God is dead says Stephen Hawking, renowned physicist
By: Patrick Roberts | Published Thursday, September 2, 2010, 4:25 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 9:48 PM
Stephen Hawkings now believes there is no God and he did not did not create the universe.
In his new book called "The Grand Design" Hawking refutes his earlier theory that an omnipotent God was possible
The "Big Bang" was merely the outworking of the laws of physics, the British theoretical physicist now argues.
He previously wrote in A Brief History of Time that an all seeing God was definitely a possibility ... "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."
Now he begs to differ . "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," Hawking writes.
"It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."
Hawking, 68, said the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting another star other than the Sun helped negate the view of Isaac Newton that God was neccessary to help create the order out of chaos.
The new plane circling an alien sun " makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions -- the single Sun, the lucky combination of Earth-Sun distance and solar mass, far less remarkable, and far less compelling evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings," he writes.
Hawking, has suffered from neuro muscular dystrophy and can only speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer.
22 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.DrTrelawney | Sep 14, 2010, 07:56 AM EDT
Another totally incoherent morass of semi-literate gibberish. Of course, there are things we do not yet understand about the universe. It seems unlikely we will ever understand everything, but, when faced with a difficult question, it is absurd to give up trying to find a logical solution and just say "oh it must be God". I'm sure, as you say, I have not proven anything. I don't seek to prove anything. It is up to those who believe in God to prove this invisible presence's existence -- Just as it up to those who believe in faeries, leprechauns, water divining, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster to prove that those things exist.
Temerity | Sep 13, 2010, 07:01 PM EDT
But who created the laws of Physics? Steven Hawkins?I think fingerprints and now DNA do suggest unique individuality which is surprising.The belief in God and religion do underline the dignity of the individual and the soul.Your "undeniable scientific principles that dictate how such events progress" where does that come from? "DrTrelawney" you can only observe these things does it erk you that that is all you can do and that no one else could have created them if you can't see how? Keep studying and debating Dr.your time is finite my guess is you will never have enough time to figure it out. Relax enjoy the sunshine and life with what time you have left and in humility let go and let God.You have proven nothing.
DrTrelawney | Sep 12, 2010, 04:27 PM EDT
The argument below is hardly worth answering. Indeed, it's barely an argument at all. In no way does the complexity of something imply an invisible designer. That is not to say it's creation is blind chance either. We know how complex species evolve -- they do so over millions of years through a process of natural selection. Their ultimate complexity does not, I repeat, in any way suggest the hand of a creator. There are, however, undeniable scientific principles that dictate how such events progress. If I throw a rock off a cliff, it is not "pure chance" that it hurtles to the ground. It is obeying that principle we call gravity. Similarly, when a species evolves it does so according to certain laws of nature (as we choose to call them). Obviously chance is involved, but it is misleading to suggest that the whole procedure is one mighty accident. How the uniqueness of fingerprints is supposed to argue for a God is beyond me. That is such a non-argument I can't begin to dismantle it.
IrishAndProud | Sep 07, 2010, 11:51 PM EDT
And 'puzzled delight,' Mavis? When you see a work of art or a tapestry, or a park's marvelous design, who DOESN'T wonder who the creator is/was? And yet...when you observe the universe itself, which is infinitely more complex than anything man's ever created, you suddenly think it's blind chance? Talk about 'feebleness of argument' -- your non-argument EPITOMIZES feebleness, Mavis. It couldn't be MORE feeble. A beautifully woven Afghan...'wow, who made that thing, and how?' An atom, microscopic with protons and neutrons spinning around it billions of times every millionth of a second...and which every physical thing is composed of...beating hearts, circulating blood...every human has unique fingerprints, every snowflake a unique shape...naw, it's all blind chance, right? Holy smokes, Mavis!
IrishAndProud | Sep 07, 2010, 11:42 PM EDT
Existence itself proves there's a G-d, Mavis. Stuff didn't just 'happen' by blind chance. Otherwise, you're arguing that everything (including yourself) is just an accident -- and therefore there can be no absolutes (which is itself a contradictory statement), no right or wrong and no inherent value to anything. I beg to differ.
MAGHNUS | Sep 05, 2010, 07:56 AM EDT
This guy is going to be really, really surprised one day when he dies and finds that he is being judged by God.
MavisPike | Sep 04, 2010, 11:02 AM EDT
I was, of course, paraphrasing for comic effect, McNamara. The point remains. In what way does the arrival of your niece's baby offer any lucid argument for the existence of God? Most of us here know how babies are made (I hope) and the process requires no divine intervention. As for Jamie, I genuinely have no wish to convince anybody of the non-existence of God -- the matter is of no importance to me -- but I am astonished at how weak the arguments for his (her) presence are. Most seems to revolve around a puzzled delight in the beauty and complexity of the world and so forth. The world seems no less beautiful or complex to the unbeliever.
jamieLM | Sep 04, 2010, 09:56 AM EDT
Mavispike: It's called "faith." You either have it or you don't. Everyone chooses to believe or not. I'm never going to convince a non-believer there's a God and they're never going to convince me that there isn't. Hawking has a right to his opinion but it doesn't change my beliefs in any way.
Liamkeyes | Sep 03, 2010, 08:36 PM EDT
Well, as the fellow remarked... God is not dead, I spoke to him this morning.....
McNamara31 | Sep 03, 2010, 06:54 PM EDT
Marvispike..Feebleness? One gift you surely weren’t given is the ability to read. "Baby is pretty" Where is that said except in your own head. The point of my post was the wonderment of creation, nothing as trivial as “pretty".
MavisPike | Sep 03, 2010, 05:45 PM EDT
Good grief. The feebleness of the arguments presented here for the existence of God really is beyond belief. My niece's baby is pretty. Gravity exerts a force. Nobody has proved God doesn't exist. For Pete's sake. How do you prove the non-existence of an invisible, uninvolved supernatural being? It is up to believers to prove his (or her) existence. You might as well say that because we can't disprove the existence of faeries then they must be real.
McNamara31 | Sep 03, 2010, 05:36 PM EDT
My niece came over this past week with her new little baby....One look, and it confirms it every time...There's definately a God, and He make truly wonderful things.
jamieLM | Sep 03, 2010, 04:24 PM EDT
I choose to believe in something/someone larger than myself that I call God. No one has yet proved to me that God doesn't exist.
Marion211 | Sep 03, 2010, 02:51 PM EDT
God created gravity and God created you, Stephen Hawking. He is the one that gave you a brilliant mind. I hope you find peace.
CarolineRyan | Sep 03, 2010, 12:43 PM EDT
Professor Hawking, your amazing genius and brilliant outlook on life are enough to convince me that there is a Higher Intelligence, and a loving one at that. - Caroline Oceana Ryan
LITTLEGOAT | Sep 03, 2010, 10:13 AM EDT
no i never will believe the statement there is no god nor do i believe god is incompetant. mankind is given time to do great things for his fellow hamans but the choice is indidually ours the final outcome is yat to be seen but eternal values will payoff big time. i believe . i will not be moved.
blst4m4ev | Sep 03, 2010, 09:32 AM EDT
Creation of the universe was not by accident. It was set in motion by divine action. The All-Knowing God, Creator of the Universe, could very well have caused other universes to form that support life elsewhere. Humans can't possibly believe Earth is the only planet in existence that can maintain life. Open your minds. Humans have limitations, but anything is possible with God.
cuisle1st | Sep 03, 2010, 05:56 AM EDT
If there is a god then he/she should be sacked for incompetence
cuisle1st | Sep 03, 2010, 05:53 AM EDT
If there is a god then he/she should be sacked for incompetence.
LITTLEGOAT | Sep 02, 2010, 08:42 PM EDT
where did gravity come from. i believe in god our creator. their is a source a spiritual being dont act so stupid u are dead wrong.
IrishAndProud | Sep 02, 2010, 05:48 PM EDT
But...where did the material from the 'Big Bang' itself come from? Where did the 'law' (as Hawking himself calls it) of gravity come from? 'Lucky' as he says, doesn't even come close to describing the odds of the universe as we know it just 'happening'. It would be like a complete and perfect dictionary happening from a print shop explosion. The more incredibly complex we learn the universe (and life, itself) are, the more it makes the case FOR a Creator -- not less. No pun intended, but this is not rocket science. Not a scientist in the world can physically produce a blade of grass (I'm not talking about merely growing it; I mean, actually MAKE one), and not a single weatherman truly knows what will even happen next week -- much less guess about billions of years ago. We mere mortals give ourselves far more credit than we're actually due. The more we learn about the universe, the less we realize we know.
Southernpride | Sep 02, 2010, 04:58 PM EDT
God bless Stephen Hawkings