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Discuss harry's answer to: Bad science.

I'm often arguing about myths of religion. Though I am an atheist I won't outright state there is no God as it is impossible to disprove. I can however say with absolute certainty that the universe ...

harry Answered:

In the first chapter of Genesis, the God of the Bible uses the verb "created" at three different occasions in the sense of providing the raw material, the substance, the elements or the hardware which forms the storage medium of Nature considered as a computer. He used the verb "said" ten times to provide the commands which program the laws of nature needed for the evolution of the raw material, for as long as God keeps the program running. When God gave a soul to man, He gave him the freedom of reprogramming Nature, even his (man's) own nature. There is a fundamental difference between the scientific explanation of evolution within the framework of an existing World and an explanation of existence itself. Without the assumption of the necessary and absolute existence of the Creator no one ever provided a rational explnation of how this World and its laws arose and continue existing.

Posted 3 years ago

A clash of ideas is not a catastrophe, it is an opportunity. Only its constructive conclusions should be allowed to leave the academic framework.

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Physicalist

Dear Harry--Dr. Devil is a person who does not think absurd thoughts. Here is why you are wrong and Dr. Devil is right in being skeptical with a disinclination to believe the absurdities in the Bible. The problem is that religious people (like yourself) rely on the Bible. Where does that book discuss a soul? Even Jesus was resurrected bodily rather than by a soul. He was beamed up like in Star Trek. I would thus guess that was an invention of clergy at a later date.

The Bible is mistaken so much that it could not have been written by the omniscient person. The "holy scriptures" are wrong about 1) origin of the earth and universe, 2) origin of species (man), 3) claiming the earth is flat, 4) its claims that the sun revolved around the earth, 5) recognizing slavery as an acceptable practice (before Lincoln made that unethical), 5) relegating women to a lowly status, 5) using violence to enforce the Ten Commandments, 6) using infanticide to deal with recalcitrant children, 7) Using serial killings to deal with infidels, 8) claiming that knowledge is bad, 9) claiming that it is better to be poor than rich, and 10) performing miracles.

There are plenty of books out there about the evolution of culture, biology and even religion. That should address your final issue, Harry.

harry

Hi Physicalist, you made it abundantly clear that your vote goes to Dr. Devil and that of course makes him right and me wrong.

The point is that the Bible does not give a scientific account of what is meant by the words "God created" or "God said". These are the mysteries Science does not know anything about. Why does Nature behave in accordance with certain quantum mechanical and relativistic laws? Why are there quantum vacuum fluctuations? Why is there something rather than nothing? What ensures the continued existence of Nature and the Laws of Nature? What is consciousness? Of course consciousness is not chemical physics because we know for instance what electrochemistry is but there is nothing in that knowledge that tells us anything about consciousness. All these things are contingent and so is Science, totally non self-explanatory. They would not and could not exist without GOD, the absolute and necessary ground of all being. He gave you freedom, so that you can even deny Him, by giving you a soul as it is written: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7).

SteveB Thinks this answer is Not Helpful:

Who said? god exists, the Bible did.

Who knows if the Bible is a true account or just the makings of a Cult which existed thousands of years ago. Live for today and sort out the problems in a modern way. Do not dwell on ancient times. Life is a precious thing, Live it, it will soon be over, and most people will say, I wish I had done that. But I had other things to do! Shame on you.All. Argue and waste good living time. Not me, I'd rather read what other so called educated people have to say and then just get on with the life I was given and live it to the full. You shame the christian society with your undefined arguements. Who made GOD, that is what you should be finding out. Is God the same God as all other religions have or are we so stupid to have many gods who created this and that. Wake up and find that no one can answer the question as to who made God, Buddah, Allah, etc because no one knows. And never will now.

harry

To SteveB,

You simply did not understand my argument. Try to understand the difference between two statements of the Holy Bible: "I AM THAT I AM" and "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground..." before you return to dust.

Rocmike3

SteveB, living for today around atheists is simply not an option: it is more important to isolate and exclude them from all important issues because of their incompetence, immaturity, and lack of normal discipline.

That is why atheists failed. But it was not before they littered the world with these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_graves

harry

Hello Rocmike3, You may be right. Nevertheless atheism exists. So what is it in God's World? It gives us the flexibility of the freedom of choice. By believing only in Science, the atheist is as determined as any macroscopic object is detetmined by the laws of nature. Since the laws of nature are very cruel (tsunamis, earthquakes, diseases, death,...), to be an atheist is giving up hope. Alvin Plantinga believes that atheists suffer from cognitive malfunction. In my opinion, this malfunction probably arises from underdevelopment of the faculty of faith implanted in us by the Creator.