Cambridge University scientist Stephen Hawking, the author of "A Brief History of Time," made no secret of his atheism before his death in March.
Although he did seem to fudge once in awhile.
USA Today reported he wrote in his signature book that the history of science "has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired."
And he added that understanding the theory of the universe "would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God."
But for the most part, he was an avowed atheist.
"What could define God (is thinking of God) as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," he once said. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible."
And he confirmed: "We are each free to believe what we want and it is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate."
Now, reports Live Science, in his last book, "Brief Answers to Big Questions," published just this month, he doubled down.
But his conclusion, according to Christian evangelist and filmmaker Ray Comfort, puts him in the untenable position of believing that nothing created everything.
Comfort, who has raised the issue in his books "God Doesn't Believe in Atheists" and "Nothing Created Everything," told WND he would have liked to have had a discussion with Hawking before the renowned scientist's death at age 76.
"Stephen Hawking was said to be a genius," Comfort told WND.
"If I had had the privilege of speaking to him, I would've asked him one question. It's a question that I have asked hundreds of atheists, seen many change their minds in seconds about the existence of God. This is the question: 'As an atheist, do you really believe the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything?'"
Live Science reported Hawking's final book is a series of "10 intergalactic essays" that address all sorts of questions.
Hawking wrote: "I think the universe was spontaneously created out of nothing, according to the laws of science. If you accept, as I do, that the laws of nature are fixed, then it doesn't take long to ask: What role is there for God?"
The article explained Hawking was faithful to his belief in the Big Bang theory, "the idea that the universe began by exploding suddenly out of an ultradense singularity smaller than an atom. From this speck emerged all the matter, energy and empty space that the universe would ever contain."
"With the universe running on a scientifically guided autopilot, the only role for an all-powerful deity might be setting the initial conditions of the universe so that those laws could take shape – a divine creator who caused the Big Bang to bang, then stepped back to behold His work," the article said.
"Did God create the quantum laws that allowed the Big Bang to occur?" Hawking wrote. "I have no desire to offend anyone of faith, but I think science has a more compelling explanation than a divine creator."
Live Science said: "Hawking's explanation begins with quantum mechanics, which explains how subatomic particles behave. In quantum studies, it's common to see subatomic particles like protons and electrons seemingly appear out of nowhere, stick around for a while and then disappear again to a completely different location. Because the universe was once the size of a subatomic particle itself, it's plausible that it behaved similarly during the Big Bang, Hawking wrote."
Hawking said, "The universe itself, in all its mind-boggling vastness and complexity, could simply have popped into existence without violating the known laws of nature."
As for the possibility God created that "singularity," he claimed that there is no time in elements of the universe such as black holes, and the universe began that way, so "time itself could not have existed before the Big Bang."
"For me this means that there is no possibility of a creator, because there is no time for a creator to have existed in."
Comfort invites anyone interested to watch his interactions with other atheists and make up their own minds.
"If you want to see atheists backslide when I asked that question, freely watch 'Crazy Bible' on our Living Waters YouTube channel ... which, we are encouraged to say has over 60,000,000 views," he said.
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