Scientist Describes Scientific Discoveries Some Atheists Don’t Want You to Know About

(Editor’s Note: This post has been updated throughout to reflect the proper spelling of Professor Hedin’s last name. My apologies to the good professor and HillFaith’s many readers for this lapse in editorial disciple.) 

Professor and physicist Eric Hedin taught a Seminar in Physical Sciences course entitled “The Boundaries of Science” for six years at Ball State University, presenting students with an opportunity to “examine the physical and living world with the goal of increasing our appreciation of the scope, wonder and complexity of physical reality.”

The course description went on to say that the class would “investigate physical reality and the boundaries of science for any hidden wisdom within this reality which may illuminate the central question of the purpose for our existence and the meaning of life.”

As Hedin explains in the following video from the 2022 Dallas Conference on Science and Faith hosted by the Discovery Institute, the Boundaries course grew out of his experience of routinely surveying students attending his introductory astronomy course on their response to a question contained in the course textbook: “What is the meaning of our existence?”

Hedin says “it was astounding how students were really interested in this question, what is the purpose of our life, what is the meaning of our existence. Some pointed toward God, some pointed toward hopelessness, some said they’d never even thought of the answer to this question.”

If that sounds like exactly the sort of questions a college student should expect and indeed seek to confront and understand, you would be … wrong. There are more than a few on the typical American campus, in the media and in the corporate world who believe there is no point in discussing such questions because they’ve already been answered by science and therefore no further discussion is appropriate.

This lecture by Hedin is a good bit longer than the HillFaith usual, but there are more than enough HillFaith readers, including especially those working on Capitol Hill, for whom this is a crucially important issue. Therefore, I encourage pouring yourself a cup of coffee, sit down in a comfortable, quiet place that allows you to listen and think, and then click the play button: