Stephen Hawking, the world-renowned physicist who passed away on March 14, 2018, was known for his atheistic views and rejection of the concept of a deity.
In his final, posthumous book, “Brief Answers to the Big Questions”, Hawking explicitly wrote, “There is no God.”
He also stated, “No one directs the universe,” reflecting his belief in a universe governed by the laws of science rather than a higher power.
Hawking had been vocal about his atheism for many years before his death, often referring to religious beliefs as a form of “fairy story.”
He consistently argued that scientific explanations, rather than supernatural ones, are sufficient to understand the workings of the universe.
This perspective aligns with his broader views on cosmology and his contributions to our understanding of black holes, the Big Bang, and the nature of time.
“The question is: Is the way the universe began chosen by God for reasons we can’t understand, or was it determined by a law of science? I believe the second,” Hawking said on the TV show Genius of Britain, the Telegraph cites.
“If you like, you can call the laws of science ‘God’, but it wouldn’t be a personal God that you could meet, and ask questions.”
In “The Grand Design”, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow proposed that the universe could have arisen through “spontaneous creation,” negating the need for a divine being to initiate its existence.
They argued that the laws of physics alone could account for the origin of the universe, stating that it is “not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”
Regarding life after death, Hawking expressed a materialistic view, comparing the brain to a computer that ceases to function when its power is turned off.
He suggested that consciousness and personal identity are tied to brain function and would end when the brain ceases to operate, reflecting his belief that there is no life after death.
“There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark,” he told.
Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21 and was initially given only a few years to live. Despite this, he lived with the disease for more than 50 years, using a wheelchair for most of his adult life and communicating through a computer-based speech-generating device.
Stephen Hawking made significant contributions to our understanding of black holes and cosmology, most notably through his work on black hole radiation and the nature of the universe.
He was known for his sharp wit and straightforwardness. He expressed concerns about the future of life on Earth, predicting that the planet could become a “ball of fire” due to climate change and human activity.
He also warned about the potential risks of artificial intelligence, suggesting that it could pose an existential threat to humanity if not properly managed.
