johnson1010 wrote:kelstan,

I do respect your right to believe as you would, but that doesn't equate to not arguing agiainst it.

I would never FORCE somebody to drop their religion. When they say that Poseidon's magical power is the cause of tidal forces, though, i have a lot to say about that. Because we know for a fact that that is not the case.

So you (fictional Poseidon believer) can continue to believe in Poseidon if it makes you happy. But when you come to a public forum and start saying things which are maddeningly easy to disprove, i will disprove them.

Respecting religion is not the same as letting the spread of willful ignorance go unchallenged.

Believers out there, you be the judge if i am talking to you when i say "willful ignorance". Most of you do not fall in that category. If you think i AM talking to you, then you should probably take another look at your religion, because your doubt is confirmation that you already know you believe a fantasy.

tjamesmoss.author wrote:
I err on the side of not being impressed with the "power of existence." Existence is ephemeral, unpredictable, spontaneous and selfish. If we are only here because of the "power of existence," then we are all in trouble.

tat tvam asi wrote:What, then, is beyond the whole of existence? Obviously, that puts this proposed power as non-existent, outside of existing. No literal force, power, energy, mind, or anything whatsoever can be outside of existence, if you propose that any force, power, energy, or mind (eternal or otherwise) "exists."

That means "existing" in this realm or dimension or any other you can possibly dream up. If you propose that something exists, here or anywhere at all, you have then placed it into "existence" in some way. If not, then you are proposing that this God does not "exist." This is nothing new or strange around here, it's actually beating a dead horse that you must not be aware of yet. So there's the corpse, here's the bat, and would you like to continue?

I think, perhaps, you misunderstood my use of "power of existence." Some people believe that to exist is to have escaped the odds of being destroyed via the power of natural selection. There are various theories of natural selection, where existence itself is imbued with the power to choose who lives or who dies... who is allowed to exist and who is not allowed to be created... who or what speaks, hears, walks, talks, etc.

The idea of a God who creates changes the onus of power. If there is no God, nature itself is granted "power" to choose who and what "exists." If there is a God, the power then rests with him, a single being who willfully creates and destroys beings and existences.

If you say, "Oh, but we know matter is neither created nor destroyed," then you are simply admitting that you have no idea how it was created nor how is can be done or sustained. By saying this, as an intellect, you are saying you do not truly understand the creative nature... the deep inner workings... of how matter functions. Neither do I. I am comfortable knowing that I don't know.

In the same way that I am comfortable knowing that I don't know, I am comfortable saying that the idea that nature is wise enough to select, create, progress or depress individual existences is more incredulous than the idea of a God who does this intelligently and with purpose. If nature does all the selecting, then the winds, the sunshine, the waters, the soil, the lava in our volcanoes, the rain that falls from the clouds, the light the stars emit... all of them filled with the same particles that choose existences... are smarter than us, more functional, more powerful, more rational.

Do you believe that?

(author) Katelyn wrote:Poseidon (whatever) is not. He's a flying horse/unicorn, right?

(author) Katelyn wrote:Hello? Who doesn't read Wiki? But I'm not reading anything about wicked mess. Is he the "god of the sea"? I'm guessing that because that is the only other wicked option. There is only one God.

(author) Katelyn wrote:Hello? Who doesn't read Wiki? But I'm not reading anything about wicked mess. Is he the "god of the sea"? I'm guessing that because that is the only other wicked option. There is only one God.