Worshipping a More Powerful Being

[_Socrates]

Do you worship a god or other superhuman powerful being because you fear retribution if you do not?

Do you feel protected and comforted by the thought of this being using its power to watch over you?

Do you believe in such a being because you cannot comprehend how else the world came to be, and you cannot comprehend an infinity without a beginning?

[_Chap]

Do you worship a god or other superhuman powerful being because you fear retribution if you do not?

Nope.

Do you feel protected and comforted by the thought of this being using its power to watch over you?

Nope.

Inspection of the world allegedly made by this being suggests that if he does exist, he can only be said to 'watch over' people if 'watch over' as a verb applied to him means something completely different from what it means in such a sentence as 'the mother watches over her children as they play in the park'.

The 'watching over' carried out by this being apparently does not preclude that he may allow us to meet with appalling ends through disease, human violence and the forces of nature, however much we beg him to be spared from them. That is not at all comforting. While I do not let my desires determine my beliefs, I think I would be far more anxious if I thought that the universe was controlled by an all-powerful being whose purposes were, so far as human understanding can go, so appallingly ruthless.

Do you believe in such a being because you cannot comprehend how else the world came to be, and you cannot comprehend an infinity without a beginning?

Nope.

Using the existence of such a being as a way of explaining the problem of the existence of the universe simply leads to the problem of the existence of the being we imagine in order to explain the existence of the universe. It is more economical to say that there appear to be some questions we cannot answer.

[_Joseph]

I worship the New York Yankees. They will get me to heaven. Even more quickly after Jeter retires and they get a new shortstop and the third baseman gets healthy.

[_Socrates]

Do you worship a god or other superhuman powerful being because you fear retribution if you do not?

Nope.

Do you feel protected and comforted by the thought of this being using its power to watch over you?

Nope.

Inspection of the world allegedly made by this being suggests that if he does exist, he can only be said to 'watch over' people if 'watch over' as a verb applied to him means something completely different from what it means in such a sentence as 'the mother watches over her children as they play in the park'.

The 'watching over' carried out by this being apparently does not preclude that he may allow us to meet with appalling ends through disease, human violence and the forces of nature, however much we beg him to be spared from them. That is not at all comforting. While I do not let my desires determine my beliefs, I think I would be far more anxious if I thought that the universe was controlled by an all-powerful being whose purposes were, so far as human understanding can go, so appallingly ruthless.

Do you believe in such a being because you cannot comprehend how else the world came to be, and you cannot comprehend an infinity without a beginning?

Nope.

Using the existence of such a being as a way of explaining the problem of the existence of the universe simply leads to the problem of the existence of the being we imagine in order to explain the existence of the universe. It is more economical to say that there appear to be some questions we cannot answer.

Are you saying that until someone can comprehend the true nature of infinity, no beginning and no end, he will be hopelessly searching for an infinite regression of pre-creations? Vainly seeking a point in time at which something appeared from nothing?

[_harmony]

I worship the New York Yankees. They will get me to heaven. Even more quickly after Jeter retires and they get a new shortstop and the third baseman gets healthy.

Hey, 5 for 5 and 3000 hits isn't bad for an old guy!

[_harmony]

Do you worship a god or other superhuman powerful being because you fear retribution if you do not?

No.

Do you feel protected and comforted by the thought of this being using its power to watch over you?

No.

Do you believe in such a being because you cannot comprehend how else the world came to be, and you cannot comprehend an infinity without a beginning?

No.

Mostly, I just like the conversations.

[_Joseph]

Yes Harmony, it isn't bad, is he. But he isn't the Jeter of old. With luck he will break out of the slump and do OK the rest of the season... and then retire. Get a new hot fielding and hitting kid in there. ARod on 3rd gets healthy and they get back to winning again.

But, I grew up with Mantle, Berra, Ford and the gang. You get liking a team as a kid and it kind of stays with you. A lot like life long moronicpriesthood types who just can't change no matter what. They have God but we have something better, the New York Yankees.

[_harmony]

Yes Harmony, it isn't bad, is he. But he isn't the Jeter of old. With luck he will break out of the slump and do OK the rest of the season... and then retire. Get a new hot fielding and hitting kid in there. ARod on 3rd gets healthy and they get back to winning again.

The man may be old (okay, he is definitely old in baseball years), but no young'un can go 5 for 5 on 3000th hit day, and the 3000th hit was a homerun blast. Jamie pitched into his late 40's and still went to the Series. Ichiro's hit 200 a year for the last 10 years.

They may be old, but on any given day, they can still contribute.

[_honorentheos]

They have God but we have something better, the New York Yankees.

"You can buy anything in this world...with money."

[ X ] Your Photo Of Michael Ballam could not be posted due to temple content, the existing overload of Michael Ballam self-promotion already on the internet, and the potential complaint that it may be copyrighted despite the sheer volume of self-portrait shoveled onto the net by the person depicted. Plus, he's the devil don't you know? Careful who you piss off. With Steinbrenner in hell, that's already one half of a powerful duo you're screwing with

[_Chap]

Are you saying that until someone can comprehend the true nature of infinity, no beginning and no end, he will be hopelessly searching for an infinite regression of pre-creations? Vainly seeking a point in time at which something appeared from nothing?

Are you saying infinity has a 'true nature'? I did not say or assume that.

If you want to do the Socratic elenchus on me, are you not supposed to start from some assertion or assumption that I have made? I can remember that from the accounts that your young friend with the broad shoulders left us of your conversations.