The Big Bang was the result of the inevitable laws of physics and did not need God to spark the creation of the Universe, Stephen Hawking has concluded. The scientist has claimed that no divine force was needed to explain why the Universe was formed.
In his latest book, The Grand Design, an extract of which is published in Eureka magazine in The Times, Hawking said: “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.”
In A Brief History of Time, Prof Hawking's most famous work, he did not dismiss the possibility that God had a hand in the creation of the world.
He wrote in the 1988 book: "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 new book he rejects Sir Isaac Newton's theory that the Universe did not spontaneously begin to form but was set in motion by God.
In June this year Prof Hawking told a Channel 4 series that he didn't believe that a "personal" God existed. He told Genius of Britain: "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. 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."
Fr. Robert Spitzer, author most recently of "New Proofs for the Existance of God" joined us to discuss his book yesterday, and then rejoined us this afternoon to respond specifically to the Hawking statements. Watch below.
Is it OK for a Catholic to believe that Divine Providence acts through a Mormon?
ReplyDeleteGlenn Beck held his Restoring Honor rally last Saturday. When he picked the day for the rally, he didn't know it was the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Had a Dream" speech. Beck attributes that happy coincidence to Divine Providence.
Beck had wanted a flyover to start off the rally, but that's not allowed in Washington D.C. Nonetheless, Beck did get his flyover. Just as the rally began, a flock of geese flew over the Reflecting Pool. Beck called it "God's flyover." It was a miracle.
Al. Do you believe that Beck's event was part of "a divine ordering of history?"
If you do, can you give us an example of an historical event that was not part of a divine ordering?
On the other hand, if you do not believe that Beck's event was part of a divine ordering of history, by what criteria do you exclude it?
You should not look a gift universe in the mouth.
ReplyDeleteGK Chesterton
"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."
ReplyDeleteDouglas Adams
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe