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Politics : Should God be replaced? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GUSTAVE JAEGER who wrote (1835)	10/19/2000 12:16:42 PM
From: TigerPaw	Respond to of 28931

For time is nothing but change. If nothing changed then I more or less agree that time would not exist. I don't think that is possible. This ties into the idea of a predetermined future. A system can be so complex that there is no chance of figuring it out, and yet be determined, that is to say it's actions and interactions will reach a state such that if the whole system were put back exactly how it was it would play out exactly as it did. I don't believe this is how our universe works. This is my article of faith, that at some level cause and effect contain a random component. Random is different from unpredictable, or just hoplessly complex. It means that the precise result of an action is not completly defined util the action actually takes place. Randomness is what keeps the future from being fixed, and is ultimately the source of free will. Without randomness we and our universe are no more than a simulation of reality. I have heard some argue that the universe is determined. That if we could account for every action and reaction then we could know what is in store. By extension a God who was bigger, smarter than our whole universe could conceivably know what is in store, and adjust things to fit a goal. This is no different from the simulation, except more like a computer game there is a user manipulating the controls. There is still no free will and whenever the God rested the universe would continue inextrably down the path of the last push. The future is still fully determined for us except for the whim of the manipulator (who presumably has enough randomness in the greater-universe to possess free will of his own). This is not reality, but just a more complex simulation. Radical atheism is bit far-fetched for me The leap from being pretty sure about something, to being sure is a big one. I think it requires a methodical approach and must be approached with an open mind. It's not enough to start with a premise that no God exists and then find rationalizations for the idea, instead I use the approach of asking If a God exists, could it actually manipulate events to the extent that the goal of creating self aware beings under my assumption that the past is fixed and the future is undetermined. I conclude that no amount of magic would overcome chaos over time. That is to say even the smallest amount of randomness is amplified by chaotic changes to eliminate the information inherent in such a goal. (There are some Oh what if kinds of Godly manipulation which amount to the same problem under different timescales, or perhaps extended to increased dimensions). In short, if a God such as I described existed, then we don't exist except as a simulation or automation. TP