Yet his comments about "what God was doing before He made the world", while humorous, point to the fact that the closer our scientists get to a description of the Big Bang, the closer they come to concluding that God did it.
IMO, a clear demonstration that advancing scientific understanding of the universe, and belief in the existence of God as the Creator of the Universe, are not only compatible, BUT VERY LIKELY THE SAME THING.
As one trained in Physics, and who has an unshakable belief in God as the Creator, I find Hawking's comments quite interesting and pleasing. Of course, your mileage may vary, depending on your own beliefs...
Hawking is NOT a brilliant scientist or he would not let his hatred of Christianity influence his scientific method.
His primary driving force is not to scientifically search for truth but to "make fun of God and Christians"
In another time, his entertainment would be feeding us to the lions but now he has to settle for silly jokes that his cult followers actually take seriously.