where angels fear to tread

[dysert]

The point of this thread is to try to clarify what others, particularly atheistic evolutionists (i.e., atheists who believe in evolution), believe about some specific items related to creation & evolution. I'm not interested in debating or arguing. I'm simply trying to get clarification of beliefs.

What I'll do is post a question, ask those interested to answer it, ask another question, wait for answers, and so on. After the questions & answers have been posted I'll try to summarize what has been discussed.

I hope there's enough activity here to provide a nice sample of atheistic evolutionary beliefs. Please stay on topic (i.e., whatever the current question is), and please do your best at providing as clear an answer to the questions as possible (with whatever commentary you wish to provide).

Thanks to all who participate!

 

[dysert]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

- Other (please elaborate)

 

[Bungle_Bear]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

- Other (please elaborate)

Not a great start. That's an completely inane question.

Please define "eternity past" and "nothingness".

 

[Dizredux]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

Other (please elaborate)

What do you mean by eternity past?

Dizredux

 

[Lost Angel]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

- Other (please elaborate)

There was always something, in my opinion.

 

[dysert]

Not a great start. That's an completely inane question.

Please define "eternity past" and "nothingness".

I hope it will get better.

It's hard to define "eternity past" without biasing the answer. For example, I can't say, "Before anything existed there was nothing". Nor could I say, "Before the Big Bang there was nothing". I hope those two examples get you into the spirit of the question without biasing your answer.

 

[dysert]

What do you mean by eternity past?

Dizredux

Please Post #6

 

[Kunjax]

I guess I would have to say "other". About 14 billion years ago there was the singularity that eventually expanded to become our universe. Or at least that's what the evidence points to. But beyond that, I have no idea so I'm hesitant to speculate.

 

[Dizredux]

Please Post #6

OK then my response would be "No way to know at least right now."

Dizredux

 

[Gracchus]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.
- True
- False
- Other (please elaborate)

Other. It is always now. What we perceive is the past expanding away from now. Space is not expanding into space, it is expanding in the time dimension into the past. There is no future there is only the now, and the perception of the past. It's kind of hard to get you head around if you haven't studied and thought about multi-dimensional geometries. Think of it this way: It is now. It has always been now.

By the way, I am only an honorary atheist.

 

[dysert]

By the way, I am only an honorary atheist.

Honorary atheists are just as welcome as atheism that's earned ;-)

 

[Elendur]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

- Other (please elaborate)

Loaded statement, we do not know whether eternity or nothingness are applicable to reality.
So, other. And to elaborate a bit more, other means that I don't know.

 

[AV1611VET]

where angels fear to tread

As the saying goes:

Atheists rush in where angels dare to tread.

Look for a lot of requests for definitions

 

[essentialsaltes]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

Other. While the matter has not been settled, I find the argument for eternal inflation compelling. Some models imply a multiverse that is past eternal. Our own universe had a beginning, in the Big Bang, but that event is better understood as a 'bubble' popping off the eternal multiverse that preexisted it.

As I say, the matter is not even close to settled, but I think it is still an open question whether there was ever a time in the past when there was 'nothing'.

 

[bhsmte]

.

 

[Nithavela]

This is going to be a chain of questions that is supposed to lead to the proving of genesis after much interpretation of cherry picked answers, isn't it?

 

[paradox101]

True or False: In eternity past, there was nothingness.

- True

- False

- Other (please elaborate)

False.

Logically, something can not come from nothing, there is something therefore there has always been something.

**Note i am speaking in absolute terms of existence
-existence cannot come from non-existence

 

[Elendur]

False.

Logically, something can not come from nothing, there is something therefore there has always been something.

**Note i am speaking in absolute terms of existence
-existence cannot come from non-existence

How do you know that?

 

[Dizredux]

How do you know that?

Kinda curious about that myself. Paradox could you expand on how you came about with that knowledge?



Dizredux

 

[paradox101]

Kinda curious about that myself. Paradox could you expand on how you came about with that knowledge?



Dizredux

Its not special knowledge, just logic.

A and (not A) are mutually exclusive.

So existence and non-existence are mutually exclusive.

If there was absolute non-existence, then we would not exist today.

Thus we are in a state of existence.