To: National Desk
Contact: Kathleen Campbell, Campbell Public Relations, LLC, 877-540-6022; kcampbell@thecompletesolution.com
NEWS ADVISORY, June 20 /Christian Newswire/-- Britain’s renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking told a recent Hong Kong news conference the human race must “spread out into space for the survival of the species.“ He cited “sudden global warming, nuclear war, or a genetically engineered virus” as threats that could wipe out humanity at any time.
“As dire as Hawking’s concerns may be, humanity’s plight is actually worse,” says astronomer Hugh Ross, founder and president of the science/faith think tank Reasons To Believe (www.reasons.org). “But,” he adds, “that is not to say the human race is without hope.”
Ross explains, “It’s important to realize humanity’s days on Earth are numbered even if we manage the planet perfectly from now on. For example, the sun will become too bright and too unstable and Earth’s rotation too slow to sustain physical life. The accelerating cosmic expansion will eventually make life impossible anywhere in the cosmos.”
But to find another nearby home does not seem a feasible answer. As UCLA (and RTB) astronomer Jeff Zweerink points out, “The solar system resides in an extraordinarily safe region in our galaxy. Any other place we might go is even more likely than Earth to suffer asteroid and comet collisions or to be blasted by deadly radiation.”
Dave Rogstad, another RTB astronomer, says, “We have discovered enough extra-solar planets to know there is no site sufficiently close that could serve as a sustainable human habitat with anything remotely approaching the quality of life and safety humans currently enjoy on Earth. We would be better off trying to build our own planet!” Rogstad speaks from his experience as a project leader at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in southern California.
“And yet humanity does have hope,” reiterates Ross. “A number of scientific discoveries demonstrate that the human race exists for a reason—that we are destined to be here. Hundreds of design features of the universe and Milky Way Galaxy indicate the entire universe was exquisitely fashioned over billions of years specifically to provide a suitable home for humanity.
“These same features,” he adds, “allow us to observe all of cosmic history, to measure the fine-tuning of the laws of physics and of the space-time dimensions, and to calculate what astronomers call the ‘anthropic principle of inequality.’” Ross has written about these findings in a new book, Creation as Science, (NavPress) to be released in September.
“Hawking’s mistake,” Ross notes, “lies in the presumption that humanity’s ultimate destiny is contained within the cosmos. The universe is not all there is or was or will be," Ross asserts. "The big bang singularly points to a Causal Agent beyond our universe who purposed for us to be here. And the Bible, in perfect harmony with science, says our real hope lies beyond not just within the cosmos.”
Hugh Ross, Ph.D.—After studying physics at the University of British Columbia and astronomy at the University of Toronto, Hugh Ross continued his research on quasars and galaxies as a postdoctoral fellow at the California Institute of Technology. While at Caltech he began serving as minister of evangelism for Sierra Madre Congregational Church.
Since 1986 he has led Reasons To Believe, an institute founded to research and proclaim new reasons –from the frontiers of science—for trust in God’s Word and faith in Jesus Christ. Over the years Dr. Ross has given hundreds of apologetics lectures, seminars, and courses in universities, churches, business firms and other venues across the U.S. and around the world. He is a popular interview guest on a wide variety of nationally/internationally syndicated radio and television programs.
His books include The Fingerprint of God, The Creator and the Cosmos, Beyond the Cosmos, The Genesis Question, A Matter of Days, and as co-author, The Genesis Debate, Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men. He contributed a chapter on Mars in Dr. Fazale Rana’s book, Origins of Life: Biblical and Evolutionary Models Face Off, and also contributed details for the new scientific model for creation in Dr. Rana's bestseller, Who Was Adam: A Creation Model Approach to the Origin of Man.
Reasons To Believe (www.reasons.org) is currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary. Founded in 1986 by renowned astrophysicist Hugh Ross, Ph.D. Reasons To Believe is unique in its position of demonstrating that science and the Bible complement one another. The mission of Reasons To Believe is to remove the doubts of skeptics, strengthen the faith of believers, and offer solid answers to questions about God and science.
Reasons To Believe provides resources that will keep you informed about up-to-the minute discoveries in the sciences and how they harmonize with God’s revelation in the words of the Bible. It is our conviction that since the same God who ‘authored’ the universe also inspired the writings of Scripture, a consistent message will come from both revelations. In other words, the facts of nature will agree with, not contradict, the Bible. Recent scientific discoveries support this now more than at any other time in history.
