Some of the smartest and most talented people in the world, and you call them idiots.
Apart from Christ we are all idiots and lacking understanding. Some atheists will not even genuinely look into Christianity because of their arrogance, pride and bias. Actually some of them have no need for an external God because they already have one - themselves.
BTW Hawking isn't exactly an atheist since he uses the term "mind of God" near the end of his book, A Brief History of Time. When asked about it, Hawking simply said "I do not believe in a personal God."
Einstein wasn't exactly an atheist although he wasn't exactly a Christian either. "My comprehension of God comes from the deeply felt conviction of a superior intelligence that reveals itself in the knowable world. In common terms, one can describe it as 'pantheistic' (Spinoza)."
This issue is deeply complex and "atheists" with varying disbeliefs about organized religions are generally kind of lumped together as a group. Some just don't accept the traditional religions. Others not even accept the concept of a God. In the end, these distinctions make little difference.