Teologija: teološka analiza Einsteinova pojma Boga s implikacijama za njegovu sliku svijeta

Abstract

The research of religious experience of great minds since ever represents demanded, but yet provocative and controversial enterprise. And when that research is focused on one of the most renowned physicists of the twentieth century, which could also mean of all times, Albert Einstein (1879–1955), than the subject obtains in weight, but no doubt also in attractiveness. This fact is due to the pure evidence of Einstein’s very often mentions of religion and God in his scientific and popular writings. Maybe often mentions of Einstein’s personal views of religion and God are far more significant in his private letters and various public meetings with people. For example, Max Jammer, a philosopher, physicist, and former Rector of the Bar-Ilan University of Jerusalem in Israel, illuminating meticulously Einstein’s intimate, e.g. personal, and professional, e.g. scientific, relation to religion, affirms that his physical cognitions and his understanding of religion are profoundly bound. For Einstein, in such supposed complex of relations, the cognition of nature simultaneously reveals Divine traces. Moreover, according to him precisely by means of natural sciences becomes possible to capture and comprehend Divine thought. Indeed, such view of nature in eighteenth century formed a core of natural theology. However, Einstein’s life and work find place two and a half centuries later. Therefore it is a right place to research some theological implications of Einstein’s physical, e.g. scientific, view of world, because just Einstein by his most important scientific discoveries, more exactly by special (1905) and general (1915/1916) theory of relativity, simultaneously “buried” two and a half centuries dominated Newtonean mechanistic worldview, based on physical postulates of classical mechanics, and placed solid foundations for later establishing a new worldview, based on physical postulates of quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle. Behind this epochmaking turn, in terms of scientific revolution and paradigm shift (Th. Kuhn), was Einstein who literally undermined the traditional foundations of comprehensions of reality, reducing, so to speak, a whole issue at one sentence: “The only thing that is incomprehensible about the world is that it is comprehensible” (Einstein). This whole story has stipulated tempestuous philosophical and theological debates, and these debates are going on up to nowadays. On the quest of Randall Thomas Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury: “What effect relativity would have on religion?” Einstein without hesitation replied: “None. Relativity is a purely scientific matter and has nothing to do with religion”. Is this true? Indeed, none could be true for direct effects, but those indirect provoked very complex and defiant challenges for theological explanations of the created reality. Therefore two theological questions seem to be unavoidable within research of theological implications of Einstein’s worldview. First, what exactly means a word ‘God’ for Einstein? Second, what implications have an appeal to God for Einstein’s mathematics and physics? Since vis-à-vis conviction of many in Einstein’s atheism, there is also conviction of many in his deep religious experience originally based on devotion of “mystery” of the universe, than raises the third and the most demanded theological question, whose answer to be sure doesn’t depend upon answers on previous two, but can cast some light on their true meaning. Namely, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic theology is presupposing a faith in one God as Creator of the world. Therefore the world is eminently creation or direct effect of the agency of Divine creative will. The word ‘world’ embraces here an entire material reality, and not only the world of man. Consequently, theology speaks about world as creation, while natural sciences speak about world as nature that is as natural world. This is the motive why Christian theology cannot remain at a distance from fashion of natural-scientific description of the world, since it is inscribed in the same core of theology a demand for continuous reexamination of conditions and possibilities for harmonizing of those descriptions with supposed faith in one God as Creator of the world. Jewish and Christian faith in the creation of the world confirms that just nothing exists, neither matter as well, without Divine creative will. Now the third theological question sounds like this: What a relation is really possible between God and His creation in the context of a new – natural-scientific – worldview?

Istraživanje religioznog iskustva velikih umova oduvijek predstavlja zahtjevan, ali izazovan i ništa manje kontroverzan pothvat. A kad je takvo istraživanje fokusirano na jednog od najvećih fizičara XX. stoljeća, a to bi onda moglo značiti i uopće, Alberta Einsteina (1879.–1955.), onda stvar dobiva na težini, ali nesumnjivo i na atraktivnosti. Ta je konstatacija zadana golom činjenicom Einsteinova učestalog spominjanja religije i Boga u njegovim znanstvenim i popularnim spisima, ali su možda daleko značajnija takva spominjanja u privatnim pismima i istupima u javnim predavanjima u kojima se nije libio govoriti o svojim osobnim viđenjima religije i Boga. Primjerice, Max Jammer, filozof, fizičar i bivši rektor Bar-Ilan Sveučilišta u Jeruzalemu, osvjetljavajući studiozno Einsteinov intimni, tj. osobni i znanstveni, tj. javni odnos prema religiji, tvrdi da su njegove fizikalne spoznaje i razumijevanje religije duboko povezani. U tom pretpostavljenom kompleksu odnosa, za Einsteina spoznaja prirode istovremeno otkriva Božje tragove. Štoviše, po njemu je upravo pomoću prirodnih znanosti moguće uhvatiti i shvatiti Božju za-misao. Ovakvo gledanje na prirodu u XVIII. stoljeću je sačinjavalo sukus »prirodne teologije«. No, Einsteinov život i djelo se smještaju cijela dva stoljeća kasnije. Stoga je sasvim na mjestu istraživanje nekih teoloških implikacija Einsteinove fizikalne slike svijeta. Jer upravo je Einstein svojim najvažnijim prirodoznanstvenim otkrićima, točnije specijalnom teorijom relativnosti (1905.) i općom teorijom relativnosti (1915./1916.) istovremeno »pokopao« dva i pol stoljeća dugu vladavinu newtonovske slike svemira, bazirane na fizikalnim postulatima klasične mehanike, i postavio solidne temelje za uspostavu nove slike svemira, bazirane na fizikalnim postulatima kvantne mehanike i na načelu neodređenosti. Tom je epohalnom obratu, u smislu znanstvene revolucije i smjene paradigme (Th. Kuhn), kumovao Einstein, koji je doslovno potkopao tradicionalne temelje poimanja stvarnosti, svodeći takoreći sav problem na jednu konstataciju: »Jedina stvar koja je neshvatljiva o svijetu jest ta da je on shvatljiv« (Einstein). A ta je činjenica uvjetovala burnu filozofsku i teološku raspravu koja traje do danas. No, na pitanje canterburyjskog nadbiskupa R. Th. Davidsona: »Kakav bi učinak relativnost mogla imati na religiju?«, Einstein je bez oklijevanja odgovorio: »Nikakav. Relativnost je čisto znanstvena stvar i nema ništa s religijom.« Istina, direktno ne baš, ali indirektno veoma kompleksan i izazovan učinak. Stoga su u istraživanjima teoloških implikacija Einsteinove fizikalne slike svijeta dva teološka pitanja neizbježna. Prvo, što točno znači riječ ‘Bog’ za Einsteina? Drugo, koje implikacije ima priziv na Boga za Einsteinovu matematiku i fiziku? Budući da, nasuprot uvjerenju mnogih u Einsteinov ateizam, postoji također uvjerenje mnogih u njegovo duboko religiozno iskustvo koje se temeljilo na štovanju »misterija« svemira, nameće se i treće, najzahtjevnije teološko pitanje, čiji odgovor doduše ne ovisi o odgovorima na prethodna dva pitanja, ali itekako može baciti dragocjeno svjetlo na njihov smisao i značenje. Naime, i židovska i kršćanska i islamska teologija polaze od vjere u jednoga Boga kao Stvoritelja svijeta. Svijet je, stoga, eminentno stvorenje, tj. učinak Božje stvarateljske volje, dakako, misleći pritom pod pojmom svijeta cjelokupnu materijalnu stvarnost, a ne samo ljudski svijet. Teologija, dakle, govori o svijetu kao stvorenju, dok prirodne znanosti govore o svijetu kao prirodi, tj. govore o prirodnom svijetu. To je razlog zašto kršćanska teologija ne može ostati postrance glede načina prirodoznanstvenog opisivanja svijeta, budući da je u samu narav teologije upisan zahtjev za neprestanim preispitivanjem uvjeta i mogućnosti usklađivanja tih opisivanja s pretpostavljenom vjerom u Bog kao Stvoritelja svijeta. Židovska i kršćanska vjera u stvaranje svijeta potvrđuje da ama baš ništa ne postoji što ne bi bilo stvoreno od Boga, pa tako ni materija. Dakle, treće teološko pitanje možemo formulirati ovako: Kakav je odnos realno moguć između Boga i njegova stvorenja u kontekstu nove – prirodoznanstvene – slike svijeta?