Stephen Hawking Claims Science Topples Religion in His Newest Book

John Smith, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Sep 3, 2010 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

In Stephen Hawking's newest book "The Grand Design," written with U.S. physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking argues that "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist."

Hawking, despite his struggle with neuro muscular dystrophy, has established himself as one of the leading scientists, his book receiving generally favorable reviews from the scientific community. See the original article here; http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100902/lf_nm_life/us_britain_hawking

While the battle between science and religion is nothing new, advances in technology and humanity's ability to explore the previously untouched cosmos has appeared to put fresh logs on the fire. Most recently, science seemed to claim a win, as a Pennsylvanian judge deemed intelligent design "pseudoscience unsuitable for teaching in Pennsylvanian schools."

However, that isn't the only time revelations have been made about the world. As science started to discover the reason for natural occurrences and the Earth's place in the galaxy, it seemed that this had to be viewed as anti-religious. Religious leaders often stood up to denounce these scientific breakthroughs and cling to their literal interpretation of the holy books.

What really becomes the issue in this argument is that science cannot disprove the existence of God or a creator any more than religion can prove one. The argument often gets so heated because most of it is based on the opinions of the speakers. I don't demand Stephen Hawking believe in God anymore than his book demands that I don't. Hawking may claim that God doesn't exist by his science, but how can he claim to disprove something that is impossible to define? Humanity as a whole is quick to view scientific discovery as a boon against God when in all reality they have nothing to do with each other. Take, for example, the story of creation in the Old Testament. Taking this story literally can be quite a bit to swallow. However, if looked at like a metaphor with a message, it can be a little easier to understand.

So many people are ready to throw science into battle with religion when they can so easily work in tandem. Science can absolutely find other planets in galaxies in the void of space, but couldn't they just have easily been created by a God figure? Science can claim spontaneous creation is the reason we exist, yet what is the starting catalyst? What is the beginning? This is the question that no one will be able to answer in our lifetimes. Even if random and spontaneous are key words in the universe, who or what was the initial catalyst?

Hawking's book will certainly have its effect on this heated debate, but will it be the end to the argument? No, instead it will flare up the usual arguments with both sides calling their own opinions fact. This argument has existed for over 2,000 years, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Information on Hawking and the argument of Science vs. Religion from:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1555132,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/03/AR2010090302118.html

Published by John Smith

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