Not even the most secular among us can fail to be uplifted by Christianity’s architectural legacy – the great cathedrals. These immense and glorious buildings were erected in an era of constricted horizons, both in time and in space. Martin Rees Read Quote
If you are teaching Muslim sixth formers in a school, and you tell them they can’t have their God and Darwin, there is a risk they will choose their God and be lost to science. Martin Rees Read Quote
There are strong reasons for believing that space goes on beyond the limits of our observational horizon. There are strong reasons because if you look in opposite directions, conditions are the same to within one part in 100,000. So if we are part of some finite structure then, if the gradient is so shallow, it is likely to go on much further. Martin Rees Read Quote
There are lots of ideas which extend the Copernican principle one step further. We went from the solar system to the galaxy to zillions of galaxies and now to realising even that isn’t all there is. Martin Rees Read Quote
The bedrock nature of space and time and the unification of cosmos and quantum are surely among science’s great ‘open frontiers.’ These are parts of the intellectual map where we’re still groping for the truth – where, in the fashion of ancient cartographers, we must still inscribe ‘here be dragons.’ Martin Rees Read Quote
As regards my own ‘philosophy,’ I continue to be inspired by the music, liturgy and architectural tradition of the Anglican Church in which I was brought up. No one can fail to be uplifted by great cathedrals – such as that at Ely, near my home in Cambridge. Martin Rees Read Quote
The scientists who attack mainstream religion, rather than striving for peaceful coexistence with it, damage science, and also weaken the fight against fundamentalism. Martin Rees Read Quote
Advances in technology – hugely beneficial though they are – render us vulnerable in new ways. For instance, our interconnected world depends on elaborate networks: electric power grids, air traffic control, international finance, just-in-time delivery, and so forth. Martin Rees Read Quote
The practical case for manned spacef light gets ever-weaker with each advance in robots and miniaturisation – indeed, as a scientist or practical man, I see little purpose in sending people into space at all. But as a human being, I’m an enthusiast for manned missions. Martin Rees Read Quote
