The Piedmont Liberal Forum and The Department of Physics and Optical Science at UNC Charlotte very proudly present a talk by George V. Coyne, S.J. Director Emeritus of the Vatican Observatory 

Cosmology, Evolution, and God: The Dance of the Fertile Universe

Did we come about by chance or by necessity in the evolving universe? Did God make us? Can we conclude that there is an Intelligent Design to the universe? To what extent can the natural sciences address these questions. As to chance or necessity the first thing to be said is that the problem is not formulated correctly. It is not just a question of chance or necessity because, first of all, it is both. Furthermore, there is a third element here that is very important. It is what we might call the "fertility" of the universe. So the dance of the fertile universe is a ballet with three ballerinas: chance, necessity and fertility. What this means is that the universe is so fertile in offering the opportunity for the success of both chance and necessary processes that such a character of the universe must be included in the search for our origins in the universe. In this light I am going to try to present in broad strokes what I think is some of the best of our modern scientific understanding of the universe and then return to the questions above.

Monday, April 14 at 7 p.m. on the UNC Charlotte campus .
Room 100 Fretwell Building . Visitor parking is available.

ADMISSION IS FREE - ALL ARE WELCOME!
Book signing, coffee, and refreshments will follow Father Coyne’s talk.

For further information, you may contact The Department of Physics and Optical Science at 704-687-8132

Further information about Father Coyne...

Biography and CV

Interview, Counterbalance Interactive Library

Article, Wired

Article, Catholic Online

Article, Catholic News Service