Did You Ever Experience Any Challenges?

Renna: I had a mentor, Andrew Lang at Caltech, who believed in me. He took his own life and nobody knows why; it was "monumental loss," he says. Renna: A lot of times you think something's really bad, but only through the power of the telescope. The question is, where are your next steps to prove the big bang?

Play episode from 01:06:03

chevron_right

Transcript

chevron_right

Transcript

Episode notes

Be sure to watch the video version of this episode with slides here: https://youtu.be/F3P1ZtLZd9s

Genesis & The Big Bang “If You Can Count the Stars, A Jewish Astronomer’s Journey!

Think back to the late-night dorm room discussions from your college days. We are going to talk about cosmology, the Big Bang, and more from two perspectives, from the perspective of an astrophysicist and the perspective of a Torah observant Jew and ask what they may have in common, and how they differ.

How can you reconcile when one seems to be in conflict with the other? I think it's very, very crucial for modern people, secular or religious, to confront. It is said the signature of God is truth. So if something isn't true, then it can't be found to be resonant with notions of eternal truth and perhaps ultimate truth.

I'll take you on my Jewish journey which will take us around the planet, and, and maybe beyond. And then I'm going to have some interesting confluences between the study of what we do in cosmology and also something that the Torah speaks about a great length, which is the most humble substance in the world -- dust, and hopefully we'll see a delightful connection between those.

And then a simple question, if we have time, can science to prove God? That's the question I get second most after "how can you be a scientist and believe in God and the Torah?" And then the third most frequent question I get is, can science prove God's existence?

Join me for an exploration of religion and science, including My Jewish journey, How much cosmology is in the Bible? And can science prove God exists? Plus problems with Gerald Scroeder's God and the Big Bang and more!