scientist who believes in God

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

should not God be able to be defined in an individual's terms? is not the relationship between Man and God a personal one of introspection, revelation and redemption?
as for me, for want of a better word, i am my own God. but then again i am not a christian.

Hey good idea. I am God. My dog is God. Pee-wee Herman is God. Non-existence is God. How else can I redefine God?

Hey, I'm going to spread a little God on my sandwhich. What do I mean by God? Mayonnaise of course, duh!

I know, God can mean anything right? How about this sentence;

God, God God God God God God God God, God!

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

Hey good idea. I am God. My dog is God. Pee-wee Herman is God. Non-existence is God. How else can I redefine God?

Hey, I'm going to spread a little God on my sandwhich. What do I mean by God? Mayonnaise of course, duh!

I know, God can mean anything right? How about this sentence;

God, God God God God God God God God, God!

having a little trouble with my concept ryan. so instead of asking for clarification, you mock me? you know as i know that is not what i was talking about. but you will feign ignorance and say you were only joking, right?

ClimberInOz

baraka wrote:

Actually, physicists have been intrigued by this question for years, the possibility that universe came from a quantum transition from nothing (pure space-time).

Quantum inflation, (the idea that virtual particles can get trapped in a false vacuum to create the early stages of an expanding universe) is indeed a valid hypothesis for the origins of the universe.

It is still not a completely free lunch. The fluctuating particles and anti-particles may combine to have a net energy of zero, however it is not the complete absence of existence that people often imagine scientists are proposing the universe to have come from.

chadwick

god is everywhere and everything..god is the universe..
this earth we are on is our mother..
mother earth..
all living on mother earth have a spirit..
treess, water, air, flowers, grass, all living beings have a spirit..
even rocks and a dry desert or a cloud delivering rain..
and humans are no better than other life forms..
a god, as in a bible version is not my style..
many religions have contorted learning of spirituality to fit their agendas..
as we all know more lives have been taken over religious blood shred than
all other wars combined..mankind has become off track from within ones
own soul..read about shamanism..
and yea a scientist should believe in mother earth/god the universe..
its all here..the answers..do i know the answers, no..
i do know its about loving everyone,everything and respect to all..
a hard concept to fully live by..

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

having a little trouble with my concept ryan. so instead of asking for clarification, you mock me? you know as i know that is not what i was talking about. but you will feign ignorance and say you were only joking, right?

It was kind of a joke, but you said we should be able to define God however we like. I heard yesterday that words change, and basically the definition is solely dependant on the person using it, that they should not have to use the dictionary definition, therefor;

Yellow, cranberry peaches fall thursday bludgeon baskets.

soulsinging

Ahnimus wrote:

I don't see the use of the word "evil" in Lucy's post. I actually interpreted Lucy's statement as jest, but I guess you get what you expect when your reading text. No tone to hone, to get to the bone of the meaning, not which you apply as your own. Relax, sit back, and suck a tic-tac while you cut people slack and interpret with the bennefit of doubt before talking crap.

it was vaguely tongue in cheek, i got that, but it still expressed his views... which are basically that no good comes of religion and that its chief purpose is degradation. that is simply not true and i called him on it. he's quite capable of defending himself.

sounds like you're getting a little wound up. easy there killer... dont worry, you're not mad at me and don't have any feelings. you're just being flooded with hormones. so perhaps you need to sit back and relax until they subside. and THAT is me being condescending.

Ahnimus

chadwick wrote:

god is everywhere and everything..god is the universe..
this earth we are on is our mother..
mother earth..
all living on mother earth have a spirit..
treess, water, air, flowers, grass, all living beings have a spirit..
even rocks and a dry desert or a cloud delivering rain..
and humans are no better than other life forms..
a god, as in a bible version is not my style..
many religions have contorted learning of spirituality to fit their agendas..
as we all know more lives have been taken over religious blood shred than
all other wars combined..mankind has become off track from within ones
own soul..read about shamanism..
and yea a scientist should believe in mother earth/god the universe..
its all here..the answers..do i know the answers, no..
i do know its about loving everyone,everything and respect to all..
a hard concept to fully live by..

Sounds like you got all the answers. I don't have a spirit/soul though, I sold mine to Jeanie.

ClimberInOz

soulsinging wrote:

i dont think im doing a good job explaining god. im not making excuses for god that i will not extend to the universe, to me, they are essentially indistinguishable. god is simply a concept that helps me attempt to understand the unknowable, the impossibly abstract pieces of the puzzle that science itself admits it cannot understand. it is like the remainder, the loose ends. they fall under this concept and give me a sense of perspective that helps me to feel grounded when pondering the seemingly impossible odds that id be sitting here in this tiny little corner of a vast and incomprehensible universe.

and i see no reason to think that is a "huge improvement" over god (i dont really consider god The Creator). to me, it seems at best on equal footing. neither really advances any cause. they have value only in the subjective experience of the individual. some people are fine saying "we dont know, so let's talk about other things." those people make great scientists. other say "im not sure but i feel something about it" and those people tend to make great artists. we need both.

So your 'god' is a god of the gaps? It sounds like we could almost agree on this, since you don't consider god the creator, or by the sounds of it, attribute anything supernatural to god. You sound like you are at the same place as Einstein (never a bad place to be), with the word god representing the part of natural existence that created the universe. Am I understanding you better now?

Ahnimus

soulsinging wrote:

it was vaguely tongue in cheek, i got that, but it still expressed her views... which are basically that no good comes of religion and that its chief purpose is degradation. that is simply not true and i called her on it. she's quite capable of defending herself.

sounds like you're getting a little wound up. easy there killer... dont worry, you're not mad at me and don't have any feelings. you're just being flooded with hormones. so perhaps you need to sit back and relax until they subside. and THAT is me being condescending.

Actually sounds like a pretty decent analysis. I don't agree with you though, and I don't agree with you saying that Lucy was wrong, that's just your opinion, as hard as you try to force it on someone.

catefrances

ClimberInOz wrote:

So your 'god' is a god of the gaps? It sounds like we could almost agree on this, since you don't consider god the creator, or by the sounds of it, attribute anything supernatural to god. You sound like you are at the same place as Einstein (never a bad place to be), with the word god representing the part of natural existence that created the universe. Am I understanding you better now?

there was a brief period where i considered that perhaps God was just another word for the big bang.

soulsinging

ClimberInOz wrote:

So your 'god' is a god of the gaps? It sounds like we could almost agree on this, since you don't consider god the creator, or by the sounds of it, attribute anything supernatural to god. You sound like you are at the same place as Einstein (never a bad place to be), with the word god representing the part of natural existence that created the universe. Am I understanding you better now?

yeah, that sounds about right. i pray, but i suppose it's more like meditation. i dont pray for mom not to be sick anymore and expect it to happen. the god i believe in certainly does not meddle in human affairs. it's not a supernatural thing, more a principle of order. when i "pray" it's not for a magic result, it's more an internal look at my small place in this huge universe and how best to live in harmony within it.

soulsinging

Ahnimus wrote:

Actually sounds like a pretty decent analysis. I don't agree with you though, and I don't agree with you saying that Lucy was wrong, that's just your opinion, as hard as you try to force it on someone.

hey, im not telling lucy he can't dislike religion or that he's wrong for finding it wrong for himself. im just saying it's not his place to condemn an entire institution for the actions of a small few. im on his side, when the religious people do use their beliefs to oppress and persecute people, i'd be right beside him to stop him. but id never for a minute think that they are all like that or that just becos i disagree with a few religious people's actions, the entire idea is corrupt. i think the united states fucks up a lot, doesn't mean that i think just becos the us has serious problems that the entire concept of democracy is corrupt and to be condemned.

likewise, i dont know whether or not you are actually an arrogantly condescending egomaniac, but i do know that your posts come off that way and thus i will challenge you on it.

Ahnimus

soulsinging wrote:

hey, im not telling lucy he can't dislike religion or that he's wrong for finding it wrong for himself. im just saying it's not his place to condemn an entire institution for the actions of a small few. im on his side, when the religious people do use their beliefs to oppress and persecute people, i'd be right beside him to stop him. but id never for a minute think that they are all like that or that just becos i disagree with a few religious people's actions, the entire idea is corrupt. i think the united states fucks up a lot, doesn't mean that i think just becos the us has serious problems that the entire concept of democracy is corrupt and to be condemned.

likewise, i dont know whether or not you are actually an arrogantly condescending egomaniac, but i do know that your posts come off that way and thus i will challenge you on it.

I'd say religion is a viral concept.

soulsinging

Ahnimus wrote:

I'd say religion is a viral concept.

its prevalence would indicate it's molecular.

Ahnimus

Well, there you have it. Satan is dead, Jesus killed him.

http://shoutfile.com/v/k8MebEru/Satan_Is_Dead

gue_barium

Ahnimus wrote:

Well, there you have it. Satan is dead, Jesus killed him.

http://shoutfile.com/v/k8MebEru/Satan_Is_Dead

hahaha, Greenville, Mississippi. I had some good times in that town many moons ago.

decides2dream

Scubascott wrote:

I think its a pretty different concept of God. I don't think its really comparable to the Jewish/Christian/Muslim idea of God. Still, I guess its not atheism, so it still counts as religious belief. Its just a matter of interpretation.

i preface this all with the fact i have not read this whole thread, not even close. that said.....just had to higlight the last point made here, b/c that IS it, isn't it? i do not find it surprising that many scientists believe in God, or a god, a concept of god/universe, whatever. it IS quite posssible to believe in science AND to have faith. i am more of a nature/universe thinker, but nonetheless.....i do think many highly intelligent people have faith in God, and i see nothing contridictory there. it IS all a matter of personal interpretation.

OutOfBreath

Wouldn't it be interesting to find out what people today mean when they say God, rather than having big logical, abstract and theoretical debates about a (fill in adjective) god and how it can/cannot work according to philosophies?

I have huge respect for religious experiences, or more to the point, the kind of experiences that are labelled as religious, and described through the concepts and language of particular religions. I am more interested in the core of the experience, what it may mean, and how it affects people.

I mean, it is pretty much beyond any doubt that there is something there that is the basis of religions. It isn't all about con-artists, power-grubbing individuals or insanity. (although there will of course be incidences of these as well)

Anyone else with me on this?

Peace
Dan

Ahnimus

OutOfBreath wrote:

Wouldn't it be interesting to find out what people today mean when they say God, rather than having big logical, abstract and theoretical debates about a (fill in adjective) god and how it can/cannot work according to philosophies?

I have huge respect for religious experiences, or more to the point, the kind of experiences that are labelled as religious, and described through the concepts and language of particular religions. I am more interested in the core of the experience, what it may mean, and how it affects people.

I mean, it is pretty much beyond any doubt that there is something there that is the basis of religions. It isn't all about con-artists, power-grubbing individuals or insanity. (although there will of course be incidences of these as well)

Anyone else with me on this?

Peace
Dan

No

The doubt that there is significance in these experiences is the same doubt in alien abductions and so on. The brain is a tricky thing. IMO, taking experience alone as solid evidence is dangerously myopic.

FinsburyParkCarrots

Ahnimus wrote:

IMO, taking experience alone as solid evidence is dangerously myopic.

Holy empirical verifiability, Batman!