Mormonism and polytheism

[_just me]

And if I've got a million gods on my team and mittens has only the one, guess which side is sure to win the Masters of the Universe competition?

Does your team have girls on it? That will surely give you the edge you need to win!

[_Res Ipsa]

The turtles all the way down argument is so narrow and shallow and is best to illuminate the typical shortcomings of an atheist trying to think beyond his/her capacity.

Surely if one considers divine power in the expanse of space and time then why could a deity not hold the earth for a few billion years?

Jñanaraja argued: "A vulture, which has only little strength, rests in the sky holding a snake in its beak for a prahara [three hours]. Why can [the deity] in the form of a tortoise, who possesses an inconceivable potency, not hold the Earth in the sky for a kalpa [billions of years]?
http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Washington?A2 ... =PP&P=1612

What are you referring to as the "turtles all the way down argument?" And why is "God can do anything" some kind of refutation?

[_consiglieri]

Does your team have girls on it? That will surely give you the edge you need to win!

My team is loaded with girls.

But remember: There is no crying in Masters of the Universe competitions!

[_Joan]

(from the good old days, when I had the pictures...)
"turtles all the way down"




quote="DrW"
Super-turtle! To avoid an infinite regress (the bottomless tower of turtles) one might consider a levitating superturtle, which is self-explaining and self-supporting. Theologians call this “a necessary being,” and some have tried to prove that such a being exists.]

This was the enjoyable light-hearted break I needed today. I'm writing an article on the fabrication of Jesus through a Roman agenda. It's heavy.

Question: How many turtles does it take to build a tower?

Answer: As many as necessary.

Turtles are the perfect animal totem for such allegories.
Hard shells, heads that can retract from the reality of the world.
Especially helpful if their snapping turtles.
aaah, but if you manage to flip one of them on their backs the soft underbelly is exposed and it's game over. Flip more of them over and eventually the tower falls.

A levitating turtle, now that's a thought. I feel an idea for a book coming on....Jonathon Livingston Levitating Turtle.

[_Joan]

Does your team have girls on it? That will surely give you the edge you need to win!

My team is loaded with girls.

But remember: There is no crying in Masters of the Universe competitions!

Do you keep the girls names in a special binder?
If you have binders - as in more than one binder - you win a prize.

[_just me]

Do you keep the girls names in a special binder?
If you have binders - as in more than one binder - you win a prize.

[_Joan]

Do you keep the girls names in a special binder?
If you have binders - as in more than one binder - you win a prize.

I should specify - Consiglieri only wins a prize if he has more binders than Mitt.

[_just me]

I should specify - Consiglieri only wins a prize if he has more binders than Mitt.

That's so old school. I bet consig keeps his in his iPad.

[_DrW]

"Turtles" were brought up by Steel Head and Ludwig on this thread.

They are in good company. Several notable cosmologists have used this analogy in papers and presentations, including Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan.

Here is a well known version:

“William James, father of American psychology, tells of meeting an old lady who told him the Earth rested on the back of a huge turtle. "But, my dear lady", Professor James asked, as politely as possible, "what holds up the turtle?" "Ah", she said, "that's easy. He is standing on the back of another turtle." "Oh, I see", said Professor James, still being polite. "But would you be so good as to tell me what holds up the second turtle?" "It's no use, Professor", said the old lady, realizing he was trying to lead her into a logical trap. "It's turtles-turtles-turtles, all the way!”

— from Wilson, R.A. (1983, 1997) Prometheus Rising. Phoenix, AZ: New Falcon Publishers, 1983.

[_Res Ipsa]

Dr. W,

I know the story, but I've never considered it to be any sort of argument -- just a (humorous) illustration of infinite regress.

I wonder if Dr. Seuss had it in mind when he wrote Yertle the Turtle. (Of course that was turtles all the way up....)