New Statesman: famous atheists explain why they don't believe in God...what is Hawking saying?

by unshackled 72 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  J. Hofer

  if he said so, he was probably drunk or oversimplifying. it indeed is absurd to state as a fact that before the big bang there was nothing. especially as such thing as "nothing" does not exist. that's why it's called nothing.
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  unshackled

  Here I thought this thread had fizzled….

  binadub: Those are some great quotes you dug up. You think it would be fair to say that Einstein was a pantheist? Interesting you bring up his work that led to the atomic bomb. I recently stumbled across this quote by him on that:

  "The release of atom power has changed everything except our way of thinking...the solution to this problem lies in the heart of mankind. If only I had known, I should have become a watchmaker."

  Shelby: Yes, that is a fair point that Hawking's latest comments should be considered, and don't necessarily have to reflect what he previously said. I'm not sure of the chronological order of his comments either. But I suppose the possibility he changed his view can't be ruled out.

  But the thing is, we've done a good job of breaking down what he said, I'm still not entirely sure what he meant. Or as Tammy put it…"the only person who knows what Hawking meant for sure is Hawking himself." For being labelled an atheist, Hawking seems much more ambiguous than say a Harris or Dawkins.

  Or maybe Hofer is on to something…Hawking was drunk!
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  AGuest

  Thank you, dear Unshackled (peace to you!). Yeah, the thread probably SHOULD have died but it seemed to me that folks were overlooking a possibility. I don't know if Dr. Hawking actually changed... or is changing... his position; it seems to me, though, that something DID change/is changing... particularly since his contemporaries... in the field and here... don't understand what he means by the statement in question. The ambiguity suggests that, while he certainly may not believe what I do, he also may not believe what others do... and think HE does. Also, sometimes age... and the imminence of death... brings a man to the realization that what he thought was "so"... just may not be so. Which was really all I was trying to communicate in the first place.

  Again, thank you... and peace to you!

  A slave of Christ,

  SA