the evangelical movement has remained generally steady from 1972 to 2010 (and, contrary to what you might have heard, the data include young adults), that church attendance has declined among mainline Protestants, and that the 'nones' have increased."

He concludes that "if trends continue, I believe that the future will look more like the present-day Pacific Northwest. There, we find a majority of the population is spiritual but not religious, yet vibrant churches and devout Christians abound." USA Today, Oct 19 '12, p10A.

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HOMOSEXUALITY

"New Survey: 3.4% of U.S. Adults Are LGBT" by Sharon Jayson -- downplays the low numbers: "'It's not as important to convince Americans that there are a lot of LGBT people,' says [Gary] Gates" who is the Gallup survey (released Nov 18) lead author and demographer from the Williams Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles. "As a given, Americans just assume there are a lot of LGBT people already," he reports.

Further, Jayson notes that the report "shakes up some stereotypes: LGBT identity is highest among those who are younger, non-white and less educated." The 18-29-year-old group (where LGBT women self-identify at almost twice the frequency men do) represents 6.4 percent of the general population, with the 30-49 age group at half that, the 50-64 group roughly a third, and 65+ even less.

"Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council, a Washington, D.C.-based group representing LGBT famlies" welcomed the findings overall according to Jayson. USA Today, Oct 19 '12, p3A.

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ORIGINS

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, by Lawrence Krauss [1] -- Mark Alford (physics department chair, Washington University, St. Louis) likes this book, and he finds that Krauss's "explanations of [modern cosmology's] science are first-rate. They constitute most of the book and make it worth reading. However, I was not convinced by his claim that science gives a positive answer to the question of whether Something can come from Nothing. I also found it hard to discern a coherent viewpoint in the (anti) philosophical rhetoric with which he surrounds the science...."

Krauss is "eager to deflate philosophy and theology by denying their ability to make any contribution to 'the truly fundamental questions that perplex us about our existence.'" Alford acknowledges that "most skeptics will share Krauss's irritation at the theologians who seriously propose that we need God as the 'first cause' of the universe. As he notes that these arguments can be refuted in short order by pointing out that the God of religion is loaded with far more assumed properties than are required for a first cause. After making this point, I think the antitheist's best bet is to stop talking. If you try to make it seem as if science can answer the big questions that religion claims to address, then you will likely end up offering science-inspired speculations that undermine your own skeptical credentials" - a significant point which Alford revisits in this review.

"The bulk of the book ... is dominated by the familiar voice of Krauss the science popularizer. Krauss unveils an extremely understandable introduction to modern cosmology. ... Krauss's coverage of [his] topics is both expert and informal. Using a combination of historical anecdotes, down-to-earth examples, and simple diagrams, he manages to communicate both well-established science and cutting-edge research in a way that will be accessible to almost any reader. ...

"His strongest pronouncement is that theologians and philosophers have 'no foundation in science' for their contention that Nothing will always remain Nothing. Here Krauss is making an interesting and provocative claim, but I think it is an overstatement. ... [A]s long as we are in the realm of conventional quantum mechanics, current science supports the theologians: Nothing will always lead to Nothing." Alford implies that Krauss would like to have us move past this into more certainty. However, such efforts are based on little more than speculation.

And this is the tension that Krauss attempts to address. Krauss is said to be "admirably clear about the fact that he is stepping into speculative uncertainty" with his arguments. It all seems to come down to the determination of where speculation is appropriate. "I am impressed at Krauss's strong commitment to evidence over prejudice. He always tells the reader how much evidence supports the ideas he is presenting."

Elsewhere, Alford adds: "As Krauss himself notes, theories of quantum gravity may not contain anything corresponding in a straightforward way to our current concepts of Nothing and Something. This leaves one unable to come to any scientific conclusions about questions involving these concepts. At this point, the science of Nothing is overwhelmed by so much ambiguity and speculation that I [Alford] am not sure how much advantage it has over theology."

In another area, Alford notes that "His discussion of the anthropic principle is excellent, and it includes the rarely emphasized point that in order for it to be a genuine explanation one needs to know the underlying probability distribution."

Alford concludes: "[A]fter all the promises of scientific answers to the big questions, the whole question of Something from Nothing turns out to be a nice authorial device for motivating a wide-ranging explanatory tour through modern cosmology. And there's no question that Krauss is one of the master tour guides, with the rare gift of bringing understanding of science to audiences far beyond the ivory tower of academic research." Skeptical Inquirer, Nov/Dec '12, pp54-56.

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SOURCES: Monographs

1 - A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, by Lawrence Krauss (Free Prs, 2012, hardcover, 224 pages) <www.tinyurl.com/7ot48ss>

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