No Heaven, Just Lights Out

[Carryon]

A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a "fairy story" for people afraid of death, Stephen Hawking has said.

In a dismissal that underlines his firm rejection of religious comforts, Britain's most eminent scientist said there was nothing beyond the moment when the brain flickers for the final time.

Hawking, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, shares his thoughts on death, human purpose and our chance existence in an exclusive interview with the Guardian today.

The incurable illness was expected to kill Hawking within a few years of its symptoms arising, an outlook that turned the young scientist to Wagner, but ultimately led him to enjoy life more, he has said, despite the cloud hanging over his future.

"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," he said.

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

Hawking's latest comments go beyond those laid out in his 2010 book, The Grand Design, in which he asserted that there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe. The book provoked a backlash from some religious leaders, including the chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, who accused Hawking of committing an "elementary fallacy" of logic.

The physicist's remarks draw a stark line between the use of God as a metaphor and the belief in an omniscient creator whose hands guide the workings of the cosmos.

In his bestselling 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking drew on the device so beloved of Einstein, when he described what it would mean for scientists to develop a "theory of everything" – a set of equations that described every particle and force in the entire universe. "It would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we should know the mind of God," he wrote.

The book sold a reported 9 million copies and propelled the physicist to instant stardom. His fame has led to guest roles in The Simpsons, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Red Dwarf. One of his greatest achievements in physics is a theory that describes how black holes emit radiation.

In the interview, Hawking rejected the notion of life beyond death and emphasised the need to fulfil our potential on Earth by making good use of our lives. In answer to a question on how we should live, he said, simply: "We should seek the greatest value of our action."

In answering another, he wrote of the beauty of science, such as the exquisite double helix of DNA in biology, or the fundamental equations of physics.

[peepo23]

Wow, he turned to Wagner with a few years to live; I'm presuming I have a long time left to live and even I'm torn about spending 8 hours of my life watching Der Ring Des Nibelungen.

[sixpack]

nice to see hawkings has an opinion on the afterlife.

[laa43]

LOL six!

[camel]

*Yawn*

[Tam0630]

How is this inspiring exactly?

[sweetnspunky]

Messaged removed

[tinam7]

All the more reason to make the most of today before the lights go out.

[Carryon]

All the more reason to make the most of today before the lights go out.

When you're gone, you won't know what you didn't do. But doing it today could be important to those who are important and survive you, and would know. It's a bad bet to believe this is a run-up for rewards in a second round.

[sixpack]

opinions, opinions.

[tinam7]

Isn't it a better bet on a sure thing, i.e., the here and now?

[sixpack]

Who is betting here?  Not me.  I'm living my life to the fullest.  Do you think atheists have the corner on the market for embracing all that the here and now has?  If so, then you are mistaken.  If you feel unburden by being an atheist, then fine that is your right.  Those of faith also have the right to choose God, don't they?  No matter how wrong or sad you may think they are.


Hawkings views on the afterlife really have no useful point here. It certainly wasn't posted for inspiration. 

[laa43]

opinions, opinions.

"...........like a**holes..........everyone has them......"

Who is betting here?  Not me.  I'm living my life to the fullest. Do you think atheists have the corner on the market for embracing all that the here and now has?  If so, then you are mistaken.  If you feel unburden by being an atheist, then fine that is your right.  Those of faith also have the right to choose God, don't they?  No matter how wrong or sad you may think they are.


Hawkings views on the afterlife really have no useful point here. It certainly wasn't posted for inspiration. 

succinct and perfectly put six!



Just more  from carryon in order to try and convince himself that there is nothing out there that could be more knowledgeable or powerful than himself.......or Steven Hawkings.

[crazygirl1]

 :laugh3:everyone has one....
but for those who choose not to believe, when the lights go out, they go out, now don't they? For those who choose to believe-I'll see ya there!

[camel]

http://www.thercg.org/books/dge.html?s_kwcid=TC|19911|evidence%20of%20god|www.anxietyzone.com|C||9263932441&gclid=CP-4xLr8nKoCFYcKtAodgmD7xQ#c

  

[sweetnspunky]

Thank you Camel! Very cool!

[tinam7]

Discussions about God and Religion will always attract my attention mainly because I have usually hidden in the closet as a non-believer out of fear. It simply feels good to be out of the closet.

What I seek is for history not to repeat itself which, in my view, is unlikely. The history of Religion and the loving God who so watches out for everyone leaves me terrified to this very day.

[Carryon]

Skeptics, doubters, and apostates read this forum. Inspiration is in the mind of the reader. It is not limited to notions of blind faith. 

[sixpack]

..

succinct and perfectly put six!

 

thank you laa

Hopefully folks will soon see the purpose of threads like these and they will opt not to play the game.

[Carryon]

Wow, he turned to Wagner with a few years to live; I'm presuming I have a long time left to live and even I'm torn about spending 8 hours of my life watching Der Ring Des Nibelungen.

Wagner is too heavy when pondering mathematics and physics.  Prefer Brahms or Scubert. Or Pink Floyd.