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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (214377)	1/3/2002 11:09:37 AM
From: TigerPaw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

It may not be possible to answer questions such as "Is there a God?". It is possible to study such questions as "What conditions, properties, and powers would be necessary to create a universe with certain predictable properties?". The answers to the second question can lead to answers about the first. TP

To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (214377)	1/3/2002 3:08:37 PM
From: J. C. Dithers	Respond to of 769670

I regard the account in Genesis as a metaphorical or apocryphal description of creation ... the result of handed-down tellings and re-tellings, not meant to be taken literally. I feel the same way about much of the Old Testament. I accept the current dating of the universe to be accurate within the bounds of scientific capability today. I don't believe in a Creator because the Bible tells me so; but rather because I believe that the theory of an intelligent hand is a more plausible explanation of an orderly universe than to believe that it came spontaneously out of nothing and nowhere in some unexplained chaotic fashion. I am also influenced by the concept of telos, namely that everything we can observe about our existence suggests that it is has progressed from the beginning in an upward direction (for the better), suggesting purposefulness of existence. It is not reasonable to me that such would be the case if all universal events were a matter of pure, random, undirected chaos and happenstance. I choose to believe in Christianity because I find it a religion of peace, goodwill, and good works. I find comfort in following, however lamely and inadequately, the teachings of Jesus, because I feel they promote a good and true life for all who do. I do not (cannnot) know for certain whether Jesus was the Son of God, or not. If he was not, then he was a deranged man. I find that extremely hard to believe in the context of what we know of his life, not only from the New Testament, but from the historical record. Given that I believe in Creation, and in God, accepting Jesus is neither implausible, nor contradictory, nor illogical, for me ... and so I do. As to the other questions I posed, they are simply examples of how we will never be able to explain our existence for ourselves ... any more than we will ever be able to draw a square circle. JC