silly

August 1st, 2008

Discussion (18)¬

  3. I know the answer! “because he is the alpha and the omega!”

    … seriously when theists tell me that line on the internet (and they are not joking) I just want to shake them out of their stupidity.

  4. I’m sure many of us remember being raised on such pap. All I wanted to know was What is nothing? and Where did God come from? Kept me awake nights. Now all I want is to live long enough to see some elegant, verfiable Unification Theory.

    Non-thanks to the theists and other superstitious folk for their enormous contribution to the dumbing of America

    Poor Richard says, “As long as we’re at it, let’s believe that God holds the universe together with rubber bands and staples.”

  5. I think the anthropic principle comes into play here. If there were nothing, we just wouldn’t be here pondering. The only reason we can ask those questions is that there is something in the first place.

    (Or something like that. Don’t take my word for that definition of anthropic principle. I need to get a shirt which says “citation needed.”)

  6. I love barmaid’s question.

    My brother and I recently met through email for a theological battle of wits. He opened his attack with Pascal’s Wager which was easily refuted. Then he attacked with the standard ID question: “how do you think we got here? It couldn’t have been by accident.”

    I countered that with, “why not? Given an infinite number of universes, coming and going—energy reconstituting in one form or another in each, one is bound to get it right eventually. You might call it the “law of diminishing improbabilities.” :>

    He had no counter to that, so we switched to politics. It was all so much fun for me. He got pissed!

  8. My unabashed, thoroughly acknowledged ignorance of the many things I don’t know is the atheistic attribute of which I’m proudest.

  9. Asking “why” presupposes that there is a “why”. If there’s no god then there’s no why. Simple really.

  10. I dated a logician who always told me that “why?” is the wrong question to ask, but rather “how?” is the right question to ask.

    He was a bit of a jerk, but I did think he had a point.

  12. Why is “why” the wrong question? Intuitively I feel that’s correct, but I can’t articulate… why.

  13. How is ‘why’ the wrong question? (It’s not. It’s the right question.)
    Why is ‘how’ the right question? (It’s not. It’s the wrong question.)

  14. MrGronk and Carolita are correct I think.

    Why: For what purpose, reason, or cause; with what intention, justification, or motive

    How: 1. In what manner or way; by what means

    From http://www.thefreedictionary.com

    ‘How’ is a question about the mechanism or the process. ‘Why’ presupposes there is a meaning or intention to the process, i.e. asking that question, you’ve already assumed that there is a reason; you’re not just asking about how the process works.

  18. The god of the Abramites is all-powerful, yes? So, for the sake of this argument let’s assume it exists. That means it can do anything.
    It can even reach back in whatever passes for “time” in the macro-cosmic superspaces to the “start” of infinitely-prolonged Eternity to have itself created.
    No paradox, no problem. Easy.
    Any omnipotent deity must always have existed. Unless it doesn’t want to have done, of course.
    Maybe someone should offer that get-out to a priest?
    Or have them read more Science Fiction?

    Now all we need to do is metaphysically define what the hell “negative eternity” means when Time itself began a few years back.

    The question of why the universe exists is moot.
    It seems to. Quite often. Most of the time. It quite strongly seems to, so maybe we should just be happy it does?
    It would be quite the issue to try to read the comic if it didn’t.
    And cats would be problematic.

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