[WhatNot]

Fair enough, but then why is he quoted as saying

"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 seems even in this brief quote, he admits that there is an intelligence, and I don't believe he thinks, the universe had a plan, and decided at some point to execute the plan, but that is what a creator would do.

[Republican Extremist]

Hawking was referring to the theories of Physicist Alan Guth, who has theorized how something can come from nothing.

The easiest way to learn about Guth's Inflation Theory is this Discover article from 2002 called "Guth's Grand Guess" here:

http://discovermagazine.com/2002/apr/cover/?searchterm=Guth%27s%20Grand%20Guess