LONDON (Reuters) – God did not create the universe and the "Big Bang" was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.
In "The Grand Design," co-authored with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant, according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.
"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, who won global recognition with his 1988 book "A Brief History of Time," an account of the origins of the universe, is renowned for his work on black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity.
Since 1974, the scientist has worked on marrying the two cornerstones of modern physics -- Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which concerns gravity and large-scale phenomena, and quantum theory, which covers subatomic particles.
His latest comments suggest he has broken away from previous views he has expressed on religion. Previously, he wrote that the laws of physics meant it was simply not necessary to believe that God had intervened in the Big Bang.
He wrote in A Brief History ... "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."
In his latest book, he said the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting another star other than the Sun helped deconstruct the view of the father of physics Isaac Newton that the universe could not have arisen out of chaos but was created by God.
"That 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, who is only able to speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer, has a neuro muscular dystrophy that has progressed over the years and left him almost completely paralyzed.
He began suffering the disease in his early 20s but went on to establish himself as one of the world's leading scientific authorities, and has also made guest appearances in "Star Trek" and the cartoons "Futurama" and "The Simpsons."
Last year he announced he was stepping down as Cambridge University's Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a position once held by Newton and one he had held since 1979.
"The Grand Design" is due to go on sale next week.
(Editing by Steve Addison)
God
Hawking did not say God didn't create the universe,he said it could have been created without him.He said God may have created it.It says this in this article.The headline saying Hawking says God did not create the universe is not true.
Big Bang Theory
It really is simple ; God spoke and BANG there it was and here we are.
People have the right to
People have the right to believe what they want. Christianity is based on faith- faith in the bible and faith in God. To preach bible passages doesn't bring people to God alone- their faith does. Maybe one day science and religion will meet-until that day one only can keep their own beliefs. However, if one feels inclined to convert the scientists of the world one should seek advice from their pastor and pray over the matter. Remember: every Christian's calling is different.
Hawking up a GOD!
I personally love the Friend's theory, how the dumb blond explained to Ross how, just 400 years ago the brightest minds on the planet thought the world was flat, and just 50 years ago, they found this minuscule particle that was absolutely worthless, they called it the Atom, meaning to degrade it's value, but then they split one!, and OH how the world changed, from this worthless nothing. It seems the brightest end up the most humbled, Ali was a top boxer in the world, shouting "I AM THE GREATEST" but he doesn't shout so loud NOW! does he? Parkinson's shut up the Mouth from the South, and Hawkings is no diffrent, God has delt with him, judging from his mangled body, and God will deal with us, so BELIEVE, or be condemed by your own hand! As the Lord has already said!
Um Hmmm
That's one heck of a God; merciful, eh? Smites people with a debilitating disease. I'll be sure not to anger Him (or Her). That's quite the boatload of beliefs you have; the noise is not so joyous from here.
But forget about your poor pitiful religious beliefs, not only did you not tell the story right, but you didn't even finish. Your little brain got so excited about posting to the internet that it suddenly started talking about something else, and then something else again, equally incomprehensive and incomplete.
Poor benighted soul.
LOL
yet the brightest minds cannot answer this...if a basic law of Physics states...matter can neither be created nor destroyed...where did that little magical ball of energy come from? Lets face it...we THINK we are smart...but in actuality...we're REALLY stupid!
Tell us something wee dont
Tell us something wee dont already know Hawking. Of course "God" didnt create anything and has control over nothing. If so then explain 9/11.
True, I agree, there is no
True, I agree, there is no "religous" proof, only scinetific proof. I think that there is a better chance that: this planet evolved on its own. sometime after the astroid destroyed the dinos. our planet waqs visited by aliens from another world who raped primates here and thus became humans. There is more proof of that than God creating anything. sorry.
RE: WOW!
Not that I want to get into a religious debate over the WWAYTV3 comment page but 9/11 was caused by a people, radical extreme people that chose to disregard the teachings of God. God has control over everything, however, there is a little thing called "Free Will". God allows people free will to make their own decisions, he hopes that we will follow his teachings and seek his guidance, though a lot of people don't. Just a little something for you to think about.....
9/11???
God gave man free will. When man decides to keep kicking God out of his homes, schools, etc., God's going to show mankind what it is like to live in a "Godless" society. He's going to allow man to destroy man. Don't you get it? Why are you blaming God for things that man does? By the way, God doesn't care if you blame him or not. He is holy and righteous and cares for His own.
Yawn!
Another scientific genius who can't explain how that very first electron decided to start rotating around that very first proton and make the very first hydrogen atom. "It just was always there" isn't an answer and is quite ironic when you think of it. They reject an eternal everlasting God, but accept an eternal, everlasting piece of matter.
Face it boys - all that hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, silicon.....it had to have a start and it had to come from somewhere.
Your post proves the simple and basic fact...
...that some of these, "spontaneously...just happened" folk cannot address. The basic fact is, that the vast majority of them do not understand what an electron is, it's function within the atom or even what an atom is, much less the fundamental importance of the existence of hydrogen and carbon and their part in the very existence of life itself.
We have the term "Fool" in the dictionary for a reason and they continue to expose themselves everyday, simply to remind us why...
Dear Mr. Hawking, Maybe God
Dear Mr. Hawking,
Maybe God was responsible for the "Big Bang"
It won't be much longer now.
It won't be much longer now. Through science and human thought, all walls of ignorance will fall. There will be those who will remain weak minded and cling to the belief that a magical bearded man snapped his fingers and the World becam whole but, given enough time, the reality of what "is" will become accepted.
Well said!
It baffles me how, even today, people are as brainwashed by religion as they were during the Middle Ages. Its time people stopped clinging to religion as their safety blanket and start dealing with the fact that they, and not some all powerful God, are responsible for their own destinies and lives. Maybe then we can climb out of this pit we are in and truly evolve as a society and species.
And just a side note, Steven Hawking is the most brilliant man alive and I have personally admired him for most of my life. The discoveries he has made and his countless contributions to scientific knowledge are invaluable. I would love to see you bible thumpers debate things with him, you would walk away crying your eyes out because he would blow you out of the water without even breaking a sweat!!
Hawking will one day think he is GOD!!
It is very humanistic and egotistical to believe GOD would create only one functional lifeform and solar system. In order to learn we must evolve, in order to evolve we must start somewhere simple. You must bang your knee to realize it hurts.
To say there is no GOD simply because the human is intelligent enough to figure out why things function and operate the way they do is quite moronic.
If Hawking is so damn intelligent I want him to take some atoms and make a tree, make anything and make it live. C'mon I'm waiting... let's go Mister big mind scientist make something exist and function out of nothing and randomness!!!!
Creation
Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
Gensis 1:1 In the beginning
Gensis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
6 Then God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters."
7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Right
Mother Goose, Hey diddle diddle, Little boy blue, Little Red Riding Hood, Three blind mice, Hickory dickory dock......Catch my drift????
Thank you
Thank you for using God's Word to make your point. Without God there is nothing.
Many people will listen to him for several reasons. While taling to many, I find that the main reason most don't believe in God is because they know if they do, they are held responsible for their actions. And many don't want to be held to a high standard.
Many will listen to him because he is a genius. Just remember this - there is a very thin line between a genius and an idiot and if you don't believe it, ask them. Their have book knowledge and head knowledge, which comes from God whether you believe it or not, but a good many of the geniuses that we have seen in the past couldn't get out of the rain without instruction because they have no common sense