Wednesday, February 1, 2012

E.T. and The Fermi Paradox: Are We Alone in the Cosmos?

By Father Gordon J. MacRae

...Of the nearly 140 posts I’ve written for These Stone Walls, only two have been about space science, my other preoccupation. “A Day Without Yesterday,” about the great Belgian physicist-priest, Father Georges Lemaitre, told the story of how he changed the mind Of Albert Einstein about the created universe. His concept of the origin of the Universe from the primordial atom or “Big Bang” was suppressed by some scientists because Father Lemaitre was a Catholic priest.

Today, his work is a cornerstone of modern cosmology. Coincidentally, this week’s Our Sunday Visitor has a great tribute to Father Georges Lemaitre by Barry Hudock entitled “Interplay of Cosmology Revelation” (OSV, January 29, 2012). IN another TSW post, “Does Stephen Hawking Sacrifice God on the Altar of Science?” I refuted some of the reviewers of Stephen Hawking’s book, The Grand Design, who saw in its pages a refutation of God Himself. I’m not even counting my post, “Phasers On Stun, Mr. Spock! Captain Kirk’s Star Trek Epiphany,” which was about science fiction and not science. So indulge me for a few minutes, please. I haven’t exactly inundated TSW readers with my amateur astronomy from inside a prison cell. Besides, my astronomical telescope is but another long lost treasure, and the night sky itself is just a memory... (continued ...)


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