Peter Swannell’s recent column in The Chronicle describing the search for the “God Particle” and the origins of matter and the universe has made lots of us think about God and how much we might know about him,
Thinkers through history and pondered the mystery of it too – and here are the thoughts of some of them:
>Geza Vermes, Israeli theologian: God is my highest instinct to know myself.
>Arthur Koestler (1905-1983): God seems to have left the receiver off the hook and time is running out.
> Anon but attributed to Empedocles: The nature of God is a circle of which the centre is everywhere and the circumference is nowhere.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: A God who allowed us to prove his existence would be an idol.
Arthur Clough 1819-1861: There’s no God, the wicked saith / And truly it’s a blessing / For what he might have done with us / It’s better only guessing.
Alexandre Dumas 1824-1895: If God were suddenly condemned to live the life which he infliected onme, He would ill himself.
Albert Einstein 1879-1955: The Lord is crafty but he is not spiteful. / Before God we are all equally wise and equally foolish.
Havelock Ellis 1859-1939: God is an unutterable sigh in the Human Heart, said an old German mystic. And therewith said the last word.
Sigmund Freud 1856-1939: At bottom, God is nothing more than an exalted father.
Galileo Galilei 1564-1642: I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with the sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
Heinrich Heine 1797-1856: God will forgive me. It is his profession.
Ronald Knox 1888-1957: O God, for as much as without Thee / We are not enabled to doubt Thee / Help us all by Thy grace / To convince the whole race / It knows nothing whatsoever about Thee.
Martin Luther 1483-1546: Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is really your God.
H. L. Mendcken 1880-1956: It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himelf to the idea that after all God will not help him.
Something more to read: God, science and other dark thoughts - by Miranda Devine, Sydney Morning Herald, September 27, 2008 To view the entire article, click on: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/09/26/1222217514775.html
Toowoomba and Darling Downs political and social commentary. Print copies of this newsletter may be ordered from Toowoomba's Office Works, phone 4699-5300
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Hugh Bingham
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About Hugh Bingham
Bingham is a career journalist with experience in State and Federal politics. He has been Editor of the Sunday Truth, the Sydney Sunday Mirror, Associate Editor of the Sydney Daily Mirror, and has reported overseas for The Australian.
In retirement he turned farmer in the Felton Valley, near Toowoomba, breeding Appaloosas and winning best foal and filly at the 1992 State championships.
Now 80, Bingham takes a keen interest in current affairs, especially politics and social issues. Bingham has tutored U3A groups as diverse as poetry, memoir writing, and classical music.
In retirement he turned farmer in the Felton Valley, near Toowoomba, breeding Appaloosas and winning best foal and filly at the 1992 State championships.
Now 80, Bingham takes a keen interest in current affairs, especially politics and social issues. Bingham has tutored U3A groups as diverse as poetry, memoir writing, and classical music.
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