God did not create the universe, says Hawking

In a new book, entitled The Grand Design, famous physicist Stephen Hawking asserts that,

"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 invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going."

Of course, the first question that a Believer, such as myself, asks is - where did gravity come from? A cyclical, if not cynical, question from a non-believer may be - where did God come from?

I think the answer to that question is that God always was and always will be. I cannot imagine a beginning for God any more than I can imagine an end. I do believe that he set the universe going. The converse would be a very cold notion, devoid of that most precious thing: Love.