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Quick Summary Author’s Foreword

• Down the Rabbit Hole
• Philosophy R.I.P.
• Physics Is Everything
• The Big Squeeze
• Inside the Goldfish Bowl
• A Theory of Everything
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Sometimes, news from “the other side” can be frightening, especially when
coming from scientists with impeccable credentials. Here, for example, is the
latest flash:
The laws of physics explain everything. The scientific account is complete.
Therefore, miracles are impossible, theology is unnecessary, and God is
superfluous.
When brilliant men like Oxford mathematician Stephen Hawking (A Brief
History of Time) and Cal Tech physicist Leonard Mlodinow make dogmatic
declarations like these based on the weird world of quantum physics, it stops us in
our tracks.
Men of this stature making statements of this breadth can easily take the wind
out of our sails. Their credentials are so impressive and their subject matter so
obtuse, the temptation is strong to wave the flag of surrender and retreat into our
prayer closets.
In their new book, The Grand Design, Hawking and Mlodinow aim to use
science not just to becalm our efforts as Christian theists, but to sink our ship. You
do not need to master quantum mechanics, however, to see the problems with
these scientists’ assertions. Just read this issue of Solid Ground carefully.
I do not address the physics proper. It is out of my ken. Other, more able
men—like Hawking’s erstwhile colleague Roger Penrose and philosopher William
Lane Craig—have already weighed in against Hawking and Mlodinow.
I am capable, however, of recognizing when a point commits suicide. And
even a cursory examination of the theories in The Grand Design show they self-
destruct quickly.The authors’ own philosophical musings defeat them before they
even get to the science.
Einstein famously said,“The problem with us scientists is that we are very poor
philosophers.” In The Grand Design, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow
prove him right. When you are done with this issue of Solid Ground, I think you
will see that in spite of their credentials, they offer nothing to give a thoughtful
theist pause.

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 top 2

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2 Stand to Reason C h r i s t i a n i t y Wo r t h T h i n k i n g A b o u t
 top 3
The Grand Design: A Quantum Leap
By Greg Koukl
Quantum physics. Ugh. The term itself is enough
to make grown men weep and send theologians
scurrying. It can also send chills up the spine of the
Christian marshalling evidence from science for the
existence of God.
Stephen Hawking is the “quantum king.”The
Lucasian professor of mathematics at the University
of Cambridge for 30 years, his Brief History of
Time, published in 1988, sold nine million copies.
According to The New York Times, Hawking is “the
most revered scientist since Einstein.”1So when
Stephen Hawking says quantum physics renders
philosophy dead, theology unnecessary, and a
Creator superfluous, the temptation is strong to roll
over and wave the white flag of surrender.
Down the Rabbit Hole
Hawking’s new book, The Grand Design, co-
authored with Cal Tech physicist Leonard Mlodinow,
makes all those claims, and more. One can’t read
very far in the book, though, without wondering if
he’s just stepped over the edge and tumbled down
Alice’s rabbit hole.
It’s the feeling I had reading the transcript of an
airing of “Larry King Live” when King, Hawking,
Mlodinow, and Deepak Chopra opined about
the book. At many points the discussion moved
beyond esoteric to borderline incoherent. Here,
in no particular order, is a sampling of the panel’s
comments on “nothing”:2
Hawking: Gravity and quantum theory cause
universes to be created spontaneously out of
nothing. [Non-being creates being?]
King: Who created the nothing?…Where did the
nothing come from? [“Nothing” is created?]
Mlodinow: According to quantum theory, there is
no such thing as nothingness. [Is this news, that “no-
thing-ness” is not a thing?]
Chopra: Vashishtha said, infinite words come and
go in the vast expanse of nothingness, which is
consciousness…. I believe this nothingness is not an
empty void. It’s the womb of creation. [What this
means is anybody’s guess.]
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3 S o l i d G r o u n d A Foundation for Building Ambassadors
If you’re confused by these remarks, you’re
not alone. Hawking’s erstwhile colleague, Roger
Penrose, said,“Quantum mechanics makes
absolutely no sense.” Physicist John Wheeler (who
coined the term “black hole”) said,“If you are not
completely confused by quantum mechanics, you
do not understand it.” Richard Feynman—cited
frequently in Hawking’s book—famously quipped,
“I think I can safely say that nobody understands
quantum mechanics.”3.
Suicide #1
I think I can safely say, then, that anybody who makes
dogmatic assertions based on their interpretation of
quantum mechanics is simply wishing on a star, even
an esteemed mathematician like Stephen Hawking.
There’s another reason no one needs to fear the
quantum physics trump card. Philosopher William
Lane Craig points out that, though the equations of
quantum mechanics seem sound, there are nearly a
dozen different interpretations of how the abstract
math plays out in the real world, and all have equal
claims to legitimacy.4
Even so, the basic assertions of The Grand
Design deserve a response. When Larry King asked
Stephen Hawking to state the most important point
in the book, Hawking answered,“That science can
explain the universe, and that we don’t need God to
explain why there is something rather than nothing
or why the laws of nature are what they are.”
In particular, Hawking and Mlodinow claim:
• Philosophy is dead.
• The laws of physics explain—and therefore
determine—everything.
• Miracles are impossible.
• There is no free will.
• Objective reality does not exist.
• God is not necessary to explain the existence or
the order of the universe.
As you will soon see, Hawking’s arguments fail
completely. He stumbles badly out of the starting
gate—his foundational claims are doubly self-
 top 4
refuting—and his contention that the universe
doesn’t need God comes to nothing.
Philosophy R.I.P.
When I was eight years old, I ran away from home.
Unhappy with parental restrictions, I thought I
could fend for myself. While my mother wrung
her hands and wept, my father calmly granted
my request for freedom. He emptied my piggy
bank into my pocket, shook my hand, and wished
me well. I soon learned (in about two hours)
that liberty came with a price, one too dear for a
youngster to pay. I needed my parents.
On the opening page of his book, Stephen Hawking
the scientist tries to run away from home.“Philosophy,”
he writes,“is dead. Philosophy has not kept up with
modern developments in science, particularly physics.
Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of
discovery in our quest for knowledge.”5
Suicide #2
What Hawking doesn’t realize is that science cannot
live on its own. It needs its parent, philosophy. The
metaphor is apt because philosophy as a discipline not
only gave birth to science, it also guides and guards the
scientist so he does not get lost along the way.
Science doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What science
is, how it operates, and what boundaries constrain it
are each features of philosophy, not of science itself.
For example, in chapter three Hawking lists the
virtues of a good scientific model.6 A good model…
• Is elegant.
• Contains few arbitrary or adjustable elements.
• Agrees with and explains all existing
observations.
• Makes detailed predictions capable of falsifying
the model.
The list is a good one. The tally, however, is
not the product of science, but of philosophy,
specifically the philosophy of science. The scientist
who dismisses philosophy does not thereby rid
himself of its task. He merely condemns himself to
do the philosopher’s job poorly.
Stephen Hawking proves as much by spending
the first 63 pages—one third of his book—wrestling
with philosophical questions (the title of his first
chapter is “The Mystery of Being”) before he
even begins to address the science proper. He
pontificates on free will and determinism, reality
and illusion, right and wrong, reason and logic—but
he does so artlessly and, as we’ll see, hazardously.
Albert Einstein once quipped,“The problem with
us scientists is that we are very poor philosophers.”
PAGE
4 Stand to Reason
Stephen Hawking proves him right. Had he taken
philosophy more seriously, he might not have
stumbled so quickly.
In his second chapter,“The Rule of Law,” Stephen
Hawking argues a point about physics that, if true,
dooms the rest of his work to utter insignificance.
Physics Is Everything
I once witnessed a magnificent spectacle created
by falling dominoes. Legions of little blocks
standing in formation morphed into a stunning
work of art when the creator of the massive
puzzle gave the first domino a flick. As one by one
each domino fell against another in succession, a
marvelous panorama unfolded before my eyes.
The picture that appeared was not the result
of random events. It was determined beforehand
by the specific order of the dominoes and the
constraints of the laws of physics. Repeat the exact
set-up, repeat the exact result.
Purely physical systems behave like that sea of
toppling dominoes. Physical objects “collide” with
each other throughout the universe in very precise
ways based on their initial conditions and governed
by uniform natural law. This is what allows science
Hear William Lane Craig’s
critique of The Grand Design by
Stephen Hawking with Greg
Download an mp3 of
the interview here.
to operate in the first place. The deterministic
nature of physical systems7 makes experimental
repeatability possible.
Generally, science acknowledges two kinds of
causes. The first is the kind of cause determining
the configuration of the collapsing dominoes—
event causation. The second (the finger flick) is the
kind of cause that initiated the cascade to begin
with—agent causation (a human agent, in this case).
C h r i s t i a n i t y Wo r t h T h i n k i n g A b o u t
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Hawking and Mlodinow characterize the first
kind of cause as “scientific determinism” (SD).
Here’s how they describe it: “Given the state of the
universe at one time, a complete set of laws fully
determines both the future and the past. This would
exclude the possibility of miracles or an active role
for God.”8
Quite right.
If Hawking is right about scientific These two
determinism it is impossible for him sentences sit
side by side
to know it.
for a reason.
By stipulating
that natural law “fully determines” every event in
natural history, the authors aim to squeeze God
permanently out of the equation. Simply put,
physics is everything. “The scientific account is
complete,” Hawking told Larry King. “Theology is
unnecessary.”
For Hawking and Mlodinow, though, event
causation governs everything—even human choices.
Determinism is absolute. There are no exceptions,
even human ones. Everything, including human
nature, must submit to the sovereignty of physics:
Since people live in the universe and interact
with other objects in it, then scientific
determinism must hold for people as well….9
Do people have free will?...Though we feel
that we can choose...biological processes are
governed by the laws of physics and chemistry
and therefore are as determined as the orbits
of the planets….10
Our physical brain, following the known laws
of science…determines our actions, and not
some agency that exists outside those laws.11
So it seems that we are no more than
biological machines and that free will is just
an illusion.12 [emphases added]
It’s hard to believe brilliant men like Hawking and
Mlodinow do not see how destructive this move is
to their own case, but I think you will see it readily.
Let me put the question this way: Did the laws
of physics determine the order of the words on
the pages of The Grand Design? Or did Professors
Hawking and Mlodinow make that call? Did they
ponder the evidence for their theories, consider
the implications of the facts, posit conclusions,
then choose the right words and select the precise
order that would best communicate their views
and persuade readers of the rationality of their own
ideas?
Note that each of the emphasized words above
denotes free acts of will made by conscious
PAGE
5 S o l i d G r o u n d A Foundation for Building Ambassadors
agents. Without genuine freedom, then pondering,
considering, positing, choosing, selecting,
communicating, persuading, and reasoning would
all be impossible in the sense that we normally use
those terms.
Therefore, in light of SD, the authors would have
to opt for the first alternative—ultimately, the laws
of physics wrote the book that bears their names
no less than the laws of physics determined the
arrangement of rocks resting on the surface of the
planet Mars.
They have no other choice (no pun is intended
here; I mean this literally). Remember, the only
causation Hawking & Mlodinow allow for is event
causation—dominoes fatalistically falling—which is
rigidly deterministic.
The Big Squeeze
If Hawking is right about SD, then it is impossible
for him to know it. Knowledge is a combination of
true belief based on adequate reason.13 But reason
plays no role in deterministic systems. Hawking’s
convictions would not be conclusions, but rather
the inevitable results of natural law compelling the
molecules of his brain to cause his body to dictate the
words that appear on the pages of The Grand Design.
Suicide #3
By the authors’ own admission, SD is central to the
argument in their book (“This book is rooted in the
concept of scientific determinism”).14 But SD makes
arguments themselves impossible because the
operation of reason requires free will. Consequently,
everything that follows the assertion of SD (including
the notion that “miracles or an active role for God” are
impossible) tumbles down like a house of cards.
If you follow this point, you won’t need to read
any more of this article—or any more of Hawking’s
book. There is no reason to turn another page,
because nothing that Hawking argues could
possibly be known. Hawking could never know
if his “M-theory” of the universe were true if his
conviction is produced by the laws of physics
instead of by the dictates of reason.
By squeezing out free will and genuine human
agency in his attempt to squeeze out God, Stephen
Hawking squeezes himself out of the picture as
well. He disqualifies himself as author, scientist, man
of reason (and also humanitarian, kind co-worker,
loving husband, etc., but that is a different matter).15
The only way out is to surrender SD. Hawking can
acknowledge the general uniformity of natural law,
but admit the obvious—that agents (like himself)
 top 6
are not subject to its dictates. Rather, they can
intervene to change the course of natural events.
They can start the dominoes, stop the dominoes, or
redirect the dominoes at will.
Clearly, agency is real, and it operates by a
different dynamic than the natural order does.
Arguments are not subject to the laws of nature any
more than the laws of reason can alter the mass of a
molecule.
And if human agents are not bound by physics,
then why would a divine agent—who arguably
authored the laws to begin with—be bound by
them? More specifically, how does Hawking know
miracles are impossible? He gives no reason. He
simply declares it to be so (by asserting SD), and
then belittles the alternative.
Leonard Mlodinow told Larry King,“There’s
never been in any science experiment…any
indication that everything in the universe does not
follow physical laws.”16 But science experiments
themselves—having been designed by human
agents—are not the product of physical laws, but
rather the will of the scientist.
Suicide #4
If Hawking and Mlodinow are right about SD, they
are wrong about everything in their book, because
knowledge is impossible in the rigidly determined world
they affirm. Science itself is undermined by scientific
determinism. However, if they are wrong about SD,
then they cannot arbitrarily dismiss God as a possible
player in the cosmic arena.
The logical implications of scientific determinism
cause Hawking’s “grand design” to implode. His
theories are doubly dead, however, because they
commit suicide in yet another way.
Inside the Goldfish Bowl
In “What Is Reality?,” chapter three of The Grand
Design, Hawking and Mlodinow ponder the
predicament of the goldfish.
The world
appears different to
a goldfish looking
out from the
inside of its bowl,
than it does to us
looking in from the
outside. The “lens”
of the glass has a
distorting affect, bending the light and altering the
images that appear on the other side. But which
side is distorted, the authors ask, the fish’s or ours?
PAGE
6 Stand to Reason
How do we know we have the true, undistorted
picture of reality? Might not we ourselves also
be inside some big goldfish bowl and have our
vision distorted by an enormous lens? The
goldfish’s picture of reality is different from
ours, but can we be sure it is less real?17
GREG EXPLORES SCIENCE & FAITH
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Since “there is no picture- or theory-independent
concept of reality,”18 the answer they give is that
there is no way to know. The best we can do, the
authors suggest, is simply to formulate a view—a
model—that seems to work from our perspective,
and leave it at that. Hawking calls this approach
“model-dependent realism.”
This language here is misleading, though. In
discussions about the ultimate nature of reality, the
term “realism” generally means that the external
world is real and that it exists, more or less, the way
we perceive it to be. Even when there are distorting
elements (like goldfish bowls), our perceptive and
cognitive abilities allow us to make appropriate
adjustments.
However, realism is precisely what Hawking and
Mlodinow deny. “How do we know we are not just
characters in a computer-generated soap opera?,”
they wonder.19 No model of reality “can be said to
be more real than the other.”20
“Our perception,” they point out,“is not direct,
but rather shaped by a kind of lens, the interpretive
structure of our human brains.”21 And this distorting
influence is impossible for us to escape. All that
can be claimed of any scientific theory is that it
accounts for the facts better than others, nothing
more. It could never be declared true in the
ordinary sense of the word.
Hawking’s and Mlodinow’s hypothesis is a costly
one, however. Note, first, that this is a radical
C h r i s t i a n i t y Wo r t h T h i n k i n g A b o u t
 top 7
departure from the canons of conventional science,
and Hawking knows it: “Classical science is based
on the belief that there exists a real external world
whose properties are definite and independent of
the observer who perceives them.”22 Without the
ability to accurately assess the world, though, what
becomes of the magisterium of science?
One also wonders what to make of the
inviolability of Hawking’s scientific determinism if
he is right about the implications of goldfish bowls.
It seems even SD would have to be demoted to
the status of distorted perception. Since scientific
determinism “is the basis for all modern science,”23
that noble discipline is thus assaulted a second time.
Regardless, a much more damaging concern
surfaces when we ask the following question: What
are we to make of the point of chapter three itself,
Hawking’s non-realism? It seems we have two
possible choices. We can accept it as true, or we
can reject it as false. Clearly, Hawking would have
us side with him. But, oddly, he has not left that
option open to us—even theoretically—because
the minute we agree with him, we prove him false.
Here’s why.
Suicide #5
If Hawking is right that all perceptions are distorted by
the lens of the interpretive structure of our brains, then
his own theory would be a result of those distorted
(and, therefore, unreliable) perceptions. Perhaps, on the
other hand, the professor’s theory was the result of a
moment of perceptual clarity in which he saw the world
as it really was. But if those moments are available to
Dr. Hawking, why are they denied to the rest of us?
As it turns out, Hawking’s and Mlodinow’s view
is sabotaged in the same way all such postmodern
views are: It self-destructs. They claim there are
no accurate representations of reality. Then they
ground their conviction on “facts” about perception,
brain activity, and interpretive structures they take
to be true, undistorted, and accurate to reality.
Therefore, The Grand Design is refuted a second
time, even before getting to the science proper.
A Theory of Everything
For someone like Stephen Hawking searching
for a satisfying “theory of everything,” The Grand
Design turns out to be a quantum leap of self-
defeating incoherence that explains almost nothing.
By asserting scientific determinism, Hawking
paints himself into a fatalistic corner where it is
impossible for him to know anything at all. By
opting for the anti-realism of model-dependent
PAGE
7 S o l i d G r o u n d A Foundation for Building Ambassadors
“realism,” he immediately falsifies the SD he has just
asserted, defeats his own anti-realist speculations,
and undermines everything else that follows.
Hawking sabotages his own views three times, and
each wound is fatal.
Any sound theory of everything needs to make
sense of everything that needs explaining. It needs
to account for the existence and order of the
universe. It must make room for event and agent
causation, and the consciousness that accompanies
the ability to freely
choose. It must
make sense of the The theories of The Grand Design
laws of logic, the self-destruct. Hawking offers no
basic reliability of coherent view of reality and uses
our sensory abilities, bad science to try to make his case.
and the unique
human obligation of
morality.
And it must speak to the deepest needs of our
souls, because they also are a part of “everything”
that needs to be explained.
There is a theory that will do it all—the view of
reality held by Jesus of Nazareth, a view now called
“Christian theism.” His basic understanding of
reality resonates with our deepest intuitions about
the way the world actually is.
We live in a universe created with a word by an
intelligent, powerful, eternal Spirit. The existence of
the world is due to His will. The magnificent design
of creation is due to His wisdom.
Human beings are made in His image as moral
creatures fashioned for a divine purpose. We are able
to know which side of the goldfish bowl we’re on
because He’s equipped our minds with a perceptual
ability that connects us to the real world, making a
discipline like science possible in the first place.
If Stephen listen now or subscribe for later
Hawking and
Leonard Mlodinow
Greg talks about this
are really looking
for answers, then edition of Solid Ground.
Christian theism
explains everything
that needs explaining:  existence, specified
complexity (information), the uniformity of natural
law, genuine acts of freedom, human dignity and
purpose, acts of virtue and vice, rationality, true
moral guilt, and ultimate meaning.
It has enough sophistication and explanatory
power to satisfy the yearnings of the greatest minds
of history—Augustine, Aquinas, Galileo, Newton,
Kepler, to name but a few—yet enough simplicity in
 top 8

Putting Your Knowledge into Action

• Don’t be intimidated by those who claim that sci-

ence can explain everything. Remember that just
as a runaway child can’t survive without his par-
ents, science can’t exist without philosophy.
• Remember that there are two kinds of causes:
event and agent.Denying agent causation is a self-
refuting argument that ignores the obvious.
• Keep in mind that the claim that there are no
accurate representations of reality is just another
postmodern view that is self-destructive.

the foundational notions to be grasped by a child.

It also provides the most important answer of all,
the solution to the human condition—forgiveness
leading to that for which we all deeply hunger,
the fullness of existence found only in an eternal
friendship with God.
And no quantum leap is necessary to believe.
Only a simple step of trust that is consistent with all
the facts.

Endnotes
1. Dwight Garner,“Many Kinds of Universes, 12. Ibid.
and None Require God,”The New York Times, 13. This is the classic philosophical definition of
9/7/10. knowledge: justified true belief (JTB).
2. “Larry King Live,” 9/10/10. 14. Hawking and Mlodinow, 34.
3. These quotes can be found at this link. 15. Moral virtues also require human freedom. SD
4. Interview with William Lane Craig, 9/19/10 makes morality unintelligible.
5. Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, 16. “Larry King Live,” 9/10/10.
The Grand Design (New York: Bantam Books, 17. Hawking and Mlodinow, 39.
2010), 5.
18. Ibid, 42.
6. Ibid, 51.
19. Ibid.
7. At least on the supra-atomic level.
20. Ibid, 51.
8. Hawking Mlodinow, 30.
21. Ibid, 46.
9. Ibid, 30.
22. Ibid, 43.
10. Ibid, 31-32.
23. Ibid, 30.
11. Ibid, 32.

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8 Stand to Reason C h r i s t i a n i t y Wo r t h T h i n k i n g A b o u t
 top 9

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November
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about Christianity. Using literature, philosophy, real-life • 12 Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA 5 p.m. Topic: Jesus’ Birth and Resurreciton Contact:
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explains how the belief in a Christian God is a sound and
rational one.
Brett Kunkle
Session titles include:
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2. Why does God allow suffering? • 18-20 EPS Apologetics Conference, Marietta, GA Time: 8:30 p.m. Topics: Truth and the Real
3. How could a loving God send people to Hell?
World, The New Atheists: Old Arguments, New Attitude, Is One Way the Only Way?, Q&A Panel
4. Hasn’t science disproved Christianity?
5. How can you take the Bible literally? Contact: www.epsapologetics.com
6. What is Christianity all about?
Alan Shlemon
Saving Leonardo: A Call
to Resist the Secular November
Assault *NEW*, Nancy • 14 Covina First Southern Baptist Church, Covina, CA 11:00 a.m. Topic: TBD Contact: (626)
332-8223
Pearcey, 336 pages,
Hardcover (BK346)
December
$24.29
• 12 Covina First Southern Baptist Church, Covina, CA 11:00 a.m. Topic: TBD Contact: (626)
A former agnostic, Pearcey
332-8223
offers a persuasive case
for historic Christianity as a Evangelical Philisophical Society
holistic and humane alternative 9th Annual Conference
Click here for Intrn’l purchase
to secularism. She equips
readers to counter the life-denying worldviews that are
radically restructuring society and pervading our daily
lives. Whether you are a devoted Christian, determined
secularist, or don’t know quite where you stand,
reading Saving Leonardo will challenge your thinking.
More than 100 reproductions and illustrations.

The Ambassador’s Guide

to Pluralism *NEW*
Gregory Koukl, 32 Pages
(BK347) $4.95
“As a Christian, I believe that
Jesus is the only way for me,
but I can’t say He is the way for
others.”
Statements like this have
become increasingly common
among Christians of all stripes
Click here for Intrn’l purchase and betray a deeply confused

understanding of the Christian message.  In The

Ambassasor’s Guide to Pluralism, Greg exposes the
error behind this relativistic religion, identifying and To get information about inviting an STR speaker to your church, email
repudiating the three corrosive elements that prompt Amy@str.org for Brett or Alan, or Melinda@str.org for Greg.
PAGE such confused confessions: theological uncertainty,
9 religious pluralism, and Christian inclusivism.
 top 10

Bring STR to Your Next Event

Stand to Reason Speakers

Stand to Reason faculty members are available to speak and help you effectively engage the culture around
you with knowledge, wisdom, and character. STR offers lectures and seminars geared towards helping
Christians gain practical tools they need to make a difference in their world, giving them both the knowledge
and confidence to be players in the world of ideas.
Contact STR today to schedule Greg, Brett or Alan for your conference, church service or special event.

Building Ambassadors Online

SHARE WITH A FRIEND…

WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO! Join the Conversation
You can talk with fellow STR listeners every week live during our
We think Enhanced Solid Ground is
radio broadcast. Use Twitter to engage, challenge and encourage
perfect for sharing with your friends,
other listeners discussing the significant topics of our day.
and it’s never been easier. Simply
attach this pdf to an outgoing email. Look for free book giveaways.
You can also forward the STR email
containing the link to the Enhanced
Solid Ground to anyone you’d like.

First time readers, receive a FREE

mp3 of “Ambassadors for Christ:
The Essential Skills” by Greg
Follow: STRtalk Search: #STRtalk
Koukl. Visit our online store and
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