Poemranker [Replying] Wed May 08 14:16:22 PDT 2024

Replying to a comment on:

When I close my eyes I begin to have dreams. They glorify, mystify, sometimes even terrify me. But they have a deeper meaning. Coming from the depths of my soul their only goal is to make me better. Though I don't understand their ultimate plan. Each morning I arise with a great repose refreshed with each lesson learned. enoch2

zodiac

20-Mar-06/1:14 PM

Yes, I'm open to the possibility of God existing. I'm open to the possibility of all kinds of things existing.

The next question is, what qualities need to be present in order for you, AlChemy to call something "God" or "a god"?

In other words, suppose there is a computer floating in space which is programmed to randomly produce different arrangements of matter of any mass or size - from where or according to what rules is immaterial. After a trillion years the computer destroys them and creates another arrangement. Obviously, given infinite cycles, one of those arrangements will eventually be our physical universe, with the conditions necessary for life to start on this planet. All randomly; ninety-nine times out of one hundred it just produces a huge mess, most likely. Is the computer God?

Suppose, for another example, a computer floating in space is programmed to randomly cause one physical law to be broken for a short duration anywhere in the universe. Suppose the computer produces one of these law-breakings every milisecond. Again, it decides where the law is to be broken, what law, and for how long totally at random. Given the size of space, obviously law-breakings don't occur in the vicinity of Earth very often, but since the computer is RANDOMLY selecting places, there is the possibility that any number of law-breakings can happen on Earth in, say, one century. On Earth, it happens that law-breakings have taken the form of people levitating, objects transmogrify, or people return from the dead. Is the computer a God?

Suppose again that all human beings are actually, for whatever reason, implanted by a scientist with electrodes to make them believe that they're humans living on earth when they are, in fact, immortal Zorgonians living on the planet Zorgon. The scientist's experiment calls for a subject to be disconnected from the electrodes and returned to normal Zorgonian life whenever it "dies" in its fantasy-earth. Is Zorgon heaven? Is the scientist God?

If you've answered no -- and hint: you should -- then universe-creation, life-creation, miracle-causing, maker-and-controller-of-human-existence, and keeper-of-the-afterlife are not the qualities that mean "God" to you. So what IS the defining thing or things? To paraphrase -=Dark_Angel=-, how do you know "God" when you see him?

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