Origin of Life

midnight star · #21 11th February 2004, 01:51 AM

sorry prof, havent read it, but i'll check it out. Last two good physics books i read were the "The God Particle" (cant remember author) and "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene (I think). Really good stuff. I have high hopes for string theory and high particle physics. Like I said, science is another way to learn about our world, and knowledge is a good thing. It doesn't take away from religion; instead, it enriches our understanding of our world, and therefore our creator(s) (assuming there was an intelligent creator).

professor frink · #22 11th February 2004, 01:56 AM

Yeah, if you liked Elegant Universe you will probably really enjoy Three Roads.

midnight star · #23 11th February 2004, 02:44 AM

out of curiousity, what is your background proff?

professor frink · #24 11th February 2004, 03:20 AM

I guess first I should clarify that I am not a professor (yet). Just took the name from the guy on the Simpson's because I love him. I am currently working on my B.Sc. in Chemistry and working part time in the field. My first degree was in engineering. Oddly a lot of my employment has been in biological consulting.

Magisterium · #25 11th February 2004, 05:58 AM

I've a question. Are there any athiestic theories which actually account for the creation of basic materials? From what I've had the occasion to read about (particualrly the big bang), it seems that they all "begin" with some existing material which reacts to combines in some obscure way. However, they seem to ignore that fact that these materials had to have an origin and an agent to produce the motion which caused the reaction. In this respect, it seems the deist position is the only logical one because science seems to demand some intelligent initiator.

Nathan David · #26 11th February 2004, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by glo

i've always wondered what atheists thought about the orgin of life.

Don't know. Would love to find out.

Originally Posted by glo

the origin of everything.

Don't know. Would love to find out.

Originally Posted by glo

since various harvard, ivy league, big name professors and scientists have said that all evidence points toward a supreme being yet they choose not to believe there is a god because the notion seems 'absurd' 'preposterous'

They have? I've never heard of a big name professor or scientist saying anything like that. Do you have some credible quotes from reputable sources?

Nathan David · #27 11th February 2004, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by Magisterium

I've a question. Are there any athiestic theories which actually account for the creation of basic materials? From what I've had the occasion to read about (particualrly the big bang), it seems that they all "begin" with some existing material which reacts to combines in some obscure way. However, they seem to ignore that fact that these materials had to have an origin and an agent to produce the motion which caused the reaction. In this respect, it seems the deist position is the only logical one because science seems to demand some intelligent initiator.

I don't see how not having an explanation logically demands an intelligent creator. How does intelligence relate to the ability to create ex nihilo? Humans are intelligent, but we can't create ex nihilo.

Blissman · #28 11th February 2004, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by glo

i've always wondered what atheists thought about the orgin of life. the origin of everything. since various harvard, ivy league, big name professors and scientists have said that all evidence points toward a supreme being yet they choose not to believe there is a god because the notion seems 'absurd' 'preposterous', etc. they just refuse to believe it.
hm.

So what do the atheists think is the origin of life? because evolution couldn't have started from nothing.

Respectfully, the picture of scientists which you have painted is false. I object. Please do not slur scientists. Many scientists are deeply religious. The question, "Do you believe in God?" had been posed to Albert Eienstein. He answered the question by saying that, "God is The Truth". Einstein had made references to God is some of his arguements. He had challanged the theory of Chaos by saying, "God does not play dice".
Some scientists are agnostics, and some are aithiests. There are far more agnostics and athiests amoung people who are not scientists than there ever had been scientists.

Davebuck · #29 11th February 2004, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Blissman

Respectfully, the picture of scientists which you have painted is false. I object. Please do not slur scientists. Many scientists are deeply religious. The question, "Do you believe in God?" had been posed to Albert Eienstein. He answered the question by saying that, "God is The Truth". Einstein had made references to God is some of his arguements. He had challanged the theory of Chaos by saying, "God does not play dice".
Some scientists are agnostics, and some are aithiests. There are far more agnostics and athiests amoung people who are not scientists than there ever had been scientists.

You don't think Einstein believed jesus was a supernatural god or Yahweh existed do you? Nah. The folks who did biographies on einstein say that he probably used the term 'god' metaphorically and was likely agnostic.

Also, scientists are much less likely to be religous compared to other professions. There's a correlation between inteligence and lack of religious beliefs as well. Just throwing that out there.

But, to your point, very few scientists are fundementalists. Most are very liberal in their religion.

trunks2k · #30 11th February 2004, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by glo

i've always wondered what atheists thought about the orgin of life.

"I don't know" is a good enough answer. But research on abioogenesis is moving along pretty swiftly. There are several viable hypothesi floating around out there. The basic idea is this self-replicating molecule >>> RNA >>> DNA. If you consider the available rescources and the condition of the earth at the time, it's not far-fetched.

the origin of everything.

Again, "I don't know" suffices. Right now as far back as we can go is the big bang. Theoretically you technically can't go any further back in time than that. But again, there are some hypothesi and such out there as to what "caused" the big bang, all of which I don't even pretend that I even begin to understand. The physics at that point is waaaaay beyond me.

since various harvard, ivy league, big name professors and scientists have said that all evidence points toward a supreme being yet they choose not to believe there is a god because the notion seems 'absurd' 'preposterous', etc. they just refuse to believe it.
hm.

I'm not aware of many scientists making such a claim. All the scientists I know of are neutral on god when it comes to their science, at least the most respectable ones are. Some may be religious, but a good scientist won't let it interfere with his/her work. As it should be, the supernatural does not work with science. Add in the supernatural to science and the whole thing falls apart. You can't test for something that operates outside our understanding of how the natural universe works. We may look at everything and say "this came from somewhere" but that does not mean it was from a god. Also, in terms of theistic ideas of scientists, I've read that the further up the education ladder you go, the less religious the population gets.