02 September, 2010

Stephen Hawking ends speculation

Prof Stephen Hawking has roundly rejected the notion that he accepts the role of God in the creation of the universe. This was previously asserted by some creationists due to the following passage from A Brief History of Time:

If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason - for then we should know the mind of God.

It was clear to most people that Hawking was using poetic licence here, not actually talking about a literal God. But that obvious fact doesn't stop some from using the quote for their own means.

Anyway, confusion over...

Citing the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun, in his new book, Hawking explains:

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 as evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings.

Also...

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... It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.

Good man Steve.

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