World-Renowned and Beloved Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking Dies

British Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking

Photo courtesy: www.hawking.org.uk/

British astrophysicist, author, and professor of Mathematics at the Cambridge University died on March 14 at home (Cambridge, England) at the age of 76.

In spite of suffering from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis -- a type of motor neuron disease and its related difficulties from the age of 21, he has been active in teaching, writing, and moving with the help of a motorized wheelchair and electronic machines and computers.

His contributions are in the fields of singularities in gravitational collapse, black hole mechanics, vanishing of blackholes, rise of galaxies, and wave function of the universe.

Because of his profound contributions, he has received 13 honorary degrees, CBE award (1982), Companion of Honour (1989), and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). 

To know more on him, please read the following:

Stephen Hawking's Death, Biography, and Appreciation of His Work:

• Stephen Hawking Dead at 76
• Stephen Hawking, Science's brightest star, dies aged 76 (March 14, 2018)
• 'Mind over matter': Obituary by Roger Penrose (March 14, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking: Messenger from the Universe (March 16, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking
• Stephen Hawking Biography
• Stephen Hawking (Official Website) [Biography, Lectures, Publications, Books, Images, Films, TV Series, and Videos)
• Stephen Hawking -- Home (Facebook)
• What has Stephen Hawking done for science? (Jan. 8, 2012)
• 10 Major Accomplishments of Stephen Hawking (Dec. 22, 2015)
• These are the discoveries that made Stephen Hawking famous (Jan. 7, 2016)
• Sense of Humor 'as vast as the universe': Tributes flood in as world remembers Stephen Hawking (March 14, 2018)
• Church leaders praise Hawking for contribution of science, dialogue (March 14, 2018)
• The legacy of Stephen Hawking -- a Catholic scientist reflects (March 15, 2018)

His Membership with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences :

• Pope sees physicist Hawking at evolution gathering [Pope Benedict XVI] (Oct. 31, 2008)
• Why famed atheist Stephen Hawking is on a pontifical academy (Dec. 2, 2016)
• Stephen Hawking was a longtime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (March 14, 2018)
• British Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Dies at 76 (March 15, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking and the Vatican (March 17, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking speaks on the origin of the universe at the Vatican (Nov. 15, 2016)
• Stephen Hawking and other experts weigh in on limits of artificial intelligence at the Vatican (Dec. 4, 2016)

His Comments on Religion and God:

• Stephen Hawking touches on God and science (June 15, 2006)
• The Origin of the Universe [Full text of a lecture by Stephen Hawking]
• Stephen Hawking on Religion: 'Science Will Win' (June 7, 2010)
• Stephen Hawking Settles the God Question Once and For All (Sept. 2, 2010)
• Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God (Sept. 2, 2010)
• Stephen Hawking: God didn't create universe (Sept. 2, 2010)
• Stephen Hawking: 'Science Makes God Unnecessary' (Sept. 7, 2010)
• Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story' (May 15, 2011)
• Big Bang Didn't Need God, Stephen Hawking Says (April 17, 2013)
• Stephen Hawking Says 'There Is No God,' Confirms He's An Atheist (Aug. 25, 2014)
• Stephen Hawking makes it clear: There is no God (Sept. 26, 2014)
• Stephen Hawking's Three Arguments Against God (Oct. 5, 2014)
• Stephen Hawking tries to teach Pope origins of universe in awkward meeting of minds (Nov. 28, 2016)
• Stephen Hawking on God, artificial intelligence and mankind's future (March 14, 2018)
• Did Stephen Hawking Believe in God? What Physicist Said About the Creation of the Universe (March 14, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking Was An Atheist: Here's What He Said About God, Heaven and His Own Death (March 14, 2018)
• A Brief History of Stephen Hawking's Atheism (March 14, 2018)
• Here's Why Stephen Hawking Says There Is No God (March 15, 2018)
• Stephen Hawking was an Atheist. Here's What He Said About God, Heaven and His Own Death (March 14, 2018)
• God Did Not Exist -- Stephen Hawking (Video)
• Stephen Hawking on God and Life (Video)
• 'I'm not afraid': What Stephen Hawking said about God, his atheism -- and his own death (March 18, 2018)

Miscellaneous Quotes of Stephen Hawking:

• Stephen Hawking Quotes
• Top 10 Stephen Hawking Quotes
• 11 Incredible Stephen Hawking Quotes
• Top 13 Stephen Hawking Quotes to Inspire You to Think Bigger
• 20 Inspirational Quotes of Stephen Hawking Everyone Should Read
• 'Remember to Look Up at the Stars.' Read Some of Stephen Hawking's Most Memorable Quotes
• Stephen Hawking in His Own Words
• 98 Inspirational Quotes by Stephen Hawking Which Will Change The Way You See The World
• Top 121 Stephen Hawking Inspirational or Motivational Quotes

Books by Stephen Hawking:

• Stephen Hawking (official website)
• More Stephen Hawking Books
• Free Online Books by Stephen Hawking

Cartoons on Stephen Hawking:

• Cartoons on Stephen Hawking

Photos of Stephen Hawking:

• Photos/Images of Stephen Hawking

Videos of Stephen Hawking:

• Videos of Stephen Hawking (youtube.com)
• Videos of Stephen Hawking on God (youtube.com)
• Stephen Hawking on What Existed Before the Big Bang (youtube.com)
• Stephen Hawking explains black holes in 90 seconds (youtube.com)
• Stephen Hawking: Questioning the universe (TED Talk: Feb., 2008)
• Watch Stephen Hawking explain what he thinks came before the Big Bang (March 3, 2018)
• Sir Stephen Hawking's last speech on stage (2018)

Movie on Stephen Hawking:

• Stephen Hawking Movie

(Updated on March 28, 2018)

How Some People Use Religion for Their Own Interests

Sept. 11, 2017 issue of the Outlook magazine from India

Image courtesy: www.outlookindia.com

The Outlook magazine, published from New Delhi, India, in its September 11, 2017 issue details ungodly deeds of some Indian male and female charlatans using religion for money, sex and power disregarding the sense of decency, morality, and rule of law.

The magazine's cover story deals with items headlined as follows: Goddamn!, Tantric Rites In The Bed, The Unascetic Swami Of Pelf, Bleeding Plots Narrate It All, Shootout At Puttaparthi, A Scary Cort Of Bliss, Thirst Beneath The Red Lips, A Hypnotic Tale, Middlemen In God's Market, Convicted By People's Court, and The Dera Sultanates.

To read them all, you may visit: Outlook

A Commentary of Father William Grimm, M.M., on "'Ours is a religion of peace': The Stark reality is that most religions are not"

Father William Grimm, M.M.

Photo courtesy: www.ucanews.com/

 Father William Grimm, M.M., publisher of the UCANews -- an independent Catholic news agency in Asia, on November 20, wrote a commentary on 'Ours is a religion of peace.' 

In this write-up he demonstrates that this is mostly a programmed response which can be heard from adherents of any religion when faced with the question of religion-based violence around. 

In reality, Father Grimm says, most religions do not prove to be religions of peace. He shows how western Christianity, in the past, in the name of Jesus' love and peace, used the religion as an instrument of persecution and violence within the Churches and without, for example, inquisition, religious wars between Churches, and crusades.   

He says, now some Muslims are using Islam to justify their acts of injustice and violence. 

Father Grimm predicts: "If, as seems likely, history will repeat itself, we are facing a century of increasing violence by Muslim fanatics mainly within the Muslim world. That violence will likely produce such overwhelming revulsion that more and more people will renounce the religion and become a force to defang it. That has happened before; it happened to Western Christianity."

To read the full commentary of Father William Grimm, M.M., please click on the following: 
'Ours is a religion of peace'

To read some news items dealing with religion-based violence, please click on Fundamentalism in Asia

To read read on an appeal of a Muslim to fellow Muslims, please read the following: Let There Be More Exemplary Muslims -- An Honest Muslim's Powerful Statement

The Quotation of the Week (April 26 - May 2, 2015)

A quotation of Charles Caleb Colton on 'religion,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Doodle (Going to the church: June 23,1994) © Jerome D'Costa

Canadians Being Ambivalent About Religion

A map of Canada

 Map courtesy: Shutterstock.com

A recent Angus Reid Institute survey shows that Canadians "are increasingly becoming ambivalent about religion or rejecting it outright, but people across the religion spectrum admire the Pope," reports The Catholic Register of Toronto.

The online survey of 3,041 Canadians shows that 30% are inclined to embrace religion, 26% inclined to reject religion, but the largest group of 44% are ambivalent about religion.

For more on this, you may read the full report in The Catholic Register. 

In the World Inter-Faith Gathering, Pope Expresses Shame for Christians' Use of Force In the Name of Religion

In the inter-faith gathering in Assissi are seen (from left) 

Archbishop Norvan Zakarian (Armenian Apostolic Church), 

Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury (Anglican Church),

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople (Eastern 

Orthodox Church), Pope Benedict XVI (Roman Catholic Church), 

Rabbi David Rosen (Chief Rabbinate of Israel), 

Wande Abimbola (representing traditional religion 

of the Yoruba people, Nigeria) and 

Shrivatsa Goswami (representing Hinduism)

Photo @ courtesy of: www.dioceseofraleigh.org/

Pope Benedict XVI, on October 27, welcomed 300 leaders of different religions in Assissi, Italy, and appealed all to work for peace and dialogue. The theme of the one-day gathering was “Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace.” 

Leaders present were Catholics, Anglicans, Protestants, Armenian Christians, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Shintoists, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, African indigenous religions and others. In addition, four non-believers of God, called ‘atheists,’ were also there, report Reuters and The Catholic Register. This event also marks the 25^th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s initiative for peace by inviting leaders of world religions in Assissi in 1986. Assissi is the hometown of St. Francis, who is well-known as a symbol of peace. 

The emphasis of the Pope’s address was how the faith can bring peace and how its absence can lead to violence. The Pope also mentioned that this violence is showing itself in two contradictory fashions – religious violence and anti-religious violence. He called the first one ‘terrorism,’ which maintains that “religion is a cause of violence, and, in this way, it has fueled hostility towards religions.” At the same time, he said, this analysis is not entirely without historical foundation. 

“As a Christian I want to say at this point: Yes, it is true; in the course of history, force has also been used in the name of the Christian faith,” he said.

“We acknowledge it with great shame. But it is utterly clear that this was an abuse of the Christian faith, one that evidently contradicts its true nature.”

By this the pope meant the use of force by Christians during the Crusades in the Middle East and against people of the New World (especially, in the Americas) to spread the Christianity. Pope John Paul II, in 2000, also mentioned and apologized for Christianity’s historical failures.

“Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every religion bring upon Earth justice and peace, forgiveness and life, love,” the pope said.

The pope said history had also shown the denial of God could bring about “a degree of violence that knows no bounds.” The concentration camps of Hitler and his German Nazis during the Second World War revealed “with utter clarity the consequences of God’s absence.”

 The full text of Pope Benedict XVI can be read below:

Pope's Address in Assissi

Homosexuality: Another Dimension of Human Sexual Behaviour -- 5

Gay Ismaili Muslims (a branch of the Shia Muslims who follow
the Aga Khan as their imam) at the 2011 Gay Pride Parade in Toronto

Ismaili gay men and women at the same Gay Pride Parade in Toronto

All Photos (Toronto: July 3, 2011) © Jerome D'Costa

::Religions and Homosexuality -- 4::

5. Islam and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Islam
• LGBT Topics and Islam
• Religion and Homosexuality (Islam)
• Islam and Homosexuality: All Viewpoints
• Homosexuality
• What is Islam's view of homosexuality?
• Islam and Homosexuality
• Anthropology, Islam and Homosexuality
• Islam and Homosexuality
• Why does Islam forbid lesbianism and homosexuality?
• Islam's position on homosexuality
• Islam and Homosexuality
• Islam 'recognizes homosexuality'
• A Comparison of Morality from the Religions from Around the World
• Religious Views on Homosexuality: Comparison Chart

6. Jainism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Jainism
• Jainism and Homosexuality (in the book Sex from Plato to Paglia: A Philosophical Encyclopedia, Vol I)
• Answers to Some Frequently Asked Questions
• Homosexuality (and Jainism)
• A Comparison of Morality from the Religions from Around the World

7. Sikhism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Sikhism
• LGBT Topics and Sikhism
• Sikhism and Homosexuality
• Homosexuality and Sikhism
• Religion and Homosexuality (Sikhism)
• Homosexuality (and Sikhism)
• A Comparison of Morality from the Religions from Around the World
• Religious Views on Homosexuality: Comparison Chart

(Continued)

Homosexuality: Another Dimension of Human Sexual Behaviour -- 4

Gay Tamil Hindus participating in the
2011 Gay Pride Parade of Toronto, Canada

Photo (Toronto: July 3, 2011) © Jerome D'Costa

::Religions and Homosexuality -- 3::

4. Hinduism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Hinduism
• LGBT Topics and Hinduism
• Homosexuality and Hinduism
• Homosexuality and Hinduism
• Homosexuality and Hinduism
• Homosexuality in India
• Guyana's Hindus Face Gay Quandry
• Point-Counterpoint: Homosexuality in Hinduism
• 'Hinduism does not condemn homosexuality'

5. Buddhism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Buddhism
• LGBT Topics and Buddhism
• Buddhism and Homosexuality
• Homosexuality in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition
• Homosexuality in the Theravada Buddhism
• Buddhism and Homosexuality (Beliefs About Homosexuality Among the Buddhist Traditions)
• Lesbian, Bay, Bisexual & Transgenderism in the Buddhist World
• Male Homosexuality and Transfenderism in the Thai Buddhist Tradition
• According to Buddhist Tradition: Gays, Lesbians, and Sexual Misconduct
• Gay Marriage for Buddhists?

(Continued)

Homosexuality: Another Dimension of Human Sexual Behaviour -- 3

Gay Catholic teachers and students participate
in the Gay Pride Parade in Toronto, Canada, on July 3, 2011

Gay Catholics voicing their demands in the same parade

More gay Catholic teachers and students in the parade

Gay Catholic School teachers and students demand
"Catholic Schools Need GSAs [Gay-Straight Alliances]"

Above photos (Toronto: July 3, 2011) © Jerome D'Costa

::Religions and Homosexuality -- 2::

3. Roman Catholicism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
• Christian Anthropology and Homosexuality Series
• What the Church Teaches About Homosexuality
• The Roman Catholic Church and Homosexuality
• Passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church Related to Homosexuality
• The Catholic Church on Homosexuality
• Catholic Church on Homosexuality
• Homosexuality (and the Catholic Church)
• What the Catholic Church Teaches About Homosexuality
• Homosexuality (Church Fathers on Homosexuality)
• Out of the Closet and Into Chastity
• Official Documents from the Vatican and Bishops Concerning Homosexuals
• Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican)
• Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers
• Canadian Bishops: A Person is More Than a Sexual Orientation (Pastoral Letter Addresses Same-Sex Attraction in Youth)
• Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons (from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican)
• Vatican Opposes Discrimination Against Homosexuals
• U.S. Bishops Urge Constitutional Amendment to Protect Marriage
• U.S. Bishops' Statement on the Marriage Between Man and Woman (and Same-Sex Marriage)
• Gay Marriage (in the light of the Catholic Church's teachings)
• Same-Sex Marriage Approval [in New York State] Undermines Families, New York Bishops Say
• U.S. Bishops Criticize Obama Adminstration's Decision on Marriage Law
• State Department Action on 'LGBT Rights' Could Split Catholic Countries
• 
  

(Continued)

Homosexuality: Another Dimension of Human Sexual Behaviour -- 2

Big companies, like TD Bank, sponsor the annual Gay Pride
Week celebrations in Toronto. This TD Bank poster
here was seen in an underground TTC train station.

Photo (Toronto: June 22, 2011) © Jerome D'Costa

::Religions and Homosexuality -- 1::

1. Judaism and Homosexuality:

• Homosexuality and Conservative Judaism
• Homosexuality in Orthodox Judaism
• Judaism and Homosexuality
• Homosexuality and Judaism
• Judaism's Sexual Revolution: Why Judaism Rejected Homosexuality
• Lesbian and Gay Topics and Judaism
• Judaism & Homosexuality: A Marriage Made in Hell
• Homosexuality and Judaism (Judaism, Nature and Homosexuality)
• Homosexuality & the Hebrew Bible
• Torah View on Homosexuality
• Homosexuality and Halakhah
• Homosexuality in the Old Testament
• Homosexuality and the Old Testament
• The Old Testament and Homosexuality

2. Christianity and Homosexuality:

• Christianity and Homosexuality
• Homosexuality and Christianity
• The Bible and Homosexuality
• The Bible and Homosexuality
• Homosexual Relationships and the Bible
• Homosexuality in the Bible
• Homosexuality (Sodomy)
• Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
• Catholic Church on Homosexuality
• Christian Denominations: Views on Homosexuality
• List of Christian Denominational Churches' Position on Homosexuality
• Protestant Churches Shifting Toward Affirming Homosexuality

(Continued)

The Quotation of the Week (February 14 - 20, 2010)

A doodle on religions by Jerome D'Costa

A Banner Announces: "Falun Dafa Is Good"

__

Qiao Shi Yue displays Falun Dafa meditative exercises
at College Park, Toronto
Photo (May 26, 2009) © Jerome D'Costa

Qiao Shi Yue, an elderly diminutive Chinese lady, and her husband tie a banner in between two trees at College Park, Toronto, announcing in Chinese and English "Falun Dafa Is Good." They then display Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) meditative exercises to early morning passers-by who do their daily walks and exercises in the park and others who go to their work places. There are some other Chinese who also join them in this morning ritual. This is almost a common scene every morning from late Spring to late Summer every year.

What Is Falun Dafa or Falun Gong?

According to the official brochure of this movement, Falun Dafa or "Falun Gong is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline. It brings together meditation, energy exercises, and moral teachings as a means to cultivating the mind and body, with the ultimate aspiration being spiritual transformation, or what in the East is known as enlightenment." This traditional Chinese spiritual discipline is Buddhist in nature. Truth, compassion and forbearance are the core values of this movement.

Background of This Movement

Falun Dafa is an ancient practice that has been privately passed down from one generation to another. In 1992, Mr. Li Hongzhi, called a Master or Teacher, first taught Falun Dafa publicly in the city of Changchun in China. He also visited different parts of the country to lecture on and teach this spiritual discipline. The number of practitioners grew exponentially and, by 1998, there were about 70 million practitioners in China. Today, it is claimed that, over 100 million people in over 70 countries practise Falun Dafa.

Chinese Government Position on the Falun Dafa

Initially, the Chinese government was in favour of the Falun Dafa. In 1993, Mr. Li Hongzhi was named the "Most Welcomed Qigong Master" in Beijing by a government body with the Award for Advancing Frontier Science. In the same year, The People's Public Security News, the official newspaper of China's Ministry of Public Security, praised Mr. Hongzhi for his contributions "in promoting the traditional crime-fighting virtues of the Chinese people, in safeguarding social order and security, and in promoting rectitude in society." There were many other appreciations of this movement in China.

Then in 1999 things began to change in China. The Chinese government began to see the extraordinary growth of this movement as a threat to the nation. The government banned the practice and started to take any means necessary to eliminate this movement in China.

Mr. Yafei He, minister and deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., USA, told the Mojave Desert News on January 11, 2002: "Falun Gong has now lately displayed a tendency to be violent, to engage in terrorist activities. If they are allowed to have freedom of action or activities wherever they are, it could pose danger."

The Chinese Embassy in Canada in a statement on July 26, 2006 also condemned the Falun Dafa (Falun Gong).

Persecution of Falun Dafa Members in China

The Falun Dafa claims that its members are systematically persecuted, tortured and even killed by the government machinery in China. They claim it to be the largest human rights violation and religious persecution in the world.