OT- RIP Stephen Hawking

Submitted by 615Wolverine on
Title says it all, a great man, may he Rest In Peace.

StephenRKass

March 14th, 2018 at 12:50 AM ^

Hawkings was truly brilliant.

One thing:  what if he ends up being correct (no God, no spiritual world. He is an atheist), If he is correct, then he is definitely at peace. There is no more Hawking there at all.

carolina blue

March 14th, 2018 at 8:07 AM ^

Atheists generally don’t go to heaven. Since we weren’t there moments before he died there is a non-zero probability he truly repented before he passed, but based on his life’s message and continued denigration of theists, I am making a reasonable guess that didn’t happen. I truly hope he did, as I wish all would make it there. Sadly that’s just not the case for all and The evidence is pretty clear that he is extremely unlikely to have done so.

PopeLando

March 14th, 2018 at 8:31 AM ^

Lol very clear. We defiinitely know, based on all the people we've met who have gone to heaven and a seen no atheists there, that atheists don't go to heaven.

Furthermore, evidence suggests that we as humans, and especially those of us who enjoy proclaiming who does/doesn't get into heaven, are really good at knowing how God (or whomever) judges good/bad/worthy/unworthy.

The evidence is just too strong. Conclusion is clear.

[I expect this conversation will eventually get nuked]

carolina blue

March 14th, 2018 at 8:47 AM ^

Heaven is a religious entity, at least originally. It had since been adopted and changed by other theilogies. The “rules” for getting into heaven are constructed from the Bible and are quite clear. I’m not judging him, I’m saying based on what he has said and based on the rules set forth in the Bible, which is the only authority we have for how God makes decisions on who gets in, then it’s fairly clear.

VicTorious1

March 14th, 2018 at 8:59 AM ^

He didn't make it there along with all the various sects of believers who incorrectly chose the wrong faith to follow. You're an atheist when it comes to all faiths but your chosen one. You're just as likely to be wrong. You might want to ask Mohammed, Zeus, Vishnu, Joseph Smith, etc all for forgiveness because you may have hitched your horse to the wrong deity. Nevertheless, I'm sure Hawking is just fine.

carolina blue

March 14th, 2018 at 9:07 AM ^

I fully entertain the fact I may be wrong. My main point is that Heaven is a Christian entity. Other religions define the afterlife differently, and the ways to get in to those are different. But Heaven’s rules are pretty clear. If I’m wrong and he’s in some other afterlife, then fine. But as far as Heavens concerned, he’s not likely there. That’s all I’m saying.

Space Bat

March 14th, 2018 at 9:19 AM ^

Seems like there'd be a lot of fun people to hang out with in hell-- I wouldn't be complaning.

I'm happy for Carolina Blue though, it must be hard to choose the correct religion after taking the time to survey the thousands that have existed in human history. The guy really put his work in.

SWFLWolverine

March 14th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^

That is a Catholic teaching, not a biblical one.

Biblical teaching leans towards age of accountability. King David stated that his dead infant child, the son of Bathsheba, could not come to him, but will go to his son. From that comes the teaching of the age of accountability....though to be fair, the bible does not specifically address that teaching either. 

Tex_Ind_Blue

March 14th, 2018 at 1:32 PM ^

I used to think that all religions define afterlife as a prize (heaven) and a punishment (hell) based on all the things one does in life. But thinking a bit more, you seem to be right. It's quite possible that the Heaven and Hell as commonly discussed is a construct of the Abrahamic religions only. 

Interesting line of thinking following from there. Most communities around the world do define the afterlife differently than a prize and punishment.

Thanks for sharing your thought. 

JFW

March 14th, 2018 at 9:24 AM ^

"I’m saying based on what he has said and based on the rules set forth in the Bible, which is the only authority we have for how God makes decisions on who gets in"

 

Coming from a Catholic perspective, that isn't true. We also have the tradition and authority of the Church. I respect that your viewpoint may be different. 

But for us, we can judge no man's heart, particularly at the time of death. IIRC the Church has *never* said anyone is in hell, even Judas (though the betting line there is more solid...) just who is in heaven (saints). 

Dismus (sp?) made it in at the last minute. And of course there is irresistable ignorance. If the man wasn't gifted with faith in his life he might be given grace at the end enough to attain a baptism of desire. 

I for my part hope for his salvation, and will pray for his soul. 

But again, this is from a Catholic viewpoint. YMMV. 

He was a great man, and an amazing scientist, and I honor all his achievements. 

 

carolina blue

March 14th, 2018 at 9:35 AM ^

He may have made it, and I say so above. As I previous stated, I’m not judging him. We truly don’t know for sure, im saying it’s more than likely he didn’t based on his own statements and atheism. I also said above that, if he truly repented, which I pray he did and is possible he did, then he may very well be there.

Les Miles

March 14th, 2018 at 9:53 AM ^

I bet the Pope declares Hawking is in heaven any minute now to lap up some good press. Honestly if there is a higher power we should all be grateful for the miracle that Hawking was able yo live so many years with ALS, a disease that kills almost all who get it within 5 years.

spiff

March 14th, 2018 at 8:30 AM ^

I'm pretty sure Christians believe that to get into Heaven you have to, you know, belive in Jesus.

But if you have another conception of a 'good' afterlife (Christian or otherwise) that has other entrance requirements, then he may very well be there. But I don't think non-believers can get in just because there were a 'good person' here on earth.

4roses

March 14th, 2018 at 8:46 AM ^

First off, kudos to the board for engaging in a civil, open discussion of a religious topic. Not saying I want this site to have more of it, just noting that any civil discourse is a breath of fresh air. Anyway. . . just want to state that not all Christians think that you need to "believe in Jesus" to get into Heaven (and I am assuiming that you are defining "believe" to mean more than just recognizing that there was a living person whose life is recapped in the Bible). Belief in Jesus is certainly the most common belief amongst Christians and something that is taught by the majority of Christian religious leaders, but there are plenty of Christians that recognize a path to heaven for those that do not have this same belief.  

spiff

March 14th, 2018 at 9:39 AM ^

They may recognize an alternate path, but is that supported by biblical scripture? Not being argumentative, just curious. I feel like I remember you had to at a mimum accept Jesus as your savior. I think he's quoted as saying that. Not sure though.

 

Coming up with alternate paths that don't jive with what is laid out in their own rule book seems like a coping mechanism to avoid the fact that lots of 'good people' wouldn't get into Heaven.

o0MaizeNBlue0o

March 14th, 2018 at 5:07 PM ^

I appreciate the civil discussion too. 



Jesus' claims as "the way to heaven" were pretty exclusive.  John 10:9, John 14:6, etc.  This angers alot of people. But if the Bible is authoritative, I'm not sure it leaves room for another "path" to heaven apart from Jesus. 



Which leads to many questions...



What about those who have never heard about Jesus...

What about those who lived before Jesus lived...

What is so special about Jesus that he made this claim...

What if the Bible is not really authoritative... 

How does someone arrive at knowing absolute truth?



Just some thoughts...

carolina blue

March 14th, 2018 at 9:00 AM ^

The point is not whether he was a good or bad person. The idea of afterlife certainly isn’t new or unique to Christianity. The specific afterlife of Kingdom of Heaven, however, is Biblical. The rules for getting into heaven are, therefore, necessarily defined by the Bible.