Texas state representative tweets jab at Stephen Hawking

A Texas state representative has drawn Twitter's ire after hundreds of people who interpreted a late night tweet as a stab against famed physicist Stephen Hawking. A Texas state representative has drawn Twitter's ire after hundreds of people who interpreted a late night tweet as a stab against famed physicist Stephen Hawking. Photo: Hoto By Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images For Breakthrough Initiatives Photo: Hoto By Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images For Breakthrough Initiatives Image 1 of / 47 Caption Close Texas state representative tweets jab at Stephen Hawking 1 / 47 Back to Gallery

A Texas state representative has drawn Twitter's ire after hundreds of people interpreted a late night tweet as a slight against famed physicist Stephen Hawking.

The tweet was sent by Rep. Briscoe Cain of District 128, which includes Baytown and Crosby, at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday, shortly after news broke that Hawking, 76, had died.

"Stephen Hawking now knows the truth about how the universe was actually made.

My condolences to his family," Cain tweeted.

The tweet has since collected more than 350 responses from people interpreting the message as an insult to the award-winning scientist and his lifelong quest to find the universe's origin. Hawking also once famously stated, "[T]here is no god. No one created our universe, and no one directs our fate."

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"It must hurt to be reminded that there are people who are remembered fondly by millions when they die, whereas no one will remember you at all," David Klion tweeted in response to Cain.

"What an embarrassment you are. Trolling someone at the time of their death is a sign of weakness no matter how you feel about them. You are a jerk," Roger Hutchison tweeted.

Cain spoke provided the following comment to Chron.com Wednesday afternoon regarding his tweet and the responses its received.

"Losing a loved one is never easy and I am sympathetic for his family's loss. My prayers are with them. Stephen Hawking was brilliant, many even called him one of the greatest public intellectuals of the last century, but the fact remains that God exists," Cain said. "My tweet was to show the gravity of the Gospel and what happens when we pass, namely, that we all will one day meet our Creator face to face. Though Hawking has long been a vocal atheist who advocated against and openly mocked God, I hope nothing but the best for his family and pray that he came to know faith before he passed."

Hawking published numerous books on physics, including "A Brief History of Time" and "The Universe in a Nutshell."

"God not only plays dice with the universe, but sometimes throws them where they can't be seen," Hawking once said, according to his obituary in the New York Times.

Fernando Alfonso III is a digital reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on twitter at @fernalfonso.