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Hawking: Universe Didn't Need God to Begin

'Laws of physics are all that's necessary for creation'

By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 2, 2010 4:40 AM CDT | Updated Sep 2, 2010 7:36 AM CDT

(Newser) – The universe didn't need God to begin; it was quite capable of launching its existence on its own, thank you very much, says reknowned physicist Stephen Hawking. The universe began with the Big Bang, which simply followed the inevitable law of physics, the scientist writes. “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 explains in an excerpt from his new book, The Grand Design.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to set the universe going." In his famous 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking did not dismiss the possibility that God may have played some role in creation. But earlier this summer he said in an interview that he does not believe in a "personal" God, reports the Telegraph. "The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can't understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second," he explained. "If you like, you can call the laws of science 'God,' but it wouldn't be a personal God that you could meet, and ask questions."

'Spontaneous creation' exists, explains physicist Stepehn Hawking.
'Spontaneous creation' exists, explains physicist Stepehn Hawking.   (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)
Planets form on their own, says reknowned astromer Stehen Hawking.
Planets form on their own, says reknowned astromer Stehen Hawking.   (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 491 comments
MrBrownstone1475
Sep 6, 2010 5:48 AM CDT
1. Cause and effect need time to exist. 2. Before the Big Bang, time did not exist. 3. Cause and effect did not exist before the Big Bang. 4. The Big Bang has no cause. 5. Spontaneous creation is possible.
mrnoone
Sep 3, 2010 9:18 PM CDT
Ahhh... Well, wait, hold on a minute. Hawking, if at first there was nothing, then suddenly there were atoms that just so happened to collide to create a "Big Bang", how'd those two atoms come in to being? Secondly, there is no spontatneous generation. Oh, and how did the atoms get moving at such a high speed? Surely they were not traveling past the speed of light, for any object that travels that fast would become energy. No object can become energy. Energy just is. The "Big bang" theory has more holes in it than Swiss Cheese. It's completely vagua and scientifically impossible. Space being as big as it is, the chances of two atoms colliding at very high speeds would be 1/10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. Do the math, please. Anything that has a chance less than 1/400000000000000000000000000000000000 is impossible. As for Darwinism, all we have are fossilized remains of Monkies and apes. Then, for what is assumed to be the 8000 years that Apes were evolving in to Humans, we have nothing. Squat. Zip. Nada. Absolutely nothing. Oh, but wait a minute. If there were no people around at the beginning, as Darwinists say, then how was the Bible recorded? Even if man made up the Bible entirely, they wouldn't have been around to make it up. They'd have been as dumb as rocks. No kidding. Tell me, do you base your opinions on other peoples' opinions just because they were "great" scientists, or do you just guess it all? You must be willing to look at the other side. There must have been a greater being at work there, for, logically, the bible does date back to cities that are now being excavated. It is, both historically and physically, 100% accurate. What happened to that "missing link" of evolutions? I'm sorry to say this, but, if you really were a devout scientist, you would examine all the facts without a biased opinion. Darwinism and Evolutionism are both historically and physically incorrect. The Bible has History in it. Real-life history that is still being proven today. Darwinism? Well, Darwin had Dyslexia and a mental disease. (o_o)" He made this stuff up after seeing a resemblance between Humans and Apes. Yeah, that's true, but human DNA is a 99.8% match to a Bananas DNA. Come on now. Use history and facts, not something a man made up. A man that had a Mental disease and a learning disability, I might add. Oh, and Mr.Brownstone, please, PLEASE read the Bible more carefully. God is Jesus, Jesus is God. God is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is Jesues. They're three entities that make up one person. Facets of God, rather. Jesus died for us. That means that God died for us. The Bible says that "After Jesus' death, there was a large Earthquake and the Curtain of the Temple of the Holy of Holies splite in to two." That curtain had been found. 12 feet thick. 12 feet. The Holy of Holies was where God lived. The splitting of the curtain represented that God was now availible to anyone who wished to follow him and his teachings. ;)
MrBrownstone1475
Sep 3, 2010 5:08 PM CDT
Reasoning for why a personal God cannot exist: - Jesus said God spoke to him. Jesus is resurrected and promises he will return (the rapture). - God is all powerful. God, surely, is aware of Jesus' plan to return. - God knows when Jesus will return. God can tell the future. - If God can tell the future, and since he is almighty, surely, he can tell his own future. -God's future is predestined and he is fully aware of it. -God cannot exercise creativity, for if he were to attempt to change his own future, knowledge of his future would be in contradiction. And surely, God, would have always known his ultimate future. -God's ability to tell his own future is a paradox. -God is a contradiction. -God doesn't exist.
 

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