Stephen William Hawking is a famous British mathematician, astronomer and theoretical physicist whose literature about the universe reveals his atheism. Stephen William Hawking is famous because of his scientific accomplishments along with his books on astronomy and astrophysics, which are all decorated with deep philosophical pronouncements. Stephen Hawking analyzes the irregularities in space and time known as singularities. Hawking’s theories are currently accessible to the public through lectures, books, DVDs, CDs and films. Hawking recent writings and research demonstrates his belief that God was not necessary to create and design the physical universe. Today his atheism is being challenged by elements within the scientific community.

HAWKING’S SCIENTIFIC CAREER

In 1962, Hawking graduated from University College at Oxford University with a bachelor’s degree in physics. In 1966, he received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge. From 1966 to 1977, he served as a research assistant, taught physics as an instructor, and began to study black holes while moving through several positions at the University of Cambridge. In 1974, he became one of the youngest fellows of the Royal Society, a scientific organization in London.

From 1977 to 1979, Hawking taught physics as a professor at the University of Cambridge. In 1979, he became Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge-the same position once held by Isaac Newton. In 1988, he published “A Brief History of Time,” a general audience book where he explains his cosmological theories in everyday language. His book explains the origin and destiny of black holes, while it attempts to demean God’s role in the creation and design of the physical universe.

Hawking has suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, since the 1960’s. Although he can barely move and no longer speak clearly, his mind remains razor sharp and unaffected by this disease. Hawking’s present objective is a unified field theory that, if successful, will combine quantum mechanics with relativity.

HAWKING’S ARGUMENTS

According to his new book, “The Grand Design,” Hawking writes that: “Physics, not the creator, made the Big Bang.” Hawking, who has been described as the most brilliant living scientists, says that M-theory, a form of string theory, is a superior explanation for the origination of the physical creation. In other words, the big bang explosion was due only to gravitational laws and other quantum factors. According to Hawking, since there is a gravitational force, the universe can and will evolve into existence from nothingness. He believes that the undirected evolution of the universe is the best explanation for why there is something rather than nothing, why the universe is here, and why we are here. He states clearly that “It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

DR. JOHN LENNOX’S ARGUMENTS

However, not all scientists concur with Hawking’s atheism. First, John Lennox, a professor of science and mathematics, argues that Stephen Hawking is wrong because the universe cannot explain itself without God. Second, Lennox says that Hawking’s argument is not new because atheists and agnostics before Hawking have used similar arguments. And third, Lennox argues that the physical laws cannot provide an absolute explanation of the universe’s existence because the laws themselves do not form anything into existence; they are only an explanation of what happens under certain natural conditions.

Furthermore, there are several questions that Stephen Hawking will to answer and explain. First, where did the gravitational force come from? Second, how does the gravitational force generate the amazing complexity and design that we observe? And third, how does M-theory explain the human psyche, which ask what caused the universe into existence, and why does it appear to have design?

Finally, if Hawking does not summon a scientific causation for the gravitational law, then he is saying that the gravitational force is eternal, which goes against the weight of scientific evidence. Bear in mind, there is no hard scientific evidence indicating that the laws of nature, such as t

he gravitational force, the electro-magnetic force, the weak nuclear force, and the strong nuclear force, existed eternally. Since the laws of nature came into existence with the universe, then who or what created them? Hawking’s arguments don’t defend either agnosticism or atheism very well because his arguments create more questions than answers. His views are based upon his strong intellectual bias against theism and his irrational love of scientism.

RELATED SOURCES

A Brief History of Time; Stephen Hawking; 1988. Astronomy: Stephen P. Maran, Ph.D.; 2000. Astronomy; Christopher De Pree, Ph.D., and Alan Axelrod; 2000. The Handy Space Answer Book; Phillis Engelbert and Diane L. Doplus; 1998. Theories of the Universe; Gary F. Moring, M.A.; 2002. The Grand Design; Stephen Hawking; 2010.