Steven Weinberg

Theoretical Physicist/Author (May 3, 1933 – July 23, 2021)

Weinberg was a a winner of 1979 Nobel Prize for developing the theory of electo-weak unification along with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow.

In his 1977 book The First Three Minutes he had written "the more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it seems pointless." Later, in Dreams of a Final Theory he takes strong issue with the notion that one can hope to find God in the laws of nature. He elaborated on his earlier statement and goes on to argue that "The more we refine our understanding of God to make the concept plausible, the more it seems pointless." He also went on to attack both religious conservatism and religious liberalism. He criticized the former for standing in the way of scientific inquiry while he criticized the latter for reducing theology to vacuousness in attempting to reconcile religion with science.

--JF