The Donald vs. The Pope - Page 10

nailer · #91 02-20-2016, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donquixote99

You get the same chain of creators problem with people creating God, you just have the last two entities in the chain trading places. Existence is a big problem for our human brains, because we can't figure how something comes to exist out of nothing.

But if you think that's a problem, stand the thing on it's head. Try to imagine what it would be like if nothing existed.

You're overthinking it and I don't see any problem.

If nothing existed there would be no imagination to imagine.

nailer · #92 02-20-2016, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icenine

I am starting to read some old classic science fiction...right now I am reading Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke. I haven't read Kornbluth but I did read some his partner's more famous novels like Man Plus and Gateway.

Since you are a government employee (or was) and don't like Trump and have made a reference to an old science fiction author you have moved up a notch on my cool meter to .5

The Space Merchants is one of my all time favorites and is as true today as when written.

Every time I go up a notch on your cool meter drives home how uncool I am.

nailer · #93 02-20-2016, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeamOn

Accepting an ultimate power is one thing, trying to define that as god is man made. Of course defining god is a prerequisite for every religion.

Believing there is no god is a religious belief.

Believers in God have an insignificant greater chance in proving their belief than nonbelievers.

donquixote99 · #94 02-20-2016, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nailer

You're overthinking it and I don't see any problem.

If nothing existed there would be no imagination to imagine.

Or else you're underthinking it. Ever think of that?

Obviously if nothing existed there would be no imagining. But we imagine, therefore we exist. And that being the case, we can try and imagine the case of nothing existing. But i find that unimaginable.

I don't claim that this implies anything interesting. But maybe it does, and the boundaries of what is thinkable have a certain fascination. So existence goes up there with infinity and eternity as apparent aspects of reality that we just can't exactly get our minds around. So saying 'we exist in space and time' is both necessary to sanity, and, on a level, a phrase so packed with nonsense is amazing it doesn't explode.

But I don't overthink this stuff, I don't think. I may have gone a couple of years since I last thought of it.