God did not create the universe and the "Big Bang" was an inevitable¹ consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent² British theoretical physicist³ Stephen Hawking⁴ argues in a new book.

英国著名理论物理学家史蒂芬·霍金在新书中称，上帝并没有创造宇宙，宇宙大爆炸理论是物理定律的必然结果。

In "The Grand Design," co-authored with US physicist Leonard Mlodinow, Hawking says a new series of theories made a creator of the universe redundant⁵（多余的，过剩的） , according to the Times newspaper which published extracts on Thursday.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist," Hawking writes.

"It is not necessary to invoke⁶（祈求） God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

Hawking, 68, who won global recognition with his 1988 book "A Brief History of Time," an account of the origins of the universe, is renowned⁷ for his work on black holes, cosmology（宇宙论） and quantum gravity.

Since 1974, the scientist has worked on marrying the two cornerstones of modern physics -- Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, which concerns gravity and large-scale phenomena⁸, and quantum theory, which covers subatomic particles（亚原子微粒） .

His latest comments suggest he has broken away from previous views he has expressed on religion. Previously⁹, he wrote that the laws of physics meant it was simply not necessary to believe that God had intervened in the Big Bang.

He wrote in A Brief History ... "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason -- for then we should know the mind of God."

Hawking, who is only able to speak through a computer-generated voice synthesizer, has a neuro muscular dystrophy（肌肉萎缩症） that has progressed over the years and left him almost completely paralyzed.

He began suffering the disease in his early 20s but went on to establish himself as one of the world's leading scientific authorities, and has also made guest appearances in "Star Trek¹⁰" and the cartoons "Futurama" and "The Simpsons."

“The Grand Design” is due to go on sale next week.