Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., the man, the myth, the legend, is resigning from his presidency at Gonzaga University, after a wonderful term of leadership. This is a bit of a tribute to his genius :) If you have any other memorable quotations, please (PLEASE!) add them!
"Not only am I getting myself, but I'm getting myself getting myself."
"...ultimate Truth, Love, Goodness, Beauty, and Being..."
"I have three points."
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In an essay Spitzer wrote, he quotes Paul Davies' book, God and the New Physics (found here):
If the initial state were chosen at random, it seems exceedingly probable that the big bang would have coughed out black holes rather than dispersed gases. The present arrangement of matter and energy, with matter spread thinly at relatively low density, in the form of stars and gas clouds would, apparently, only result from a very special choice of initial conditions.
Roger Penrose has computed the odds against the observed universe appearing by accident, given that a black-hole cosmos is so much more likely on a priori grounds. He estimates a figure of 10^10^30 to one.
To which Spitzer candidly responds:
"I've always admired atheists, they have great faith! Because, the probability of our universe existing by chance is 10^10^30:1. That's a REALLY big number. If you were to write out all the zeros in that number, and all the zeros were the size of a hydrogen atom, our universe would not be BIG enough for that number!"
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Father Spitzer, we love you!
from the infamous "3 point! Homily," which was actually a 16-2 point homily, depending on the day. "Imagine you are at a table and no one has elbows...how could a loving God have created us without elbows?..."
ReplyDeleteYes! I'd forgotten about the elbows story :) I love it!
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