From: Howard J. Van Till (hvantill@chartermi.net)
Date: Wed Sep 03 2003 - 09:25:37 EDT
>From: Richard.Kouchoo@firstdata.com.au
> It is regrettable to see atheists (which by definition are hardcore
> materialists) even contemplating the question _why_, as Hawking does.
> Why, _why_ must surely be meaningless to a hardened materialist!
I seem to have a different attitude here. I welcome the ultimate "Why?"
question from anyone. What I find far less attractive is the easy rhetoric
of those who know the answer with such certainty that further human
reflection or inquiry is dismissed as worthless.
As I read Hawking I often get the feeling that he is (with a mischievous
twinkle in his eye) challenging defenders of traditional religion to come up
with better ways of answering the ultimate questions. If that is so, his
inquiry can be respected.
Howard Van Till
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