Florian Gahbauer: “The question of the origen of the universe: do faith and science contradict each other in this?”

Where do we come from? Where are we going? What does physics tell us about the origin of the universe, and how is it compatible with what faith teaches. Science and faith are often presented as being inevitably in conflict. However, the account of the origin of the Universe developed by physicists over the course of the 20th century seems to suggest that the universe has a beginning, as taught in Genesis. Still, we should be careful before jumping to conclusions. Science and faith are both pathways towards truth, and, therefore cannot be in conflict. Still, they do know different aspects of the world, and their methods are radically different, each with its own strengths and limitations. The origin of the Universe is an interesting case study to explore these questions.

Florian Gahbauer received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2023. He works on tabletop experiments with atoms and lasers as well as with detectors that are launched on balloons to detect particles from outer space. He is currently a senior researcher at the the Laser Centre of the University of Latvia’s Faculty of Science and Technology as well as an adjunct associate research scientist at Columbia University in New York.