tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post2498066842142573000..comments2023-08-20T04:55:39.436-07:00Comments on Ars Psychiatrica: The Missing AllNovalishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-91892885473644331002009-01-31T05:21:00.000-08:002009-01-31T05:21:00.000-08:00There is a bit of a problem with the idea that a c...There is a bit of a problem with the idea that a closer comparision to the likelihood of a Abrahamic-type god is the likelihood of there being other intelligent life in the universe.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Which is that we already _know_ that intelligent life can come about in this universe, whereas we don't know that anything like the Abrahamic god can come about in this universe. We know the opposite in fact - which is that such a being, which is supposed to be everywhere and always, has a conspicuous lack of evidence, even though it's supposed to be right in front of our noses.<BR/><BR/>Centaurs are pretty plausible, or something like them, anyway. I wouldn't be too surprised to hear that elsewhere in the universe intelligent life has evolved that has four legs, two free arms to manipulate stuff with, and the sense organs clustered high up in the body, like our heads.<BR/><BR/>It might not look precisely like a horse with s person's torso on it, but it would be close enough to a centaur. We have evidence that things pretty blooming similar to centaurs exist (intelligent creatures, creatures with six limbs, creatures that use the limbs closest to their heads differently from the limbs further back, etc.).<BR/><BR/>But no evidence that anything like an omnipotent being that is everywhere in the (vast) universe at once exists.<BR/><BR/>The thing is that a being which is everywhere and knows everything and has always existed and moreover cares which hand you wipe your bottom with has got to be staggeringly more unlikely than a centaur. If this god is supposed to be everywhere, it should be easy to find evidence that it exists, because it is right here. <BR/><BR/>But we havent. If centaurs or something like them exist, chances are they're so far away we'll never get there. So my reasons for not thinking there's a god there are a lot stronger than any reasons for thinking there are not centaurs - if there's a god, i should be able to see some evidence; if there's centaurs there's no reason I should ever know about it.<BR/><BR/>OTOH, probably one day it'll be easy to create a centaur by GM, if we wanted to. That would be so cool.<BR/><BR/>Except maybe for the person who actually is the prototype centaur. It'd be a bit lonely unless and until they made some more centaurs. And you might feel a bit silly, and sad, and like you had been used and/or were nothing more than an experiment. A freak. <BR/><BR/>:'-(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-17784278226503009992009-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:002009-01-27T14:25:00.000-08:00I'm glad that faith is a source of hope and joy fo...I'm glad that faith is a source of hope and joy for you, and I wouldn't wish it otherwise. Your comment shows however that faith requires one to assume God as absolute premise #1; no reasons can be offered (and wisely, you don't try). I think that if God is as merciful as is said, he will have forbearance for purblind agnostics like myself.Novalishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-88354557478078968212009-01-27T10:59:00.000-08:002009-01-27T10:59:00.000-08:00With the greatest respect for your fine mind, let ...With the greatest respect for your fine mind, let me offer you this: regardless of whether you are interested in, believe in, even like or have the slightest need for God, He is very much interested in you, believes in you, likes every individual quirk of yours, and even needs you to complete His universe (tho some might call me heretical for saying a perfect God "needs" anything. <BR/><BR/>I will not insult you by making the analogy to the (brutal)way members of your profession used to assert a truth to an unwilling patient, then say the strength of their resistance was a sign of its truth. It isn't that simple. God doesn't violate us, doesn't do sneak attacks, doesn't insult our intelligence or our individuality. <BR/><BR/>I used to work with Catholic nuns who served abused kids. They spoke of Jesus as the lover of their heart. The faithful, tender, watchful companion, who delighted in them when the world sneered or hindered their efforts to help his children. I was young and contemptuous and made vulgar Freudian interpretations to myself quietly about the way they thought, spoke and imagined God. I was wrong. They were right. Go read Hosea about how God pursues his people with the faithfulness, the persistent love despite hurt, betrayal, indifference of a devoted husband. Gives me hope. <BR/><BR/>I am not saying this to proselytize, just to say that you are a little too quick to dismiss God. It isn't all about us, actually.Retrieverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09036341287285545932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-64896726947687019952009-01-26T10:24:00.000-08:002009-01-26T10:24:00.000-08:00The article from The New Republic used a great dea...The article from The New Republic used a great deal of science to refute creationism, but didn't offer much science to support evolution. I find it interesting that logic and reasoning requires a theory of multiple universes(TRUE SCIENCE, INDEED)to support evolution. Sounds a little bit like faith to me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-76625097978217587502009-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:002009-01-25T09:25:00.000-08:00The God you believe in is Christian for He/She/Ne...The God you believe in is Christian for He/She/Neither has shaped the culture you were brought up in. What if you lived in "Bora Bora" and what "felt right" was to kill and eat the brains of all the males you could kill who lived in the tribe on the other side of the hill?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-63145368411738831202009-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:002009-01-24T20:45:00.000-08:00Regardless of how vehemently atheistic people clai...Regardless of how vehemently atheistic people claim to be, there will always be those fractional moments of rational disjointedness that ever so fleetingly warp the senses into believing in a spiritual beyond of sorts. This manifests as spooky synchronicities; inexplicable nocturnal occurrences; last minute reprieves that dash hoplessness & despair on the altar improbability as if by divine intervention; elegant patterns of mathematical beauty that seem to defy chance, and so on. An irrational hyperawareness that jolts materialistic causation out of its hitherto comfortable groove; but is eviscerated with equal speed upon daylight - a situational error, the mind rationalises.<BR/><BR/>These temporary 'insanities' afflict everyone, but some turn them into religious belief systems, others displace them with thought and reason. Both systems alleviate the anxiety of the unknown. <BR/><BR/>Humans like narrative, cohesion and meaning - you can't deny them that natural reflex, however godshaped it sometimes appears.<BR/><BR/>So rather than try to find obscure compatabilities between science and religion, I think it's wiser not to cross-contaminate because you can end up with some pretty nasty infections like 'intelligent design' and its bastard reason 'irreducible complexity'....like Rome was built in a day....ha!<BR/><BR/>Everything in its right place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-54161547487679804562009-01-24T07:27:00.000-08:002009-01-24T07:27:00.000-08:00Well, it all depends upon how you define God. As ...Well, it all depends upon how you define God. As the father almighty in the sky waiting to take us in to a perfect afterlife? Perhaps, but I do not understand let alone believe it. An unconscious aspect that serves as a governing element? Perhaps, as we do seem to need, based upon the universality of similar myths, for there to be something besides us. On another hand, it could be I have been reading too much Jung lately and science is Right ...<BR/><BR/>RossieRossweissehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07667917684768783421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-90563334680703809972009-01-23T11:35:00.000-08:002009-01-23T11:35:00.000-08:00Unfortunately, the true believers tend to shout th...Unfortunately, the true believers tend to shout the loudest. Drowning out rational discourse seems to be an effective strategy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com