The Religion Discussion Thread

[SuburbanFarmer]

How many Planck time units have elapsed since the Big Bang?

Do any of you reckon that is a big number?

The A. Squares of the world, spinning around and waving their stick arms around are sort of amusing, at least.

I don't get the A. Square thing. Source?

Just had the first pint of the evening and feeling charitable:

Ummm. Ok.

[Speaker to Animals]

I don't get it. Cheesejizz?

[Fife]

I don't get it. Cheesejizz?

This is a terrible place.

[LVH2]

Thinks like, "there must have been a first cause" are probably more arguments from the structure of our thinking and language than actual logic. Logic alone doesn't really do that well when trying to prove that things exist.

I'm not sure a prime mover really solves the problem because where did he come from? "Oh, he came from nowhere. He's the prime mover." Ok, the universe came from nowhere. "No, only MY thing can come from nowhere." Why? "Because that's part of its definition." Word games.

Maybe the universe has been boom and busting forever. Maybe there have always been quantum fluctuations creating bubbles in the multiverse, etc. I don't really understand it, I'll admit.

And it's pretty arrogant to be like, "theoretical physicists with 180 IQs are all just in denial or don't understand logic, yadda, yadda." "Only the people who make the youtube videos I watch all day can see the entire truth of everything."

It's also sort of a wonky position to say, "I completely understand everything about the material world," but then whenever someone pokes your religion with a stick, you say, "how arrogant, to assume you can have understanding of how God works."

Perhaps most importantly, if you believe God to be the omniscient point of origin for the whole universe, it strikes me as much more of a problem for standard religions than a, let's say, secular world view. Why would such a god be anything more than Spinoza's or maybe the deist god? Outside of time and space, (how does it touch time and space?) unchanging, more of a force like gravity.

Certainly not changing his mind, filled with emotions, visiting us, etc. unless that is all a puppet show he made for some reason. But if you tell the pope or an orthodox Jew or Muslim, "obviously, all the prophets and stuff were just kind of a puppet show put on for some reason," I don't think they'll be happy with that.

If you went to a secularist and said, "there is some ineffable force that kicked everything off in an instant an then never did anything again, and if you look into this box you will know this with 100% certainty," then they looked in the box and it was true, I don't know how much really changes for them. They're certainly not going to be like, "oh shit, I'd better mutilate my penis and outlaw homosexuality!"

[Ph64]

To blather then I go. The argument typically used to counter the totally valid question of who caused the first cause is that time is a part of the universe. Whatever caused the universe must be outside (or have been outside) the universe, so it would not have been affected by time, which it created. If one accepts that resoning, problem solved. If not, you do still have quite the conundrum.

What evidence do you have that the first cause must be sentient?

Because randomness is scary.

Ah, GCF channeling his inner Carlin, because were inherently averse to randomness, we'd much rather believe there's some nefarious (or not) cabal in charge and that a plane won't just fall on your house tomorrow... (BfA)

[Montegriffo]

Complete with God back guarantee...

“College costs money- a lot. Yet education in itself is not of much value. For example, we can look to the general public's almost complete disregard for anything that educated people have to say about global warming, shrinking oil reserves, pollution, or the threat of nuclear annihilation. But if all this is true, why does something as worthless as a college diploma cost so much money?”

― Bobby Henderson from the gospels of the FSM.

[SuburbanFarmer]

“College costs money- a lot. Yet education in itself is not of much value. For example, we can look to the general public's almost complete disregard for anything that educated people have to say about global warming, shrinking oil reserves, pollution, or the threat of nuclear annihilation. But if all this is true, why does something as worthless as a college diploma cost so much money?”

― Bobby Henderson from the gospels of the FSM.

Wise words.

[Montegriffo]

“College costs money- a lot. Yet education in itself is not of much value. For example, we can look to the general public's almost complete disregard for anything that educated people have to say about global warming, shrinking oil reserves, pollution, or the threat of nuclear annihilation. But if all this is true, why does something as worthless as a college diploma cost so much money?”

― Bobby Henderson from the gospels of the FSM.

Wise words.

Let his noodly appendages touch you brother. Foresake your impasta the Dude and try our 30 day trial which comes with a God back guarantee if not 100% satisfied.

[SuburbanFarmer]

― Bobby Henderson from the gospels of the FSM.

Wise words.

Let his noodly appendages touch you brother. Foresake your impasta the Dude and try our 30 day trial which comes with a God back guarantee if not 100% satisfied.

Sorry, brother, but to forsake the Dude would be, like, not cool at all. In his Dudeness we abide.

Have a White Russian, and take a load off man.

[Montegriffo]

Wise words.

Let his noodly appendages touch you brother. Foresake your impasta the Dude and try our 30 day trial which comes with a God back guarantee if not 100% satisfied.

Sorry, brother, but to forsake the Dude would be, like, not cool at all. In his Dudeness we abide.

Have a White Russian, and take a load off man.

Only those who follow HIM will ascend to heaven and get to see the beauty of the beer volcano and the stripper factory.
Plus everyone else of course for we are an inclusive religion.