{"id":37749,"date":"2021-01-08T13:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T13:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/"},"modified":"2021-01-08T13:01:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T13:01:00","slug":"physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/","title":{"rendered":"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a recent <em>Scientific American<\/em> article, writer John Horgan challenges the far-fetched ideas of atheistic physicists and scientists. Their existential concern is that in the distant future when man and life are no more, what then will have been the point of it all?<\/p>\n\n<p>Horgan writes:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Our works of science, mathematics, philosophy, art, music and, yes, journalism will slip back into the void whence they came. Everything we have thought and done will be for naught. If nothing about us endures, if nothing is remembered, we might as well never have existed.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Horgan argues that many scientists actually do believe in God&#8211;which gives their lives meaning and the comfort of knowing they will never be forgotten. But leading the charge against scientists who believe is physicist Leonard Susskind who contends that when the entire universe will ultimately collapse in on itself and be destroyed, black holes will remain. All information and memory of man will be preserved in the outer membrane of a black hole.<\/p>\n\n<p>Horgan points out how implausible and fantastic this belief is, including: &ldquo;Long after our sun and even the entire Milky Way have flickered out, aliens with godlike powers &hellip; could in principle &hellip;  reconstruct the lives of every person who has ever lived.&rdquo;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3450,3861,3863,4008,4072,4168,4369,4441,4442,4453,4697,4748,4752,4769,4891,4900,4919,5216],"tax_ctp_topics":[397],"class_list":["post-37749","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-atheism","tax_ctp_tags-emptiness","tax_ctp_tags-end-of-the-world","tax_ctp_tags-forgetfulness","tax_ctp_tags-godlessness","tax_ctp_tags-hopelessness","tax_ctp_tags-life","tax_ctp_tags-meaning","tax_ctp_tags-meaning-of-life","tax_ctp_tags-memory","tax_ctp_tags-preparation-for-death","tax_ctp_tags-purpose","tax_ctp_tags-questions","tax_ctp_tags-reality","tax_ctp_tags-science","tax_ctp_tags-secularism","tax_ctp_tags-self-examination","tax_ctp_tags-unrest"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent Scientific American article, writer John Horgan challenges the far-fetched ideas of atheistic physicists and scientists. Their existential concern is that in the distant future when man and life are no more, what then will have been the point of it all? Horgan writes: Our works of science, mathematics, philosophy, art, music and, Read more...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CTpastors\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/\",\"name\":\"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct - CT Pastors\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-08T13:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-08T13:01:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"name\":\"CT Pastors\",\"description\":\"Timeless wisdom for pastors with forward-thinking solutions\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Christianity Today\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/08\/logo_ctpastors_black.svg\",\"caption\":\"Christianity Today\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CTpastors\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct - CT Pastors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/physicists-ask-whats-point-if-mankind-becomes-extinct\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Physicists Ask \u2018What\u2019s the Point?\u2019 If Mankind Becomes Extinct - CT Pastors","og_description":"In a recent Scientific American article, writer John Horgan challenges the far-fetched ideas of atheistic physicists and scientists. 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