Speaker discusses God's role in cosmology

Henry Schaefer, a Chemistry professor at the University of Georgia, discussed the structure, origin and development of the universe with approximately 80 students,faculty and community members last night. Schaefer, a five-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in quantum chemistry, began his lecture by outlining the main issues in cosmology: how the universe was created, the universe's finiteness or infiniteness and who governs the laws of physics. "Basically, cosmology is the study of the universe as a whole," he stated. Throughout the program, which the Campus Crusade for Christ sponsored, Schaefer stressed the necessity of considering God's role in the creation of the universe. He said reaching the conclusion that God created the universe is not unanimous among cosmologists, but has become highly accepted. He said that in A Brief History of Time, a book by Stephen Hawking, the explanation of creation overlaps with Christian beliefs. "So long as the universe had a beginning, then of course it had a creator," he read from A Brief History of Time. Hawking is most famous for his research on the Big Bang theory, which Schaefer described as the fiery origin of the universe in which space and time were created. Schaefer said he believes in the Big Bang theory due to the abundant evidence on the subject. He ended his lecture by drawing a conclusion about the existence of a creator and how this creator was essential in the origin of the universe. He stated there must be a creator because living things do not create themselves.