Stephen Hawking, Delphic Oracle

Jonathan David Carson (The American Thinker) complains about how (in his view) there is an established religion in America today:  Scientism.  The essay cites some ancient sources, notably Lucretius' veneration of Epicurus, and includes the wonderful solecism(/wordplay?) scientismists.  And don't think for a minute that Hillary Clinton isn't part of the conspiracy.  Here's an excerpt on Hawking:

An unintentionally revealing article in the June 2002 issue of Scientific American, one of the holy books of the established religion of the United States, begins.... [quotation suppressed here]

Hawking, the rest of the article informs us, is not only God, a saint, a writer of epistles, and a Christ-figure with multitudes of apostles, but also “the Delphic oracle” and a “shaman.” He gives authoritative answers to questions of “theology.” He has a “transcendent mind.” He preaches “sermons.” He is the apotheosis of a “modern incarnation.”

...

Veneration of atheists is not new. Some of the schizoid attitude of scientism, at once materialist and New Age, is captured in a curious incident recounted by Martin Rees in Before the Beginning:    

“When Hawking received an honorary degree from Cambridge, the Orator quoted the encomium of Epicurus by Lucretius: ‘The living force of his mind overcame and passed far beyond the flaming ramparts of the universe, traversing in mind and spirit the boundless whole.’”

Who the “Orator” is, Rees does not say, nor why he deserves capitalization, but what we have here is the praise of one atomist (Epicurus) by another (Lucretius) echoed by the praise of one materialist (Hawking) by another (Rees), with atomist and materialist praised with what can only be religious fervor.

Comments

[RJO]

I once saw a notice of a popular science symposium on "The Miracle of Evolution" (perhaps that can bring the intelligent design folks together with the godless materialists).

I believe the Orator at Cambridge is an official, like the Speaker of the House.

[Mischa]

One can only hope...And yes, the bit about the Orator seems only to reveal (further) the author's captiousness.

[Gordon Campbell]

I imagine the Orator was also thinking of Professor Hawking's physical disability being overcome by the power of his reason. Lucretius' imagery of the 'flight of the mind' has an interesting history, though, and is indeed associated with the Delphic Oracle, through the Pythagoreans. Lucretius bases his encomium of Epicurus on Empedocles' encomium of Pythagoras. In fact it was really quite common for philosophers to use such religious language and claim oracular truth status for their doctrines. I don't know how Prof. Hawking received the encomium, but I imagine he would have been rather uncomfortable being called an oracle, since he would fully expect his 'doctrines' to be attacked and proved wrong. This is what he exists for, and I mean that quite literally in his case.