“Old beliefs have decayed and new beliefs have not sprung forward to replace them,” said an editorial in the November 30, 1978, “The Wall Street Journal.” It was reflecting on the mass suicides in Guyana. It continued:

Today one can feel the scientific world tremble at the accumulating evidence for a ‘big bang’ origin of the universe. It raises the question of what came before, and the scientists’ most fundamental faith is shaken by being brought face to face with their inability to answer ultimate questions.”