Abnormal Interests

Having been a colleague of Frank's at Tulane and teaching a course with him I can assure you that he is "dangerously" serious. Not long ago I spoke with him about my research project on election and free will in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

"Your wrong," he said.

What? I pointed out to him that I had not even told him of my developing view, but he insisted.

"You are wrong. You are not a physicist so you will be wrong on anything relating to predestination."

I still like him and had a cordial relationship, but I have since given up on any conversations regarding religion.

Didn't Tipler write another book about a bizarre notion called Omega something? I remember reading about it & if I am not mistaken that at that time he was claiming that he was actually an atheist, which didn't make sense.

I could be wrong, but I think the book is The Physics of Immortality. I know he talks about the "Omega Point" in it. During the Q and A he was asked if he were a Christian before the work that led to The Physics of Immortality and The Physics of Christianity. He told us he was an evangelical of some kind until he was 16 when he became an agnostic. But his work on the anthorpic principle led him to see how the whole of physics pointed to Christianity.

He grew up in a very conservative Baptist background, became an atheist in school at MIT (his account), and has since become a Christian because he has been convinced of the "physics" of Christianity. I would not characterize him as an evangelical (and I don't think he would either).

Chris,

I think you are correct (and I was wrong) about him being an evangelical. In fact, Shirley remembers that he said that he was a "conservative Baptist." However, whatever he may have said on other occasions, both of us remember that he said he became an agnostic at about age sixteen. He never mentioned "atheist." At least, the best of our collective memories, he didn't use that word at the CalTech meeting.

Having attended the debate, I can say that Tipler got the better of Krauss. Krauss made only one technical objection and Tipler answered it. The rest of Krauss' presentation was insults.
Tipler's theology is testable and falsifiable and flows from current physics without the need to inventnew laws or forces. He is probably the first materialist in history to believe in God. In fact his God-model is completely on a materialistic and reductionist basis.

It's interesting that Tipler said the second Coming will occur in fifty years. Centuries ago, Newton wrote a book on biblical prophecy where he predicted the Second Coming in 2050! Newton not only predicted the Holocaust(which he called the tribulation of the Jews) but said it would begin in 1937 and end in 1944. And this was centuries ago!