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Religion
See other Religion Articles

Title: God did not create the universe, says Hawking
Source: Reuters
URL Source: [None]
Published: Sep 2, 2010
Author: Reuters
Post Date: 2010-09-02 21:17:00 by Flintlock
Keywords: ODIN!!!, Hey-Sus, AL-LA, Big Guy On A Throne With A Bea
Views: 14594
Comments: 141

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)


Poster Comment:

But, But, BUT!!! What about Hey-Sus?

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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 129.

#5. To: Flintlock (#0)

God did not create the universe, says Hawking

I recently saw a program with him discussing this issue, and I don't think he's actually proclaiming agnosticism. In the program I saw, he was simply arguing that a grand omnipotent creator isn't necessarily required to explain the existence of the universe and all that's in it.

In which case he's simply leaving the door open for spontaneous, non-divine creation.

I would add it was a bit of a depressing 1-hour program.

Pinguinite  posted on  2010-09-02   21:38:13 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: Pinguinite (#5)

In which case he's simply leaving the door open for spontaneous, non-divine creation.

Which is beyond the comprehension of most but that does not make it impossible.

Flintlock  posted on  2010-09-02   21:42:29 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#17. To: Flintlock (#7) (Edited)

Which is beyond the comprehension of most but that does not make it impossible.

Well, I don't think God's existence will ever be scientifically disproven. Most negatives are scientifically impossible to prove.

But what Hawking's does not attempt to explain in any of his programs or writings I've seen is why we each have a conscience. The old "I think, therefore I am" type philosophy has yet to be addressed by quantum mechanics or any other branch of science as far as I know. Granted that's likely not Hawking's area of expertise but any agnostic athiest needs to have a satisfied answer to that, I think.

But I think there are enough supernatural incidences that have occurred to support the notion that the universe is more than what we physically observe, including what Hawking's has so far delved into.

...edit fix...

Pinguinite  posted on  2010-09-02   22:05:35 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#55. To: Pinguinite, gengis gandhi, Original_Intent, all (#17)

Is Hawking saying there is no God or just that God didn't necessarily create the Universe.

God could be the Creator of the laws that facilitate the creation of the Universe.

wudidiz  posted on  2010-09-02   22:41:50 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#88. To: wudidiz (#55)

Is Hawking saying there is no God or just that God didn't necessarily create the Universe.

He's saying that a divine creator is not the only explanation we have for the creation of the universe. It's much like coming across a pile of stones on a path. You may suspect it placed there by a person, but there may be non-human explanations for the pile as well. That is Hawking's position on the universe creation.

He has never said definitively that God doesn't exist, so far as I know.

God could be the Creator of the laws that facilitate the creation of the Universe.

I agree 100%, but I think Hawking's says that the "multiverse" may have millions of big bangs, each with a unique, random set of laws like gravity, physics, chemistry, quantum laws, speed of light, etc, and the vast majority of them just failed. But the one we're in just happened to have the right recipe of laws for everything to co-exist in a stable state and for life to arise.

I should repeat again the program I saw of his not too long ago was a bit depressing. For me, something about it just wasn't right.

Pinguinite  posted on  2010-09-02   23:27:35 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#121. To: Pinguinite, all (#88)

The best TV show I've seen that tackled the whole issue (and ironically, Hawking wasn't in it if I recall) was an episode of the Science Channel series "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman" in the episode "Is There A Creator?", a good case is made for and against.

The best case FOR is from the side of particle physics, with one theoretician who surfs in his free time evoking an elegant mathematical model that unites gravity with the other fundamental forces of the physical world in a way that predicts other particles like the Higgs boson that can be verified by experiments like the LHC. If I recall correctly (and here I'm not sure I do -- I'll have to watch the show again when I can), this model resembled large scale patterns in the cosmos. The conclusion here being that we may be like sprites in a computer simulation. Again I can't remember enough to flesh it out clearly, but this is definitely worth watching.

On the "against" side is a research biologist, who manages to stimulate a part of the brain to evoke the presence or awareness of spirit beings. The notion that this developed in the brain order to suppress anxiety about one's eventual death and dissolution if there is the belief that they will live on as part of a greater whole.

In all a fascinating show. Not for the dogmatically faint of heart or whose beliefs are set in stone (so to speak).

PnbC  posted on  2010-09-03   15:41:07 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#123. To: PnbC (#121)

I found it here~

www.streaming-madness.net...-is-there-a-creator-2010/

christine  posted on  2010-09-03   15:57:04 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#125. To: christine (#123)

The video quality at the YouTube page is better, though it is in 5 parts.

PnbC  posted on  2010-09-03   16:03:57 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


#129. To: PnbC (#125)

I have a real interest in this kind of stuff. Thanks.

Pinguinite  posted on  2010-09-03   19:02:17 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  


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