|
|
#282
10-26-2004, 08:16 PM
|
|||
|
|||
Re: Can God....
[ QUOTE ]
come up with two positive integers such that when you cube each and add them up, you get the cube of a third integer? [/ QUOTE ] God can do anything, cause he's a giant gaseous vertabrae. 
|
|
#283
11-02-2004, 11:36 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: the opinion of a 19 year old jackass
[ QUOTE ]
If the athiest is right, the persons beliefs are irrelivent and they will rot no matter what. But if the religious persons belief is correct the advantage of keeping that belief would be huge. (wouldnt it be something like having to catch two to a flush to win, but no one made you pay for it. Your odds of winning may be small, but why would you fold?) [/ QUOTE ] To make your backdoor-flush-draw analogy applicable, there'd have to be thousands of different types of draws (as there thousands of religions), and part of the problem in deciding which one to draw to, or even whether to draw at all, is that there's no good evidence about what hands rank higher than others. For example, a folded hand might actually beat a flush. We don't know. Or maybe a spade flush is harmless, but hitting a diamond flush sends you to a worse Hell than folding would have. It reminds one of this marvelous quote from Terry Pratchett: <font color="blue">God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of the players (i.e., everybody), to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who smiles all the time. -- Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett</font> Or to discard the poker analogy and put things in simpler terms, your argument applies equally well to Quitzalcoatl as it does to Yahweh -- and to Baal, Odin, Jupiter, U-dimmer-an-kia, Ashtoreth, and to thousands of other gods. Are you going to worship all of them -- just in case? See, infinite pot odds do you no good if there are infinite draws out there and you don't know which one(s) beat a folded hand, if any.
|
|
#284
11-03-2004, 09:49 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: the opinion of a 19 year old jackass
Maurile, what you just said is akin to me saying,
"well, any theory of biology is just as good as another"-- I'm ashamed of you--a scientist! lol I get an impression of you via your posts that you have a real heart for truth, that you're very smart, and that you're a careful researcher with high standards. As my Mom once said, "Even if all roads DO lead to Rome, if you try to follow every road, YOU AIN'T NEVER GONNA GET THERE!" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I believe that the case for Christianity is much stronger, and better documented, and better verified that any other religion on the planet. Here you have an unknown Jew from a small town who only had an active ministry of 3 1/2 years, and yet He is now the colossus of Western civilization! There are eyewitness accounts of him raising the dead, healing the sick, turning water into wine, stilling storms..what in the way of a Divine Seal of Approval would you want? As far away as China, there are records of the darkness that was reported during the Crucifixion. Then to top all that off--He rose from the dead! This is UNPRECEDENTED in history, UNIQUE. Islam fulminates against him even in their prayers, and yet their own "prophet" couldn't reproduce any of the miracles of Jesus. The witness of his works is the Bible, particularly the New Testament. This is a book, alone among all holy books in the world, which makes CONSISTENT and ACCURATE predictions of events hundreds (sometimes thousands) of years in the future. In a spirit of scientific investigation, I think you owe yourself a good search into it. The best part is that it will prove itself to you--in your own heart in mind, in your own direct experience-- if you let it. Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE". So he's laid claim to being the road to God above all others. He also says He is the Truth. That is why I can freely investigate what science says--and not fear losing my Faith. Why should I fear the truth? He IS the Truth, so we can only find out more about Him in science [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] If I have to change my mind about certain things--that's MY problem, not his! lol He's the Life. You're a Life scientist--I think you'd like each other. God says His Creation speaks of Him--you especially are in a position to appreciate the infinite variety of life here. From snowflakes to men--NO TWO ALIKE! God LOVES variety--He's never boring! And best of all, He knows and loves YOU.
|
|
#285
11-03-2004, 11:30 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: the opinion of a 19 year old jackass
[ QUOTE ]
I believe that the case for Christianity is much stronger, and better documented, and better verified that any other religion on the planet. [/ QUOTE ] Fine, but I was responding to KungFuSandwich's post, and his argument for belief had nothing to do with Christianity being better verified than other religions. His argument for belief was merely a version of Pascal's Wager. That's the argument I was refuting. Nothing more.
|
|
#287
11-05-2004, 05:16 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: The Bible on David Sklansky
The syndrome you mentioned is called Neglect Syndrome. It caused when part of the parietal lobe is damaged by a stroke or other injury. The person is incapable of believing that the left or right side of their body belongs to them. Similarly they don't believe that objects on that side of the body exist.
They will do odd things like only eat the food on half the plate or shave/apply make-up to one side of their face. They may very well still continue to walk even though they will deny that one of their legs exists. As far as the can god questions goes... I think a better question is can God create a fire escape plan that saves more than 1/3 of the occupants of a building? I.E. Why is it that no religion is dominant? All civilizations are pretty much in agreement in matters of math and science, but different civilizations have come to extremely different concepts of theology.
|
|
#288
03-09-2005, 09:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: Can God....
"God's integers don't have to conform to your needs."
|
|
#289
03-10-2005, 12:01 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: Can God....
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Does this mean that God can come up with two even numbers that add up to an odd one. Or two positive numbers that add up to a number smaller than either of the first two? I'm pretty sure it has to mean this. [/ QUOTE ] Does it also mean that god can cause himself never to have existed in the first place? chez [/ QUOTE ] ...or trick really "smart" people into believing such?
|
|
#290
03-10-2005, 12:11 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Re: Can God....
Stick to gambling....
But, here's an EV question for you. Suppose there is a 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000001% chance that god exists. All those that do not acknowledge his existence go to a burning inferno for all eternity. All those that believe live an eternity enjoying their greatest pleasures. If there turns out to not be a God, the believers will not have a chance to be upset by this fact. Couple this with the fact that organized religion helps people to cope with life's failures and tragedies and thus, in the long run, acknowledging the existence of God is must be +EV. But, David, stick to gambling. Lecture on things you know.
|
 |
|
|
Linear Mode
