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Welcome to the Magis Center of Reason and Faith
MCRF is the Internet's best resource for intellectual exploration of faith, reason, physics, and philosophy. Click here to learn more about our mission.
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Encyclopedias: The Magis Center offers a completely free, searchable wiki of reason and faith with academic footnotes and references. Content features evidence for God from physics, philosophy of mathematics, and metaphysics, as well as answers to many other questions. The Magis Encyclopedias are a growing resource suitable for researchers and readers alike. Best of all, it's not just comprehensive – it's free!
Physics Documentary: Wondering how God and physics can possibly be compatible? Learn what we know about the beginning and nature of the universe in one entertaining hour. Cosmic Origins features eight world-class physicists talking about modern physics, God and the implications of a beginning of time.
Videos: Love the ideas but don't feel like reading? This is where you'll find our free 12 part video- and podcast series on physics and faith; Fr. Robert J. Spitzer's debate with and responses to Steven Hawking on Larry King Live; and other interviews.
High School: In high school or have a high school student in the family? Learn more about our five-part high school curriculum, The Reason, exploring the evidence for God from physics.
College Course: Students, we've got a great deal for you! Award-winning, private university content at public school prices… Try out our accredited, three-credit college course, "GS298: Physics and Metaphysics in Dialogue," with online faculty/student forum and examinations. Transferable credit from Benedictine College. Optional graduate-level course available as well.
30 God Lectures: Interested in the college course but don't need the extra notches on your transcript? Learn about logical proofs for God, evidence for God from physics, why God allows suffering and much more – clear lectures from an award-winning educator at a discount price! Decide you want credit later? No problem, we can upgrade.
Adult Ed: Not in school? Don't worry, we haven't forgotten you! Our four-part, adult education series, "In the Beginning," explores the evidence for God from physics in a format designed for churches, discussion groups, and other adult ed venues.
Ask Father Spitzer: Magis Center President Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J., Ph.D. answers frequently asked questions about evolution, aliens, the Bible from Creation to Christ, and much more. Can't find what you're looking for? Send him a question!
Other Resources: Join thousands of our friends on Facebook; read the book that started it all, New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy; download our Physics FAQ; listen to our podcasts; or learn more about our network of international partners and friends.
Contact & About Us: Who we are, what we're up to, and everything you need to know about getting in touch and getting involved with the Magis Center of Reason and Faith.
By Magis contributor David Persyn
The age of the enlightenment gave rise to many new ideas. Science was making new discoveries at an accelerating pace, and applied science was bringing about technological changes that had huge impact on basic human existence. Philosophy, too, was undergoing big change, including philosophy that was, and is, the rational basis for belief in God.
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by Magis contributor Robert Kurland, PhD
“One question in science is not ' is this hypothetical model true' but "is this model better than the alternatives'...If we believe dogmatically in a particular view, then no amount of contradictory data will convince us otherwise...” John Skilling, “Foundations and Algorithms” in Bayesian Methods in Cosmology.
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By Magis Contributor Robert Kurland, PhD
(This topic is presented as #4, rather than that on multiverses, since the presence of multiverses is often invoked as a partial explanation of the anthropic coincidences.)
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Planetary Highlights:
Jupiter
This week most of the action is centered around Jupiter as the south equatorial band continues to darken and the "Great Red Spot" better known to us earthlings as not just the storm of the century but instead the storm of the last four centuries! Imagine living on a solid surface on Jupiter and listening to the daily weather report " High winds aloft gusts at ground level around 400 to 500 miles per hour. Winds should dissapte and then return in just a few days. Storm to continue for several more hundred earth years."
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By Magis Contributor Robert Kurland, PhD
In addition to Ellis's article, Ned Wright's Cosmology Tutorial web site gives a clear, accurate and detailed picture of how astronomical measurements give cosmological data:
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By Magis contributor Robert Kurland, PhD
As pointed out in a previous installment, given the contracting size of the universe as one goes back to the origin, there will be a time such that quantum effects must come into play. However, there are some basic limitations to using quantum mechanics as a theory for the origin of the universe.
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