Stephen Hawking's simple response to being asked if he believed in God leaves people divided

Stephen Hawking made a name for himself as one of the world's smartest men, and with it, people tended to listen when he spoke out.

People have been trying to prove the existence of God since the beginning of time, and while there's little hard evidence out there, Hawking passed judgment on whether he thought there was some higher being sitting on a throne at the Pearly Gates.

Hawking spoke out on many issues, discussing everything from warnings for humanity to whether aliens are circling above us in UFOs.

The theoretical physicist and cosmologist tragically passed away at the age of 76 in 2018, leaving behind an impressive legacy.

Writing in his final book, Hawking opened up about whether he believed in God and whether that was a 'simple explanation' for his potential existence.

Writing in Brief Answers to the Big Question, Hawking shared his thoughts about God and religion as he said: "For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God.

Hawking was unconvinced by the existence of God (Bruno Vincent / Staff / Getty)

"Well, I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there, but I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature."

Saying that if you believe in science like he does, Hawking said you must believe in certain laws that will always be obeyed: "If you like, you can say the laws are the work of God, but that is more a definition of God than a proof of his existence."

He then went on to muse about life after death, telling readers: "We are each free to believe what we want, and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God.

"No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization, there’s probably no Heaven and no afterlife, either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that I am extremely grateful."

Hawking shared similar thoughts on the afterlife when speaking to The Guardian, telling the outlet: "I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."

When Hawking's thoughts were shared on Reddit, it sparked a typically intellectual but polarizing debate on the issue(s).

One person wrote: "Nature is random and science is our way to make sense of the random. Sometimes we get answers and sometimes we don’t. Random.

“It’s the journey into the unknown, the curiosity and the random, which has advanced humanity. Not dogma and fairytales."

Another added: "This reminds me of how my friend's Christian wife said that Stephen Hawking was unintelligent because he didn't believe in God."

A third concluded: "In my catholic high school, a teacher really droned on about Hawking’s ‘mind of God’ quote, giving us impressionable kids the idea that one of the world’s leading physicists had found evidence for God in the universe. To do so and not add that Hawking was an atheist and his ‘mind of God’ phrase was just a figure of speech was so dishonest."

We're left thinking of another iconic Hawking quote, as the man himself once said: "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist."