Victor John Stenger was an American particle physicist, philosopher, author, and religious skeptic.
Following a career as a research scientist in the field of particle physics, Stenger was associated with New Atheism and he authored popular science books. He published twelve books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience, including the 2007 best-seller God: The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist. His final book was God and the Multiverse: Humanity's Expanding View of the Cosmos . He was a regular featured science columnist for the Huffington Post.An advocate for removing the influence of religion from scientific research, commercial activity, and the political process, Stenger coined the aphorism: "Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings". Wikipedia
“Observations in cosmology look just as they can be expected to look if there is no God.”
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.128-129
Context: We have yet to encounter an observable astronomical phenomenon that requires a supernatural element to be added to a model in order to describe the event... Observations in cosmology look just as they can be expected to look if there is no God.
“Science flies men to the moon, religion flies men into buildings.”
In The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason (2009), 59. As attributed on a web page using the quote as a title at web site of Richard Dawkins Foundation.
Variant: Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.
“The universe is not fine-tuned to us; we are fine-tuned to our particular universe.”
In The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe Is Not Designed for Us
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.129
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.126-127
“Infinity…is used in physics simply as a shorthand for "a very big number.””
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.123
“The transition of nothing-to-something is a natural one, not requiring any agent.”
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.133
Context: The transition of nothing-to-something is a natural one, not requiring any agent. As Nobel laureate physicist Frank Wilczek has put it, "The answer to the ancient question 'Why is there something rather than nothing?' would then be that 'nothing' is unstable." [... ] In short, the natural state of affairs is something rather than nothing. An empty universe requires supernatural intervention--not a full one. Only by the constant action of an agent outside the universe, such as God, could a state of nothingness be maintained. The fact that we have something is just what we would expect if there is no God.
“The fact that we have something is just what we would expect if there is no God.”
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.133
Context: The transition of nothing-to-something is a natural one, not requiring any agent. As Nobel laureate physicist Frank Wilczek has put it, "The answer to the ancient question 'Why is there something rather than nothing?' would then be that 'nothing' is unstable." [... ] In short, the natural state of affairs is something rather than nothing. An empty universe requires supernatural intervention--not a full one. Only by the constant action of an agent outside the universe, such as God, could a state of nothingness be maintained. The fact that we have something is just what we would expect if there is no God.
[02/19/2013, Science and Religion Cannot Be Reconciled, Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/victor-stenger/religion-and-science-_b_2719280.html]
In God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science (2012)
In God and the Folly of Faith: The Incompatibility of Science and Religion (2012)
Victor J. Stenger book God: The Failed Hypothesis
Source: God: The Failed Hypothesis (2007), Chapter 4: 'Cosmic Evidence', p.117
