Did the universe create itself?

Stephen Hawking’s new book 'the Grand Design' has hit the headlines.  He claims the laws of physics explain how the universe came into being. The Big Bang, he says, was inevitable, for because of these laws (such as gravity) 'the universe can and will create itself from nothing.'This is manifest nonsense and is an example of how: “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1, 53:1).  This verse goes on to explain why an intelligent man will embrace a foolish philosophy that rejects God: “They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”  Man wants to free himself from God’s restraint, so that he can be his own god and do what he wants, rather than what God commands.

Some key points to help you think straight in these issues:
*There is nothing contradictory between true Science and true Faith.   God’s Word and God’s world both reveal the truth of our Creator.  Science explores this world and by observation
reveals the laws of nature. But these laws are merely a description of how the universe works.
The fact they exist and their beauty and consistency point to an intelligent, Divine Creator.
However, these laws can’t be used to explain how the universe came into existance, because they are part of the Universe.  The laws of physics could never have built the universe. Hawkings confuses law with agency. Some agency must have been involved in creating the world. The laws of physics can explain how the jet engine works, but someone still had to build it.  

*There are two different fundamental issues: *1. How does the universe work? (its LAWS) and *2. How did it come to exist in the first place? (its ORIGIN).  While science can provide direct answers to *1. By definition it cannot directly answer the ORIGIN issue, because it is beyond our ability to OBSERVE this event.  To do this requires standing outside space-time. Hawking makes a logical blunder by claiming that science or laws can explain the existance of the universe. In any case, how do you explain the laws?    How did they come to exist?

*The scientific study of the universe tells us about its nature, which points us to a true idea of how it began.  Atheistic philosophers desired the universe to be eternal, for if it had a beginning there must be a Creator.  If there was originally literally nothing, then by definition nothing comes from nothing.  To say something came from nothingness is nonsense. There must be someone who created something from nothing!  Then 50 years ago, it became clear that the universe did have a beginning (as is also required by the laws of thermodynamics).  This confirmed the claim of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and earth.”  But man still tried to escape this inevitable conclusion.

*The evidence of purposeful design of the universe continued to build.  We now know the laws of the universe and the various constants of physics (as well as our local environment in the solar system) are FINE TUNED for life to exist. If there is even a tiny variation in the way this are life would be impossible.  This clearly points to a Designer (God).  The only way atheists can escape the obvious conclusion of God’s existence as First Cause is to propose a MULTI-VERSE - not only did  this universe accidently come into being from nothing, but an infinite number of such universes did, and we just happen to live in the one that supports life!  People will believe anything to avoid believing in God!