Stephen Hawking: Heaven is "a fairy story"

Physicist Stephen Hawking

/ Discovery Channel

Physicist Stephen Hawking believes there is no afterlife, and that the concept of heaven is a "fairy story" for people who fear death.

In an interview published in the Guardian, Hawking - author of the bestselling "A Brief History of Time" - said that when the brain ceases to function, that's it.

"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail," he told the Guardian's Ian Sample. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

Hawking, 69, who has survived for nearly five decades with a motor neurone disease that doctors believed would kill him while he was still in his early 20s, said he does not fear death. He also said that having lived with the prospect of death from his incurable illness has ultimately led him to enjoy life more.

"I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first," he said.

Hawking was the target of criticism from religious circles when his most recent book, "The Grand Design," argued that there was no need for a creator to explain the universe's existence.

In the Guardian interview - conducted in advance of his lecture at this week's Google Zeitgeist meeting in London, where he will address the question: "Why are we here?" - Hawking rejects an afterlife and emphasizes the need for people to realize their full potential on Earth.

When asked what is the value of knowing why are we here, Hawking replied, "The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations, directly in the abstract. We need to use the effective theory of Darwinian natural selection of those societies most likely to survive. We assign them higher value."

When asked what he found most beautiful in science, Hawking said, "Science is beautiful when it makes simple explanations of phenomena or connections between different observations. Examples include the double helix in biology, and the fundamental equations of physics."

Hawking said that our existence is down to pure chance, and that one's goal should be to "seek the greatest value of our action."

[dyerman66]

Every time I read comments like these I am saddened. With so much information and knowledge available to all of us. So many still must cling solely to old religious beliefs. I'm sorry you are not the center of the universe. I'm sorry you are not the product of some supreme plan put in motion by a perfect being. What sickens me is the fact that you believe you are? Put your ego away and look at yourself. Look at the world. Try it! If your right and I'm wrong what harm can it do? Is anything you see feel or touch the work of perfection? Is it impossible to make things any better? What would happen if your God wasn't perfect? Would you stop believing? Is it an all or nothing relationship? The part that is the hardest for me to fathom is why you fight yourself? Your brain must be telling you that your beliefs don't make sense. Its not Satan, its your intelligence. If you had never heard of your religion, not had the stories imprinted on your brain since you were a baby. You would see it for what it really is! The worst part is your holding us all back from realizing our real potential as human beings! What about science is evil? Why is science your enemy? Could it simply be that your beliefs cannot be swayed by fact? Is anything that goes against your belief a lie? Science believes in fact, if you can really prove something in science wrong than it must be accepted by science! Its how science improves. By admitting mistakes and learning from them. If you could really prove your beliefs as fact, science would have to recognize it and learn from it. You would have done the world a great honor and we would all be grateful to you. By denying science you are doing your children and your grandchildren a great injustice. Keep your ways if you must but let the real world move on.

[dyerman66]

Every time I read comments like these I am saddened. With so much information and knowledge available to all of us. So many still must cling solely to old religious beliefs. I'm sorry you are not the center of the universe. I'm sorry you are not the product of some supreme plan put in motion by a perfect being. What sickens me is the fact that you believe you are? Put your ego away and look at yourself. Look at the world. Try it! If your right and I'm wrong what harm can it do? Is anything you see feel or touch the work of perfection? Is it impossible to make things any better? What would happen if your God wasn't perfect? Would you stop believing? Is it an all or nothing relationship? The part that is the hardest for me to fathom is why you fight yourself? Your brain must be telling you that your beliefs don't make sense. Its not Satan, its your intelligence. If you had never heard of your religion, not had the stories imprinted on your brain since you were a baby. You would see it for what it really is! The worst part is your holding us all back from realizing our real potential as human beings! What about science is evil? Why is science your enemy? Could it simply be that your beliefs cannot be swayed by fact? Is anything that goes against your belief a lie? Science believes in fact, if you can really prove something in science wrong than it must be accepted by science! Its how science improves. By admitting mistakes and learning from them. If you could really prove your beliefs as fact, science would have to recognize it and learn from it. You would have done the world a great honor and we would all be grateful to you. By denying science you are doing your children and your grandchildren a great injustice. Keep your ways if you must but let the real world move on.

[twistyseaway]

No wonder Hawking doesn't believe in Heaven. From the looks of it, he's already in Hell. However, I suggest he study Pascal's Wager. It's simple logic for the pragmatic mind.

[jjg777]

For those of you who still believe in evolution instead of a Creator whose name is the Lord Jesus Christ!!! Read below what scientist are now saying about evolution.

"The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology ." Lord Solly Zuckerman, MA, MD, DSc (Anatomy) added, "If man evolved from an apelike creature he did so without leaving a trace of that evolution in the fossil record." Here are some more experts on the subject of evolution: "I would rather believe in fairy tales than in such wild speculation." Nobel Prize-winner Sir Ernst Chain. "Evolutionism is a fairy tale for grown-ups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless." Professor Louis Bounoure . "I have asked myself whether I may not have devoted my life to a fantasy." Charles Darwin. "Darwinists are afraid. They are hiding something." Ben Stein, Actor. "Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever." Dr. T. N. Tahmisian (Atomic Energy Commission). "Ultimately, the Darwinian theory of evolution is no more nor less than the great cosmogenic myth of the twentieth century." Michael J. Denton, Molecular Biologist. "I myself am convinced that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it's been applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books of the future.

[rr1023]

Have ye no faith ? Your just picking and choosing, just like everyone.

[jjg777]

There are so many ways to refute what Stephen says that I scarely know where to begin:

1) First, one cannot prove the absence of something. So his assertion that there in not afterlife, no heaven, no God are not provable at best.

2) Second, his assertion that the universe came out of nothing requires way more faith (in his limited intelligence) then would it take to believe in a creator. Let's see how long you have to wait outside a junk yard before the pieces of junk spontaneously come together to form anything. Entropy moves in the direction of things deteriorating not creating new useful things. All empirical evidences support that a creator exist

3)If there is no creator and everything evolved, why is there a startling absence of transition species. We do not see any evidence that one species evolved into another. We do see species that have changes in their adaption to the environment but they are fundamentally the same. IE, Mastodon, the woolly Mammoth and the Elephant. And pray tell what creature did a Mastodon evolve from? And why do every animal creature seem to have all of it features that make it viable at once?

4)Man down thru the ages have acknowledged the present of a God of the Universe. The bible (Solomon) says that a fool says there is no God.

One of science's discoveries is that the Universe is expanding. BUT THE BIBLE SAYS THAT GOD STRECHES OUT THE HEAVEN LIKE A CURTAIN. So if God did not write this through the agency of man how did ancient man know or write that?

5)There is Historical evidence (written by Josephus) of the existence of the man/God Jesus Christ.

6) The bible says that at the time that Paul was preaching the resurrected Christ that of the 500 witnesses to Christ after his resurrection, more than half of them still walked the earth at the time of his preaching.

7)Resurrection is a de facto proof of life after death.

8)Also nearly all of Jesus disciples were killed all confessing the Lord Jesus till their death. Why would they die for a lie?

9)When Stephen opens his eyes on the other side, there will stand Jesus with the nail prints in his hand, asking why he did not believe in him.

10)God shows the way to heaven. There were two thieves on the crosses on either side of Jesus. One of them said to Jesus come down off that cross and save yourself and then save me. The other said you and I deserve what we are getting (crucifixion) but this man has done nothing amiss. Then he turned to Christ Jesus and Lord remember me when you come in to your kingdom.

The Bible says that if you will CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH THE LORD JESUS AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD YOUR WILL BE SAVED.

If you examine what the one thief said, he must have thought Jesus was going to be resurrected because Jesus was at that moment on the Cross about to die, and he turn to Jesus and said LORD. HE MET THE REQUIIREMENT OF ROMANS 10:9 AND JESUS SAID TO HIM THIS DAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.

11) Christ could have called a legion of angels to take him off the Cross but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peasce as upon him and by his stripes we are healed

12) I dare one person to prove any statement in the bible in error with absolute proof.

[dyerman66]

No matter what is said, truth or otherwise, will not reach you because you are so sure you are right! Sorry but that's not a good thing. You see in order to keep out what you perceive as lies, the truth is also blocked! There are many ways to do as you've requested in #12. Yet for you it would do no good. You are so sure that you are right you would not allow anything else in but your belief. No matter what I said or did you could always claim it was a test of your faith or I fabricated it somehow. You don't need facts or evidence, Your faith will blind you from both. I don't hate or despise your beliefs, I just wish they would stay your beliefs and you would stop trying to convince others that you know any more than they do, because until you can open both your eyes you are not speaking the truth.

[Watchful123]

They that Judge Heaven will be Judged by the master of their own Hell.

[djconklin]

>Physicist Stephen Hawking believes there is no afterlife, and that the concept of heaven is a "fairy story" for people who fear death.

Well, since I'm not afraid of death that kind of sinks your theory, eh?

[onealberto]

What.. no heavens, then where am I ??

[gfrancis77]

Science,real science has to do with the physical and faith..all the rest.Now as for our fear of the dark,well maybe there is a good reason that humans are so..like maybe that this is a moral universe and men know that we ought to be good but we are not,so we fear the dark(death)for our conscience tells us that we are going to be somewhere after our bodies die and we will have to give an account to the Judge for the things done in our bodies.

[DavidKoch]

Often the most intelligent cant accept FAITH because there SCIENCE cant make a connection, it will be sad to await death to believe LIFE is a computer that dies...Sorry for your fear of God, I ACCEPT AND BELIEVE..