Why is there something instead of nothing?

[Done222]

Since there is something and not nothing, a better question would be: what is something? The something that exists at the highest level of reality is like Plato’s ideal plane except that the truly ideal plane is not about perfect forms; but rather perfect virtues like perfect Love, perfect Truth and perfect Justice. This perfect Righteousness is what existence is, and only by understanding this can everything be explained. This is not to say that evil does not exist, but at the highest level of reality...transcending time and space...there is nothing that exists other than the absolute and infinite Righteousness that is called God.

It is essential and unavoidable that a Loving God would create time and sent His children...created in His image...on a journey through a world of good and evil. God would inevitably do this because of all the emotions that we experience. Emotions are more real than the material universe, and through emotions like sorrow we understand what love is. Death is nothing, and the dead did not suffer as much as we may believe, but God had to keep that realization concealed from us in order for us to experience all the wonderful emotions of this journey. Creation has been a great learning experience, and it is inconceivable that a Loving God would not know the emotions that can only be known by experiencing them by or through a human who went on this journey. Since God transcends time, the understanding that creation provides to God has always been part of God.

For these emotions to exist, God had to create evil. Evil is the absence of love like darkness is the absences of light. This means a creature cannot be both good and evil, yet God had to create circumstances whereby such creatures exist. For this reason, God created a powerful but loveless Satan; and God created weak but loving humans. Satan must be careful to not violate the Law of God while he brings a spirit of selfishness into the world causing the humans to violate the Law. Satan intends to show that power overcomes love, but this is what God had in mind. By creating loving humans who are influenced by an egocentric spirit, God has humans who are selfish enough to die in their sins; yet have the love that is necessary to feel sorrow when others die.

It had to be done this way, but this leaves God with a problem. A powerful and intelligent Satan stays within the letter of the Law while we children of God are guilty under the Law. If God did not hold us accountable for our thoughts and actions, it would be as though our thoughts and actions don’t matter. If our actions don’t matter then we don’t matter. God acknowledges our very existence with the Day of Judgment. In the end God in His righteousness must justify the destruction of evil, and He must justify giving eternal life to His children who do not deserve it.

God created time in a way that allowed Him to send part of Himself into time. This means that there is a part of God moving through time, yet this part of God is one with God in the infinity that transcends time. This is why Jesus can say that He and the Father are one since in the infinity that transcends time, Jesus is fully one with God and there is only one God. Jesus can also say that only the Father knows the time of the end since Jesus travels through time while the Father "knows" or is one with all the timeline.

The Messiah was supposed to restore Israel and lead Israel to victory. The fulfillment of prophecy by modern Israel without a Messiah shows that the Messiah is the Lord...an idea with strong Biblical support, but the Messiah is also born of the descendants of David. So the Messiah is someone who was born (at some point in the past) as a Jew, and He is now fulfilling prophecy in Israel in modern times without a physical appearance. It has been said that Jesus was supposed to do these things during His first coming, but it must be understood that His ascension into Heaven and return to Earth can be compared to Moses going up the mountain to be with God and then returning to the people. The “second” coming is not a second lifetime. Jesus was born of descendants of David, He then went to be with God, He has restored Israel, He has led modern Israel to miraculous victories, and He continues to do everything the Messiah is supposed to do. He will lead Israel to victory in the coming conflict, but at some point He will also start to reveal Himself.

By restoring and helping Israel, Jesus is reaffirming the Jewish Scriptures, and this means His words and mission must be completely reconciled to the Jewish Scriptures and this eliminates both the “Trinity” and “substitution atonement”. These ideas were developed to explain the words of Christ, but Christ spoke in riddles because some things had to be kept secret until the time of the end. Now, at the time of the end, it will be revealed that the Trinity is wrong, that Jesus is separated from God on the timeline; but is one with God in infinity. This relationship between God and Christ explains the words of Jesus whereas the "Trinity" does not really explain anything. The true relationship between God and Christ means that at the end of the timeline, Jesus discards His flesh and returns to complete oneness with God.

Since Christ discards His flesh, it becomes completely fair for our flesh to be discarded so that our spirit is judged as a separate person. None of our sin comes from our spirit. Our spirit is not merely forgiven; our spirit came from God; it is perfect and worthy of eternal life. Our spirit is given a new body. This is how Christ redeems the children of God and it means that all good-hearted people are children of God and they are given eternal life in Heaven by Christ. We will have difficulties in this life that we bring upon ourselves; but God, through Christ, has provided eternal life for all His children from all nations and religions.

It is not enough that we be forgiven; we must also be made perfect to deserve eternal life and to enjoy eternal life. If we are less than perfect we will eventually become miserable in eternity, and no amount of refinement in time can ever lead to perfection. We will never be perfect unless God changes us to cause us to be perfect, but that change to us must be justified and this is what God does through Christ.

When Jesus was on the cross, God looked away and the devil felt it was safe to unload His hatred on Christ. The devil knows that there is only one God and Jesus was human; but the devil does not realize that God sent part of Himself into time. Like us, Satan does not transcend time and he does not understand time like God does, nor does the devil have power over time like God does. To this day the devil does not realize that Jesus is God and was able to witness this spiritual attack against Him. This is why the prophets could not make it clear that the Messiah is God.

This is why Christ was repulsed by the cross. It was not because of any physical pain since He is God and can endure any amount of physical pain. It was not because of shame since He is God and there is no shame upon Him. God is absolute Righteousness...repulsed by evil more we can understand, but when He was on the cross He would have all the hatred of hell directed at Him. Through creation, God put Himself in a position where He had to confront evil. He put Himself in a position where He had to make an incredible sacrifice, and do something which was unbelievably dreadful in order to rescue His children whom He loves from death. There is no challenge or hardship for God other than the revulsion to hatred that is experienced by a God of absolute Love. The sacrifice that God made for us went far beyond our understanding…as high as the Heavens are above the Earth.

The crucifixion was designed perfectly. Satan did not know that Jesus was God and that Jesus was able to witness the hatred that was directed at Him. Jesus looked like a human who was responding to the physical pain of the crucifixion, when actually the physical pain was nothing to Jesus. Jesus was responding to the out-of-this world hatred that was directed at Him by Satan.

Jesus is at the right hand of God *until* His enemies are made His footstool because His going back to God is how His enemies are made His footstool. The return of Jesus to oneness with God means that God is a witness against Satan, and this revelation that Satan has been caught will enrage Satan. Keeping this secret from the devil is why the true message and mission of Christ had to be kept secret until the time of the end. This is why the Bible was given as a riddle and this is why Christ spoke in parables. The revelation of this secret is why an angered Satan is cast out of Heaven at the time of the end, and this will occur as this revelation is distributed sufficiently for Satan to see the writing on the wall.

It is said that in the end a veil is lifted. The hills and mountains are said to be leveled, meaning the obstacles are removed allowing people to see. This means the truth is simple. In the end, God allows people to see what they should have been able to see, and this is why the book of the end is called the Revelation.

God redeems all love and destroys all evil, and the purpose of creation is achieved in absolute perfection. There is none good but God.

 

[GrowingSmaller]

In Islam there is a alleged hadith (quote from the Prophet saws) I head of, that God had treasures he wanted people to know of, so therefore there is creation.

"I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation (mankind), then made Myself known to them".

If nothing else, its positive, and it fits nicely with an optimistic confirmation bias.

At least it beats logic, such as "nothing existing is a contradiction in terms, because to be implies there is something being, therefore there is something if there is existence".

 

[Eudaimonist]

Since there is something and not nothing, a better question would be: what is something? The something that exists at the highest level of reality is like Plato’s ideal plane except that the truly ideal plane is not about perfect forms; but rather perfect virtues like perfect Love, perfect Truth and perfect Justice. This perfect Righteousness is what existence is, and only by understanding this can everything be explained. This is not to say that evil does not exist, but at the highest level of reality...transcending time and space...there is nothing that exists other than the absolute and infinite Righteousness that is called God.

You started out well, but then launched into a lengthy sermon. What you are discussing isn't philosophy, it's religious doctrine.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Stellar Vision]

The something that exists at the highest level of reality is like Plato’s ideal plane except that the truly ideal plane is not about perfect forms; but rather perfect virtues like perfect Love, perfect Truth and perfect Justice. This perfect Righteousness is what existence is, and only by understanding this can everything be explained.

That makes absolutely no sense.

 

[BL2KTN]

Anybody who says they know why there is something instead of nothing is being untruthful. You are no different. Even Dr. Lawrence Krauss, who tries to explain how something can come from nothing, has yet to provide a convincing argument. What you have provided us is religious fantasy without a shred of evidence in its favor.

 

[Done222]

You started out well, but then launched into a lengthy sermon. What you are discussing isn't philosophy, it's religious doctrine.


eudaimonia,

Mark

Religious dogma in the sense that it is consistent with the Bible, but there is nothing wrong with an explanation for existence which is consistent with a book, and you would have no problem with an explanation for existence that was consistent with some other book.

The Bible has an incredible history for thousands of years with millions of followers and numerous miraculous events. The problem with the Bible has always been the enigmatic nature of it, but now the riddle is solved.

The Bible says that we are judged by our works, but it also says that we only make it to Heaven through Christ, and it says that God predetermined who would go to Heaven. Christians deal with these contradictions in their Bible by changing some definitions in those verses that are not consistent with their particular interpretation. Changing the words in the Bible to make things fit is basically saying that God made poor word choices as He wrote or inspired the writing of the Bible. The true solution to a riddle must be consistent with all the clues...without changing the clues to make them fit.

God predetermined who would be born with a spirit of love within themselves; so God did predetermine who would go to Heaven since those are the ones who have something inside themselves worthy of eternal life once it is judged separately. We are each one person and only through Christ can the separation of our spirit from our flesh be justified, so we only make it to Heaven through Christ even though being a Christian is not necessary since this redemption can be described as being through Christ even when applied to an atheist or a Buddhist. On the Day of Judgment, both the spirit and flesh will be judged by their works, so we are judged by our works but the spirit within us is perfect. These “contradictions” in the New Testament do not contradict each other anymore. We are judged by our works, but we only make it to Heaven through Christ, and God predetermined who would go to Heaven

The Bible says that God created evil and this is explained. It is explained how we can achieve the seemingly impossible perfection that is demanded by the Law. It is explained how we make it to Heaven through Christ without an unfair transfer of responsibility for our sin to Christ which would violate passages in the Bible.

 

[Done222]

Anybody who says they know why there is something instead of nothing is being untruthful. You are no different. Even Dr. Lawrence Krauss, who tries to explain how something can come from nothing, has yet to provide a convincing argument. What you have provided us is religious fantasy without a shred of evidence in its favor.

You want evidence? What I have given you is a very simple solution to a riddle that has eluded millions of people for thousands of years. On top of all the miracles that have been associated with God and the Bible, it is miraculous that God prevented anyone from seeing this solution.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Religious dogma in the sense that it is consistent with the Bible, but there is nothing wrong with an explanation for existence which is consistent with a book, and you would have no problem with an explanation for existence that was consistent with some other book.

Not my point.

Philosophy isn't just about taking positions, but providing rationally persuasive and defensible justifications for those positions. You don't even attempt to do this.

For instance:

Since there is something and not nothing, a better question would be: what is something? The something that exists at the highest level of reality is like Plato’s ideal plane except that the truly ideal plane is not about perfect forms; but rather perfect virtues like perfect Love, perfect Truth and perfect Justice.

You make no effort to justify this claim. Why should one side with Plato's approach over other approaches? Why should one side with "perfect virtues" over Plato's "perfect forms"?

You make unsupported claim after unsupported claim. Until you start supporting your statements, you aren't doing philosophy. You are merely rehearsing your beliefs in front of an audience.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[grasping the after wind]

By definition Nothing is the absence of existence. It is therefore impossible for nothing to exist. If there is existence, and there can be no doubt of the fact there is existence for discussion of anything or lack of anything would be impossible without it, then there cannot be nothing. Additionally, if there is existence something must exist. It is not possible for something not to exist. Therefore every thing exists and nothing does not exist.

 

[Eudaimonist]

By definition Nothing is the absence of existence. It is therefore impossible for nothing to exist. If there is existence, and there can be no doubt of the fact there is existence for discussion of anything or lack of anything would be impossible without it, then there cannot be nothing.

I don't see why "Nothing" would have to have a positive existence in order to be discussed. Why can't one simply say that the term "Nothing" is merely a linguistic placeholder for a non-entity?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[BL2KTN]

You want evidence? What I have given you is a very simple solution to a riddle that has eluded millions of people for thousands of years. On top of all the miracles that have been associated with God and the Bible, it is miraculous that God prevented anyone from seeing this solution.

Yeesh...

Your entire explanation is garbage. At the start, you explain why Yahweh would put conscious creatures in a universe full of good and evil... you say it's because emotions are more real than the universe. But that is utter stupidity. Emotions are electrical patterns within our brain, affected in part by chemicals in our blood stream. Emotions can be changed with medicine, mental disease, and mental states. Thus from the very beginning your thesis is the result of a person terribly, terribly confused about how the universe works. It belongs more in a fantasy book about hobbits and trolls than in sort of serious discussion about the real world we live in.

 

[Done222]

Not my point.

Philosophy isn't just about taking positions, but providing rationally persuasive and defensible justifications for those positions. You don't even attempt to do this.

For instance:



You make no effort to justify this claim. Why should one side with Plato's approach over other approaches? Why should one side with "perfect virtues" over Plato's "perfect forms"?

You make unsupported claim after unsupported claim. Until you start supporting your statements, you aren't doing philosophy. You are merely rehearsing your beliefs in front of an audience.


eudaimonia,

Mark

“rationally persuasive” is subjective. I would say I have done that by putting the pieces together.

The Bible...the great riddle of human history, a book written by numorous authors over thousands of years, claiming to be inspired by the Creator of all things…thousands of miracle…millions of followers…fulfilled prophecies, but the Bible is so enigmatic and contradictory.

Now. It. Makes. Sense.

You don’t think that is the slightest bit persuasive?

 

[grasping the after wind]

I don't see why "Nothing" would have to have a positive existence in order to be discussed. Why can't one simply say that the term "Nothing" is merely a linguistic placeholder for a non-entity?


eudaimonia,

Mark

One can say whatever it pleases one to say. Nothing by definition cannot have a positive existence but I do not say you cannot discuss it. Discuss nothing to your hearts content. I do not see much to discuss if the subject is nothing. What exactly can one say about it except that it is nothing and therefore it doesn't exist. My point is not that one ought to or ought not to discuss anything, it is that there is no other option then that something exists and nothing does not exist. So the question "Why is there something instead of nothing?" seems a question unanswerable. If nothing was ever the state of things not only would there be no me but there would also be no God to create something other than himself. so the argument that God is the reason that there is something falls short of the answer to that question.

 

[Done222]

Yeesh...

Your entire explanation is garbage. At the start, you explain why Yahweh would put conscious creatures in a universe full of good and evil... you say it's because emotions are more real than the universe. But that is utter stupidity. Emotions are electrical patterns within our brain, affected in part by chemicals in our blood stream. Emotions can be changed with medicine, mental disease, and mental states. Thus from the very beginning your thesis is the result of a person terribly, terribly confused about how the universe works. It belongs more in a fantasy book about hobbits and trolls than in sort of serious discussion about the real world we live in.

The electrical pattern in our brain is merely a reflection.

I say that God is Love and we have eternal life to be reunited with our loved ones.

You say that we die and pass into non existence, and NOTHING MATTERS.

Maybe your right, maybe I’m right.

Why are you so resolute that you are right?

Don’t you at least hope that you are wrong?

 

[PsychoSarah]

The electrical pattern in our brain is merely a reflection.

I say that God is Love and we have eternal life to be reunited with our loved ones.

You say that we die and pass into non existence, and NOTHING MATTERS.

Maybe your right, maybe I’m right.

Why are you so resolute that you are right?

Don’t you at least hope that you are wrong?

Agnostic atheist, so no, I am not sure I am right by any means, and I certainly can hope I am wrong, but just because I want to be wrong doesn't mean I can make myself believe that to be the case.

And you are confusing atheism with nihilism

 

[BL2KTN]

The electrical pattern in our brain is merely a reflection.

I see, so emotions generate electricity now? Can you provide any evidence of that other than your own layman opinion?

I say that God is Love and we have eternal life to be reunited with our loved ones.

I don't care what you say. I care about facts. This has no basis in facts/reality.

You say that we die and pass into non existence, and NOTHING MATTERS.

You lie. Quote where I said that.

Maybe your right, maybe I’m right.

So even though you don't have a clue what I say (obviously), now you're admitting that what you say is only maybe right. And we're supposed to clap for you that you wrote something what might be right.

Why are you so resolute that you are right?

Why don't you figure out what I'm right about first.

Don’t you at least hope that you are wrong?

I'm optimistic that I'm right. Let's hope so. The world would be a terrible place if Yahweh is real.

 

[PsychoSarah]

I see, so emotions generate electricity now? Can you provide any evidence of that other than your own layman opinion?



I don't care what you say. I care about facts. This has no basis in facts/reality.



You lie. Quote where I said that.



So even though you don't have a clue what I say (obviously), now you're admitting that what you say is only maybe right. And we're supposed to clap for you that you wrote something what might be right.



Why don't you figure out what I'm right about first.



I'm optimistic that I'm right. Let's hope so. The world would be a terrible place if Yahweh is real.

People really need to look up your religion icon. You get mistaken for an atheist so much.

 

[Done222]

I see, so emotions generate electricity now? Can you provide any evidence of that other than your own layman opinion?



I don't care what you say. I care about facts. This has no basis in facts/reality.



You lie. Quote where I said that.



So even though you don't have a clue what I say (obviously), now you're admitting that what you say is only maybe right. And we're supposed to clap for you that you wrote something what might be right.



Why don't you figure out what I'm right about first.



I'm optimistic that I'm right. Let's hope so. The world would be a terrible place if Yahweh is real.

What is going on in the mind can be reflected in patterns on a brain scan, but that doesn't mean we are generating electricity.

You are a rude person. I may have misjudged your beliefs, but I responded respectfully, and you replied with more rudeness. I genuinely do not care what you believe.

 

[PsychoSarah]

What is going on in the mind can be reflected in patterns on a brain scan, but that doesn't mean we are generating electricity.

You are a rude person. I may have misjudged your beliefs, but I responded respectfully, and you replied with more rudeness. I genuinely do not care what you believe.

Actually, the brain does generate electrical signals. The human body, if I recall correctly, runs on roughly the same amount of electricity as a 60 watt lightbulb.

 

[BL2KTN]

What is going on in the mind can be reflected in patterns on a brain scan, but that doesn't mean we are generating electricity.

Well where the cuss is the electricity coming from then?

You are a rude person. I may have misjudged your beliefs, but I responded respectfully, and you replied with more rudeness. I genuinely do not care what you believe.

So, let me get this straight: you said I wrote something which I did not, then when called out on it, you call me rude and say you were being respectful. It's not as if you wrote something and got it a little bit wrong... you literally made up things for me to say that I never even came close to saying. When you say false things about someone, try apologizing in the future, rather than accusing the other person of being rude for catching it.

It doesn't matter if you care about my beliefs. I will still respond to you when I wish and you may do likewise.