There is no afterlife, it is all random chance – Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking spoke to Guardian Newspaper sharing his views on death and the afterlife. He didn't mince his words, saying that there is no heaven and that anyone who believes differently is ‘just afraid of death'.

Hawking, the world famous 69 year old scientist and professor has had to deal with motor neurone disease for almost 50 years. He said that his illness has given him plenty of time to reflect on life and the afterlife.

He says “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail,” he added. “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Hawking has made these comments, which are sure to annoy many people at an interview conducted prior to Google's Zeitgeist meeting in London, where Hawking will address the all encompassing question “Why are we here?”. Hawking believes that life is a random event, a view which contradicts Sir Isaac Newton's theory that existence is the work of an almighty being. He says “Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in.”

Hawking has been in the middle of many arguments with religious groups. His book in 2010 called The Grand Design caused a huge backlash with religious authorities. In the book he said there is no need for the existence of a God or for a God to explain the creation of the universe.

He added “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. 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.”

KitGuru says: God or no God, how important is the subject to you?

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