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[bacasper]

I did!

God did not create the universe, says Hawking

By Michael Holden Michael Holden � Thu Sep 2, 9:08 am ET

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.

more at link

[Italy37612]

Wonder how long it is going to take for this thread to get locked / deleted.

[bacasper]

Well, maybe now that you have made a comment about mod activity, you have just increased its chances, but the fact is that it is about science and not religion per se.

Have you actually read the article?

[Koveras]

It seems like he's trying to cash in on a trend. The bolded argument, as it stands, begs the question. He probably offers slightly better fare in his book, but I'm not much interested in reading it.

[geldedgoat]

Yeah, I saw this earlier this morning.

It's unfortunate that such an accomplished physicist has decided to make the same mistakes some of his other peers have made by attempting theology.

[Drew345]

Of course it is an touchy issue that is best avoided. But how can one of the world's top experts on the origin of the universe avoid the issue?

[geldedgoat]

[recessiontime]

[bacasper]

Rather than talk about God and theology, it might be better to discuss if the laws of physics really can lead to a Big Bang and the universe as we know it.

Or - are they all just lies?

[geldedgoat]

[recessiontime]

science is concerned with reality, not things like the divine which are made up. Hawking is simply saying you don't need to say "god did it" to explain something like the big bang. Science isn't the one making the claim in the example you mentioned. The bible is the one making ridiculous claims that cant be backed up by evidence, science just looks at how patently absurd it is and rejects it. Rejecting a claim, is not a claim in itself. Hopefully you can see the error in your logic.

[geldedgoat]

[ED209]

Who wants to be a theologist? That's not going to get you the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Did Hawking actually say God didn't create the Universe? Or, is that just how the reporter interpreted it.

[geldedgoat]

[JMO]