Imagining Stephen Hawking at the Pearly Gates

God tweeted yesterday, "It’s only been a few hours and Stephen Hawking already mathematically proved, to My face, that I don’t exist." from @thetweetofGod

Hilarious.

It got me to thinking. What might it have looked like when Stephen Hawking met God?

First a little background. Hawking's interviews in the late 1990s and early 2000s left room for the possibility of the existence of God. He never committed one way or the other. Then in the last few years, he either moved or became more explicit about his atheism. As far as I am aware, it was a calculated atheism.

In a Discovery Channel interview he seemed to make his position clear, "We are each free to believe what we want and it is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate."

What's interesting to me is that he clearly thought belief or lack of belief in God was a matter of faith, not of science.

So I wonder, from a Christian perspective, what might his death look like? I've come up with two possible scenes. I'm sure there are many other possibilities.

Scenario 1.

Hawking arrives in heaven and God is there.

"Ugh. I knew it. I knew it."

"What Stephen? What do you know?"

"I knew you were up here. I told people I don't believe in you. But I knew."

"Why did you tell people you don't believe?"

"I hate you. I don't want to believe in you."

"Why not?"

"Because my life has been so full of pain. Why did I get sick? Why didn't you heal me?"

"I love you, Stephen."

"Well, I don't love you. Leave me alone."

"I don't want to do that."

"Well, I want you to. Leave me."

"Sigh. I'm so sorry you feel this way."

"Well, I do. What do you expect me to feel?"

"Your mind is one of the most beautiful things I ever created."

"Just leave me."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. But know that I love you. I hate to let you go."

The END.

Scenario 2.

Hawking arrives in heaven and God is there.

"Stephen. Good to see you."

"What? Who is that? Who are you?"

"I'm God."

"What? No way. I didn't..."

"I know, Stephen."

"Uhhhh... are you mad?"

"No. I love you. Your insights into the world I created were amazing!"

"I feel so bad. I just didn't think...."

"I know."

"I thought the weight of the evidence was...."

"I know."

"I'm so sorry."
"I know. I forgive you. Would you like to sit down. I want you to understand some things."

"Yes."

The BEGINNING.