As it happens, an old university friend of mine who had a schizophrenic/bipolar breakdown many years ago, confided to me at a friends birthday party about three years ago, that he was 'the saviour' when I asked him what he meant, he said, "You know, like Jesus". He thought he was on some kind of secret mission... I presumed he'd been missing his meds. Sadly, he's since had a stroke and is not at all well. Ho hum.
They called him all those things. As Shakespeare said, "What's in a name?"
That's ambiguous; if you make up your own mind about what someone else says and change your convictions as a result, then both are possible. On the other hand, it could be taken as saying that nothing anyone says or does could change your mind, which would be a sad state to be in.
It's tempting - 'magic is magic', 'nonsense is nonsense', and, yes, it is really easy; but it's tautologically empty, meaningless. "Brexit means Brexit..."
There's no evidence of such a thing - nor, given what we know of biology and physics, can there be. And I care - because I like to know whether I'm discussing something I have some reason to believe is real, or whether I'm discussing imaginative flights of fancy.
Well, not exactly. I've already explained how that's not necessarily the case. If you're going to simply ignore it, then I'm wasting my time.
Special pleading is a fallacy.
I'm not calling God magic, I'm asking how God is in any way
a better explanation than magic. It's a very simple question, but as usual, I seem to be getting a defensive, evasive response.
As for respect, I respect people's rights, including the right to believe whatever they like, but I don't see how respect is due to the beliefs themselves. Why should I respect beliefs I think are absurd or ridiculous? Do you respect the beliefs of Scientology?
Many
are Christian. You'd have to ask the ones that aren't - I suspect most of them don't care unless/until it affects their lives in some way.
When you say things like "
I just think it's easier to believe that God created everything...", "
It's really easy for me. Spirit is spirit.", and "
there have been some experiments but who cares", the claim that you're looking for truth rings rather hollow.
That's not really how it works away from the familiar physics of the everyday. Time, space, and causality are thought to be emergent from a more fundamental physical state. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to explain such ideas in familiar terms, just as it's not always possible to explain quantum mechanics in familiar terms. Nature has no obligation to us in that respect.
Sounds like confirmation bias to me - but what makes you think the hypothetical 'force' that's outside of space and time, that you feel created the universe, is the origin of the voice in your head?
I used to get that response quite a lot as a youngster, "You're not getting God reception? It's probably user error - you're not doing it right; you have to be
open to God". 'Open' usually meant having faith without evidence - believe first, then the voice will come. Like being told that if you
really believe in Santa, he
will bring you presents.
What questions does it answer, and what problems would it solve?
I was a sci-fi freak at one time - it's what got me interested in real science. I too don't think it's reasonable that anything came from nothing, whether it's universes or gods, and I've already spent some time explaining why.
It's being able to divide something into smaller pieces ad-infinitum. Even the Ancient Greeks realised this would be problematic.
OK...
A universe built on different principles would necessarily be different. Our video games are digitally quantised, but are only very crudely and superficially similar to our world; as simulations, they have the same number of dimensions.
If you want to find the truth, you have to be painstaking, thorough, and prepared to change your mind according to the evidence.
If you want to make up your own mind and you won't be convinced by anyone else (as you say), to get close to the truth you have to know the subject in detail and depth, and that's not easy. "
I just think it's easier to believe that God created everything...", "
It's really easy for me. Spirit is spirit.", and "
there have been some experiments but who cares" isn't going to cut it.
