Posted on 08/04/2011 2:02:29 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Stephen Hawking is squaring off with God, saying that God did not have a hand in creating the universe and that the "laws of science" can explain how the universe created itself from nothing.
In the premiere episode of The Discovery Channels latest series "Curiosity," set for Sunday at 8 p.m. ET, Hawking takes on the question: "Is There a Creator?"
Hawking, who has done extensive research on several contentious topics such as time travel, parallel universes and black holes, says that God was not necessary for the creation of the universe. He proposes that it is possible that the universe created itself out of nothing.
Because these 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 in his recently published book, The Grand Design.
During the episode, Hawking talks about experiments in which sub-atomic particles have been observed to appear from nowhere. He feels this is proof that the universe is self-creating, as the Big Bang started out as a particle smaller than an atom.
Hawking says it is likely the universe popped into existence without violating the known laws of Nature.
He uses his book to detail how discoveries by people have fleshed out the origin and structure of the universe, from Vikings observing eclipses to cosmology, the field dedicated to the study of the universe.
I believe the discovery of these laws is mankinds greatest achievement, he said.
Once upon a time, Hawking didnt rule out Gods involvement in the creation of the universe, stating in his 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, that if a complete theory was ever discovered, "we would know the mind of God."
Now, through his new book and corresponding "Is There a Creator?" episode, he attempts to dispel the theory posed by Sir Isaac Newton that the creation of the universe was set in motion by God.
The question is: is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we cant understand, or was it determined by a law of science. I believe the second, Hawking writes in The Grand Design.
If you like, you can call the laws of science God, but it would be a personal God that you could meet, and ask questions.
Among other topics to be addressed on the "Curiosity" series are I, Caveman, by "Supersize Me" director Morgan Spurlock and "Why Sex is Fun," by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
I am constantly amazed that when I look at my watch that all those minerals randomly gathered together to make it, all by random chance and all without any kind of design.
Wonders never cease.
I am constantly amazed that when I look at my watch that all those minerals randomly gathered together to make it, all by random chance and all without any kind of design.
Wonders never cease.
“For many people, belief in God requires too much of a leap of faith. But believing that the universe just popped into existence requires a much, much, much longer leap.”
I agree with that saying... “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.”
This "something" obviously includes rhetorical tautology.
You'll have to read Frank Wilczek's work to get a more thorough explanation. He won the Nobel Prize in physics for the subject in 2004.
Most people don't fully appreciate the magnitude of those numbers.
For example, the number of seconds since the big bang is roughly 1013. The upper bound on the number of Baryons (particles that make up atoms - electrons, protons, neutrons) in the universe has been estimated at around 1090.
Compared to 1040,000 those numbers are puny!
Then it follows that everything pops into existence.
Simple - you just divide by zero.
Indeed. It is hard to comprehend such numbers.
Compared to 1040,000 those numbers are puny!
Totally!
Slight correction - electrons are a kind of lepton, rather than a type of baryon
So, the universe sprang from nothing into everything for no reason, nothing to prompt it. There had to be some stimulus for the beginning of the universe. It wasn’t just nothing then something. Some catalyst or event had to take place for the change to have happened.
If you like ignorance then yes it was great.
These particles appear as part of the vacuum. The vacuum is very real (it's a mistake to assume it's nothingness), and has properties like a particle or anything else that's real. Hawking now has to explain how the vacuum came into being.
Sometimes I think smart people just say things they know dumb people like me won’t understand so we will just think, “if I ask they’ll just know I’m dumb, so I’ll just nod and pretend that makes sense.” :)
Forget about the matter. Space itself is a vast ocean of nothingness. It’s quantifiably big, given a large enough yardstick. Before the matter, where did the vast amount of nothing originate? What was in the location of the nothingness of space before its formation? How did it form?
The smart money is on God ...
If there is nothing..... what exactly does the law of gravity govern?
Proof that even the smartest people can be very stupid.
Guess we know whose side you're on........LOL!
Gotta appreciate that home grown Christian love..........I feel it brother!
So tell us, who's your mentor, Robert Tilton, Jimmy Swaggert, Jimmy Bakker, Phelps or Rev. Lopez?
Hey Knarf, send me your "Love Offering" of $10 or more and I'll send you a prayer towel and offer a prayer for you tonight!
One thing can be said about Hawking, he ain't making millions of $$$ promising to heal your kidney or restore your eyesight.........or talking in tongues.........
Frank Tipler shows in The Physics of Christianity that the only logical conclusion to all of the experimental physics theories is that God is the Trinity at the beginning and end of the universe, and is connected by Jesus.
And he says that Hawking’s own past work proves it.
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