h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Prayer experiments:

For me truly to believe in a god I would want him to use a little of his precious time to appear to me one morning as I walk out my front door say hello I'm God and then lift me up and physically fly me to work...only 10miles. If this happens a) people are bound to see it and b) I will convert as many people as I can...of course I will tell that god that to sort all the problems out he merely needs to appear to everyone in the world at the same time introduce himself, tell everyone he will make a copy of the definitive religious book drop onto thier beds the next morning and that should sort everything out...of course it will mean lots of religious people having to re-adjust their faiths...us athiests...I think we would cope ... we would just have alot of awkard questions for him.

Not a big deal for some omnipotent being who created us all and it will stop alot of needless bloodshed.

Maybe warner and Michea1 might like to pray for that to happen tomorrow morning? Not holding my breath.

If he's not going to take the time to fix a single wee pinkie finger, he's certainly not going to answer your far more complicated prayer, 3dots.

I have faith in him...

What gets me is the apparent delight and glee that is taken in the idea of things being a *mystery*. It's so damned passive/masochistic. Totally

It seems so weird to take such pleasure in those things in the light of what we now know about learning how the universe works. We gradually learn more and find new ways to make life easier for people, but still they take such delight in their feelings of ignorance.

'. . . in the light of what we now know about learning how the universe works.'


But both the Book of Job and Deuteronomy, not to mention Jesus himself, tell us not to try to learn how the universe works. Using our God given reason is quite clearly a sin against the direct Commandment of God.

The power of prayer:

I understand that the grotto at Lourdes is littered with wheelchairs and crutches. No artificial limbs, though.

I once developed a habitual limp which lasted beyond the injury that caused it. The physiotherapist told me the range of movement was enough that I should be able to walk, and I did. I would guess that a good chunk of faith healing can be explained in a similar fashion.

Hi all,

I've read all the recent posts and it's difficult to answer them all at the same time,
but one thing that 'caught my eye' and seems a
fairly reasonable scientific answer:

>> Mass *is* energy. Energy *is* mass. We can't really say what it is,
because it's the fundamental form of everything, and so can't be defined in terms outside itself.
Nearest I can get is "Energy is an abstract conserved quantity." <<

That is a bit like the theists, when we say "We can't really say what God is ..."

'That is a bit like the theists, when we say "We can't really say what God is ..." '


Of course it is. We can't really say what mass/energy is,


but we can show you a brick.


Whereas, you can show us . . .


well, not really very much.

<>

or we could drop an H-Bomb on you, pure E=mc2

<>

and we could drop an H-Bomb on you

Let there be light, and there was light.
Let there be gamma-rays, and there were gamma-rays.

Or did they evolve as well?

they came when the decay set in

still no evidence?


did you pray for the finger like I asked you to?

warner


Oh, really, some 'difficult' answers you can;t replywith a pithy remark then?


Ah here it comes:

< Mass *is* energy. Energy *is* mass. We can't really say what it is,
because it's the fundamental form of everything, and so can't be defined in terms outside itself.
Nearest I can get is "Energy is an abstract conserved quantity.">

Yes, the poster can only see it as an abstract quantity. Einstein et al could see it as so much more.



Well, in a sense yes...but to any rationalist gods are just manifestations of a stone-age mind trying to explain what was then unexplainable which is now explainable...and it doesn't require the abstract notion of a god to sort it out.

'Well, in a sense yes...but to any rationalist gods are just manifestations of a stone-age mind trying to explain what was then unexplainable which is now explainable...and it doesn't require the abstract notion of a god to sort it out. '


or, to put it another way:


we can show you a brick.

>> it's the fundamental form of everything <<

I bit like God, then, maybe.

Perhaps, energy has always existed and always will exist.
I bit like God, then, maybe.

Perhaps energy is infinite.
I bit like God, then, maybe.

No, warner, not at all like god because





we can show you a brick and




you have absolutely nothing to offer concerning this god idea of yours (including not being able to offer an answer to a direct question, apparently).

What question?

did I pray for the finger like you asked me to?

No, I didn't, I don't know how seriously to take you.
I can't see you, I don't know you etc.

>> we can show you a brick <<

Has that evolved as well?

warner<>> it's the fundamental form of everything <<

I bit like God, then, maybe.

Perhaps, energy has always existed and always will exist.
I bit like God, then, maybe.

Perhaps energy is infinite.
I bit like God, then, maybe.>

Warner: What is it like existing in the 21st century with a stone-age brain that can't relatively simply concepts of physics?