True Believer's Syndrome
- Thread starter Dr. Dissent
- Start date
jjinfla said:
Basically no internet 15 years ago, pretty much a phenomena of the last ten years. Remember the "cell" phones of the 90's, big cumbersome things. And non existent 20 years ago.
How about the satellite mapping system in new cars? Less than five years old. Streaming videos and television shows, movies, music...all on the net now. Within five years, all television will probably be internet available. First run movies too. Make a "buy" and throw it on your big screen flat TV.
Another five years and we see holographic television, for a three dimensional picture. It's a coming, whether you like it or not. You can have life size images dancing around (or shooting 'em up) in your living room. Now that's scary.
jay helfert said:
20 years ago, I was in college and was participating in news groups and sending email to other people in college around the world. I was telling my friends and family how great it was and how great it was going to be. Everyone was like "why would you want to do that?"
I also remember telling one of my computer science professors that I read a story saying there would be 1 GB of storage on disks smaller than floppy discs...he said there was absolutely NO WAY that could happen. Well, now you can get a 2 GB compact flash card for $50. And I haven't seen a floppy disk in a long time.
Funny how things change and what was "sci-fi" 10 years ago is at the dollar store now.
Cheers,
RC
jay helfert said:
I think you were intentionally exaggerating, but they DO have 3-D, semi-holgraphic T.V. available.
3-D TV
Not only that, this particular company is planning on introducing technology that allows different programs/outputs to be viewed by different people watching the same screen from different angles.
I'm getting a headache just thinking about the possibilities of the next 20 years.
Russ
Russ Chewning said:
Halfway there Russ. I'm talking about no television screen at all. Just a device that shoots the image into your room at any size you desire. Think miniture movie projector and no screen. You can walk around these images and view them from anywhere in the room (heck, you can walk right thru them). There is no front or back.
Hi Russ. You make interesting points...which have been debated for thousands of years. But here is where your argument breaks down...and in fact where ALL arguments on BOTH sides break down.
1. To debate the existence of God presumes that the debators are possessed of enough FACTS to support a reasoned opinion. Otherwise, it is not a debate but merely a guessing contest.
2. If there is a God at she is as all powerful and knowing as your citations of Christian belief suggests, then by comparison, our knowledge base, as human beings is so VASTLY inferior that we could not possible have ANY CLUE why God does or doesn't do anything. An alalogy is a goldfish in a bowl. It has a brain but I am sure you would agree that it simply has NO IDEA what that wavey looking thing that causes food to be dropped into the bowl every day is or does or why.
Now, if the goldfish was 1000 times less intelligent than it is...maybe 100,000 times less intelligent then MAYBE you would have a scale upon which God's vs. human intelligence could be measured.
So, while your arguments make a degree of sense you need to accept that you cannot possibly hope to explain the actions/inactions of God.
Bottom line though...since most of us here have been known to make a wager or two, here's the deal. Whether there is or isn't a God is a 50/50 proposition and what is your risk of betting there is no God vs. your reward for betting that there is? Any Hold 'Em player worth his ticket to Vegas would go all in on a bet that there is.
Regards,
Jim
1. To debate the existence of God presumes that the debators are possessed of enough FACTS to support a reasoned opinion. Otherwise, it is not a debate but merely a guessing contest.
2. If there is a God at she is as all powerful and knowing as your citations of Christian belief suggests, then by comparison, our knowledge base, as human beings is so VASTLY inferior that we could not possible have ANY CLUE why God does or doesn't do anything. An alalogy is a goldfish in a bowl. It has a brain but I am sure you would agree that it simply has NO IDEA what that wavey looking thing that causes food to be dropped into the bowl every day is or does or why.
Now, if the goldfish was 1000 times less intelligent than it is...maybe 100,000 times less intelligent then MAYBE you would have a scale upon which God's vs. human intelligence could be measured.
So, while your arguments make a degree of sense you need to accept that you cannot possibly hope to explain the actions/inactions of God.
Bottom line though...since most of us here have been known to make a wager or two, here's the deal. Whether there is or isn't a God is a 50/50 proposition and what is your risk of betting there is no God vs. your reward for betting that there is? Any Hold 'Em player worth his ticket to Vegas would go all in on a bet that there is.
Regards,
Jim
(so skinny) Her Pajamas Only Have ONE Stripe
Sounds like Twiggy.
Doug
( Turn around......... " I AM around " )
jay helfert said:
Sounds like Twiggy.
Doug
( Turn around......... " I AM around " )
jay helfert said:
And if evolution wasn't better than creationism, then I want to know, before there was even the beginning, what came before that? Once I get to this point of thinking, I just punt and say GOOM is too deep for me, great now its my turn to rack.
Island Drive said:And if evolution wasn't better than creationism, then I want to know, before there was even the beginning, what came before that? Once I get to this point of thinking, I just punt and say GOOM is too deep for me, great now its my turn to rack.
Try this one on for size. The entire Universe is ONE living organism, just like the human body.
Think about it this way. The solar systems are similar in make up to an atom. A Nucleus (the Sun) with Electrons moving around it (the planets). All these atoms (solar systems) combine to make up a molecule (the Galaxy). And all these galaxies (molecules) combine to create one living entity.
To take this one step farther, each of us may be our own Universe, with minute life forms existing in every one of our atoms. You are the God of your own Universe. Given this hypothesis, there may actually be billions of Universes, like ours, as well. Getting a little crowded huh?
jay helfert said:
And on Friday, I Truley want the Deau. Thank god for automatic deposit eh?
Island Drive...<<then I want to know, before there was even the beginning,>>
The word "beginning" presupposes that there is such a thing as TIME...without which there can be no "beginning" or "end."
TIME is a dimension...the Fourth Dimension actually. In addition, time depends upon the existence of "infinity" which is defined as "Unbounded space, time, or quantity."
"Unbounded", obviously means there are no boundaries...no limits...no beginning...no end.
Therefore, your question is THE GIANT unanswerable question...the answer to which is only available to you once you have died...assuming there is a God and therefore, an afterlife.
So, when you ask what there was before the beginning the answer is that you have posed an invalid question because there is no such thing as a beginning.
Now, let me wierd you out entirely. "Time" as we know it, is actually "space time" (a phrase coined by Einstein) and it holds that time...as we know it... began at the moment of creation which is now generally accepted to have occured in a process known as the Big Bang.
Well, time can only proceed at the speed of light and therefore, the matter that was FIRST exploded out of the mass that blew up (those particles on the outer surface) began to move BEFORE and have traveled FARTHER than the particles nearer the core. Therefore, each of the GAZILLION particles EXIST IN DIFFERENT SLICES OF SPACE TIME.
Therefore, there is no such thing a TIME that is common to all particles in the Universe and in fact, many scientists now believe that there are a massive number of Universes...EACH EXISTING IN DIFFERENT SLICES OF TIME. How many? In infinate number...but wait...there is no such thing as an infinate number because infinity has no boudaries.
What does this all mean...I have no clue and neither do most graduates of MIT...which is why life is as fun as it is! (-:
Jim
The word "beginning" presupposes that there is such a thing as TIME...without which there can be no "beginning" or "end."
TIME is a dimension...the Fourth Dimension actually. In addition, time depends upon the existence of "infinity" which is defined as "Unbounded space, time, or quantity."
"Unbounded", obviously means there are no boundaries...no limits...no beginning...no end.
Therefore, your question is THE GIANT unanswerable question...the answer to which is only available to you once you have died...assuming there is a God and therefore, an afterlife.
So, when you ask what there was before the beginning the answer is that you have posed an invalid question because there is no such thing as a beginning.
Now, let me wierd you out entirely. "Time" as we know it, is actually "space time" (a phrase coined by Einstein) and it holds that time...as we know it... began at the moment of creation which is now generally accepted to have occured in a process known as the Big Bang.
Well, time can only proceed at the speed of light and therefore, the matter that was FIRST exploded out of the mass that blew up (those particles on the outer surface) began to move BEFORE and have traveled FARTHER than the particles nearer the core. Therefore, each of the GAZILLION particles EXIST IN DIFFERENT SLICES OF SPACE TIME.
Therefore, there is no such thing a TIME that is common to all particles in the Universe and in fact, many scientists now believe that there are a massive number of Universes...EACH EXISTING IN DIFFERENT SLICES OF TIME. How many? In infinate number...but wait...there is no such thing as an infinate number because infinity has no boudaries.
What does this all mean...I have no clue and neither do most graduates of MIT...which is why life is as fun as it is! (-:
Jim
Jay...<<Given this hypothesis, there may actually be billions of Universes, like ours, as well. Getting a little crowded huh?>>
On my honor, I had not read your post when I wrote mine! But it will never get crowded because all those universes exist in parallell time so that can't collide and in fact, don't even EXIST when defined in the context of their own space/time continuums.
LOL
Jim
On my honor, I had not read your post when I wrote mine! But it will never get crowded because all those universes exist in parallell time so that can't collide and in fact, don't even EXIST when defined in the context of their own space/time continuums.
LOL
Jim
av84fun said:
I only see Matter, Space and Movement. Time is something created by man to help explain the above three.
Jay, I think you have belief and hypnotism mixed up. Someone like Trudeau is hypnotically followed. In the face of evidence to the contrary, some people will still follow him. I can believe in creation by observing the myriad of miracles that happen everyday. Miracles like life itself.jay helfert said:
jasper said:
What I want to know Jas, is whether the IPT was Created or Evolved. You seem to be most qualified to answer that question.
Sounds like everyone just installed a cranial rectal inversion kit......hehehe
cheesemouse said:
May I have your permission to use this line sometime? It's too good to pass up.
grant.....Jay