Stephen Hawking's view of Heaven: A response

[roryscanlon]

interesting. reminds me that Genesis says God separated the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.

[pepperjack8]

Even Jesus said heaven does not exist in the sense we can understand. He did not go further into explanation because no one will understand it.

Nobel prize winner in quantum mechanic will tell you he does not understand quantum mechanic very well, and one understand it. So how could anyone understand heaven that we can't even experiment with. No one understand it.

It is ok to talk about and expand our faith in positive way.

[ffxme]

Funny how they call it a center for Reason, lol.

[archdtaylor]

Sounds like his definition of heaven is similar to the Twilight Zone.

[apalcantarajr2003]

We cannot disregard Prof. Hawking's view creation.. Bible is a self claiming reality.. near death expirience can be viewed as brain activity during clinical death since part of it still functioning.. unless supernatural has substantial evidences then this claim can be considered valid...

[m1chae15]

I've found, with rare exception, that people who claim they aren't afraid of death are those who haven't really become acquainted.

Then you get the types that keep trying to prove that they aren't by incessant and escalating risk taking, which only proves courage at best, which requires fear.

Regardless, how do you really know that you aren't afraid of death if you haven't died?

If Atheists are correct, how will anyone ever know? Near death is just that, near, not dead

Goose and gander.

[joe744]

what does hawkings thinks about jesuschrist..all BS for him that bible lol

[misterD418]

Here is a philosophical argument I picked up from Dr. Peter Kreeft

watch?v=S2Mo99Rtur4

[333derick333]

i would like to ask why is the fear of death mentioned by many theists but I and many atheists do not have this fear, we have the fear of the pain that comes before death but not death its self

is it simply that you do not feel that good a christian as you should, that you may fall away from the path or that you are on the wrong path after all there are many. i oftern wonder about this as it seems odd that good god fearing people of all faiths have his stress and worry about the afterlife

[WorldMoment1]

"Proof" of God can be found in Astrophysics, see modules 1-12 at the Magis reason faith dot or g. So, would God make us and then lie to us about Heaven?? I don't think so.

[piglatin46]

Lots of well thought out comments. Why wont anybody debate Spitzer?

[Supspoon26]

I always enjoy when someone describes heaven as thou they know it`s rules and guid lines. Then use these fairy tale laws as an explnation for why our proven laws of nature don`t apply to heaven.

[jl4e23]

Neurologist Dr. Bruce Greyson of the University of Virginia said the experiment does not necessarily prove that all OBEs are illusions. He said it is possible that some OBEs occur in different ways than the scientists suspect.

"We cannot assume from the fact that electrical stimulation of the brain can induce OBE-like illusions that all OBEs are therefore illusions," replied University of Virginia neurologist Dr. Bruce Greyson.

[Nodelusionnow]

(contd 3) in number. The human brain is capable of immense fabrication and confabulation. Finally, this whole "fear of death" argument that you like is specious at best. Psychotics often do not fear death. Finally, even Bruce Greyson, NDE researcher has found that stimulation of the angular gyrus in the brain DUPLICATES NDE's. To use NDE data as an argument for human survival after death is unwarranted, uncompelling, and deceptive. CAVEAT EMPTOR on this video.

[Nodelusionnow]

Exactly the same types of experiences can be induced by rapid acceleration, ketamine, DMT, or LSD. The fact that not all people near death experience NDE's means nothing b/c each situation is different and we are all genetically diverse. There is no perfect comparative control. So-called OBE's are common in delusional patients. Attempts at controlled replications of your "veridical" results have FAILED MISERABLY. Check the data!!! The blindsight studies that you cite are very few (contd)

[Nodelusionnow]

No one has ever documented a "thought" in a being without a living brain. The idea of a "thought" as you describe is ridiculous. In addition, what you forget is that YOU make the claim of the existence of a heaven. That is an extraordinary claim and DEMANDS extraordinary evidence. NDE's are NOT good evidence. If I were you, I certainly would not rely on those data The controls are NOT excellent. NDE's are far more likely to be unusual firings of neurons in the oxygen deprived brain (contd)

[influenztial]

owling, you're doing it right,

[Gaius8666a]

Great video.  Thanks for posting.

[MikaelMikkelsen]

The center of "Reason" and "Faith??? Oxymoron, and this guy is just a moron

[TheIconodule]

@MikaelMikkelsen No, but evidently someone is.

[msumerton]

@MikaelMikkelsen Faith and Reason go hand in hand as they both inform the other. Acquire some wisdom and this will become evident. Try Chesterton, Aquinas, Augustine, Kreeft, etc.

[mbricknr]

You say that that 'the soul, seems to survive bodily death.' Yet critical thinkers will realize that the only way these 'veridical experiences' can be reported is if the person survives to verify their claims. Therefore, all that we can be certain of is that this person experienced some form of an altered state. The whole, must be god, assertion you make is entirely baseless.

[mbricknr]

Holy sudo science! This veridical experience stuff in nonsense and proof of nothing.

[mbricknr]

Yeah, he's a physicist, but you are a priest!

[TheisticThinker]

@mbricknr Yeah, then adding a Master Degree in Theology and a PhD in Philosophy...

[mbricknr]

@TheisticThinker Doesn't that just mean he's spent a lot of time justifying his cognitive dissonance? There really isn't anything scientific about either Theology or Philosophy, yet here he is trying to justify religious thinking in a scientific manor. It doesn't work.

[wbarquez]

Like Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking should stop making statements outside his area of competence.  Physics could reveal to us how the heavens go, but it cannot reveal to us if Heaven exists.

[Mystagogia87]

How would you respond to somebody who says this: A person who has a near death experience who makes a prediction (e.g. where their dentures are) has a low chance of being right, maybe 1/1000. But you take many of these anecdotes (millions of people have NDEs) and by chance, people are right a very small percentage of the time, purely by chance, and over time the anecdotes pile up and it just LOOKS impressive... We need to know how OFTEN they're right...is it more than we'd expect by chance?

[jhohng]

heaven is not a physical,, but rather another thought in the mind of God like the universe as the joy experienced by the proof presented near death experiences in the experiment ;-))

[uys13]

You sort of said offhandedly that along with being clinically dead and still experiencing consciousness they also experience something akin to heaven as well. Perhaps you should make another video that explains this relationship a little more clearly. One thing I'd like to know is if peoples' near death experiences or NEDs relate to theology or Christianity in anyway. I'd also like to know if these serve as evidence for religion in general or Christianity in particular.

[uys13]

I'd say using near death experiences as evidence for heaven is a bit of a stretch but that stuff does happen. I think it's too early to say definitively that those people are experiencing something akin to an afterlife but even at this early stage I'll have to say the evidence is compelling.

Also in your rebuttal to Hawking you made quite the case for life after death but your case for Heaven was lacking.