Some opinions of someone recently passed on... FAITH “Faith is something that one has or doesn't have; one doesn't construct it. The one thing I do believe is that of all the possible views of God, atheism is the least plausible. The idea that there's no meaning or purpose or origin--that the Universe is as it always was, is to me entirely implausible for reasons of physics, apart from faith. Because if you reason back to first causes, and if you’re an atheist, you get to a logical contradiction.” AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM “America is the only country ever founded on an idea. The only country that is not founded on race or even common history. It's founded on an idea and the idea is liberty. That is probably the rarest phenomena in the political history of the world; this has never happened before. And not only has it happened, but it's worked. We are the most flourishing, the most powerful, most influential country on Earth with this system, invented by the greatest political geniuses probably in human history.” The wisdom of Charles Krauthammer
That's not a fair assessment at all. Science does not claim to have the answer to everything, it applies theoretical constructs in order to help determine possible outcomes. One such theory is that the origin of all matter happened in one instant, and some astrophysicists hypothesize everything in existence was condensed down to the size of a marble. The evidence we have to support any of this can be found by studying the expanding universe and Hubble's Law. Also for consideration, we are comprised, our human bodies, of some of the very same basic elements found in a Star. I guess you can say that we are "star stuff", and we've always been a part of this universe. Have you ever thought that we are all one consciousness, broken apart into countless fragments, and like this perpetually expanding cosmos, we are attempting to understand? Maybe it was boring being everything at once. Maybe we decided that we had to expand, to break apart into many trillions of pieces in order to learn. You say "God", I say "Us". But, there is no "you" just as there is no "I", so does it really matter? As for Atheists, I cannot speak for them, nor would I presume to understand every person's beliefs. We're not all cut from the same "cloth", we do not all belong to some "club" or meet every week to compare outfits in some massive stone building which was erected from the coffers of generous donations. That's the skinny I'm quite certain most religious types who fixate on Atheists just don't quite get -we're people, too. So what, we may not believe in some supernatural, omnipotent being. We can still compare footnotes and facts based on the scientific process. I like to think that we can find a common ground, and this leaves room for either party to be "right", because there's still much to explore out there. Basically, what I am saying is that we do not need to cut the other group down in an attempt to gain support for our own cause. Religion is religion, science is science, and atheism is having no belief in God. This "logical contradiction" you mentioned isn't really a contradiction at all. Nobody in the scientific community is claiming to "know" that which is unknown. Therefore, no contradiction even exists in the first place. As for Atheists, again there cannot be a contradiction if there is no positive idea or concept to contradict the religious narrative. Atheism simply accepts that there is no God, and it is the religious crowd who insists there is a divine entity who created everything. Humans are unique in the way they tend to seek answers to riddles, and it is the essence of discovery, this incredible fascination to learn which inspires many to carve out a new finding and explore in the hopes to lay to rest this insatiable itch. But, for the devoutly religious, they already have their minds made up. Correct me if I am wrong, but to me this is the sign that progress has already ended. Thus, which is more contradictory? Would it be the Atheist who continues to seek answers and dispel myths along the way, or the religious minded who already is convinced he is right? I guess only time will tell.
"of all the possible views of God, atheism is the least plausible." So what ARE all the other views ?
Pantheism, deism, monotheism, polytheism, animism, agnosticism, apatheism, etc etc etc....oh and Trumpeism (the mistaken belief that Donald is god)
Humans have been speculating on the existence of god or gods since the dawn of civilization. When people observe unexplainable oddities there is a natural tendancy to just attribute it to a higher power. Call it a mammalian defect, a copout, an explanation for the unexplainable. But a god's existence is itself, unknowable. So much time and effort is devoted to the study of religion when in reality it really doesn't make any difference whether there is or is not a god. It certainly can't be changed. What should humans do differently in either case? At best, religion is a harmless belief that provides succor for the fearful. But it can also be self destructive since it relies on faith and prayer at the exact time that real action is required. At its worst it is destructive, terrifying and murderous.
Even if it all came from one Big Bang, what happen right before that? Nobody did anything to create everything from nothing? Come on, this is not a fairy tale. You know from your own experience that does not happen. Never has, and never will. If I am wrong, give me an example of spontaneous creation, something from nothing.
Physicists have proven the the very choice of whether something is matter or energy is dependent upon the presence of an intelligent observer. Since the universe is here and stable, I can only interpret that there is an all seeing intelligent observer out there watching over it. Myself, I call that being: God.
Physicists have found that the closer they "look" at matter the less there is to "see". Matter seems to be more a probability that something (whatever that is) is there at any given point of time (whatever that is) but what it is is vanishingly small, and the better our tools and techniques the smaller it becomes. I believe they will eventually come to the conclusion that matter doesn't exist, but that it is merely the result if the interactions at the intersections of forces, some of which we have yet to identify. If so, the physical universe is effectively the result of a TV like raster scan made up of these forces and exists every bit as much as the image formed on your TV. Seems pretty damned real until the thing gets turned off or you need a bathroom break. I suspect the eventual commercial will be atrocious, but without the hand/mind/will of God all we would get would be static and white noise. Enjoy the show. The movie is long, but like La La Land and anything staring Glenn Close it will eventually (to everyone's relief) be over and you may then resume your spiritual existence in the real world.
I know God is real ,not by hearsay, but by practice and a living relationship . I do not manipulate God to get what I want ,I cooperate with God to accomplish what He wants and I get blessed, oft times with the things I need as a result . There is a lot about this world that is a mystery, it's past and it's future ,neither of which have I any control except that of my own life an those I might influence and better their lives . But if a person has chosen that his best avenue of life is one with no hope ,and made it clear it is his determined choice, who am I to argue with him ? I may try to delay a man from jumping off a cliff ,but if he's determined, I've only delayed the inevitable. I have rescued a few in my life time with positive result, but not all . Facts of life are , something that is true continued to be true, if evolution was true it would continue to happen . All that seems to be changing is creation is deteriorating . God however continues to intervene in the lives of those the love Him, often defying medicine and science in the process . I am mature enough to know the mind has many capabilities, and I am also mature enough to know that there is more to life than what can be seen and felt with natural senses . I am pretty sure I know the difference between coincidence and intervention. I am personally forced by their frequency to seriously examine the cause and effect of many of the events intersecting in my life. I encourage other of faith to closely examine their experiences not to create doubt but to prove the events origin. .
I just go with the flow. If there is a God I’m guessing I’ve been a decent enough fella that he/she will want me upstairs. If there’s nothing I’ll be ok too. That makes me 2/3rds in the clear, 1/3rd unsure.
That will usually get you a return ticket so you have to do everything all over again. You might come back as a ...gasp... Democrat....
If anyone sees me walking around as a democrat, please do the right thing and put me down before I embarrass my family.
