We Should Only Accept What Science Tells Us

That’s what I think. Since science tells us prayer doesn’t work then it doesn’t work. It tells us the universe is 13.7 billion years old. It tells us we evolved. It tells us there was no Israelite Exodus from Egypt. It tells us the Nativity stories in the Gospels could not be true. It tells us virgins do not have babies. It tells us that dead people do not bodily rise from the grave. Christians must denigrate science in order to believe. Science or Faith? Science has a track record. Faith flies planes into buildings. Science all the way, hands down. End of story.

I thought about believing this, but then I realized that it can’t be proven scientifically, and I read somewhere that you shouldn’t believe things that can’t be proven scientifically, so I was forced to reject it. I’m glad you have faith, though.

From debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com

I will answer your question with a question. How would you distinguish between the following two possibilities?

(1) The “real world” exists.

(2) The “real world” is actually a complex computer program created by sentient machines to keep human beings under control. Your Second Life avatar is actually a third life avatar.

Or maybe you’re a brain in a vat. Or maybe you’re just plain insane. You can’t deny that any one of these theories is logically possible. Somehow, though, I don’t think you’re going to wake up tomorrow crushed by uncertainty as to whether or not the real world is real.

It is true that your “Cosmic Trickster” theory is logically possible. I reject it for three reasons:

1) It fails Occam’s Razor. While you can’t prove it false, there’s not any evidence for it either.

2) It is my experience that malicious deceit generally requires some motive. It’s hard to imagine what an omnipotent god would stand to gain by trickery.

3) The theory is, for practical purposes, useless. Even if I knew it was true, I wouldn’t know what to do about it.

One question that I have for religious believers is how they would distinguish between the following:

(1) An all-powerful deity created and guides the universe ultimately towards a good purpose;

and

(2) An all-powerful deity created and guides the universe ultimately towards an evil purpose, but have chosen to maliciously presented himself as benevolent to play a trick on created beings.

I mean, since believers are big on creating conceptual space to make their positions logically POSSIBLE, then it is also possible that God is a Cosmic Trickster who takes pleasure in fooling them.

How could one refuse (2)? Only based upon one’s religious beliefs that (1) must be true. The problem is that one’s beliefs that (1) must be true could be part of the cosmic joke in scenario (2), and thus there is no real way to differentiate between (1) and (2) for a religious believer.

Hmm…

Christians in the audience, what do you think? I have my own ideas on how to answer this question, but first I’d like to open the floor to y’all. Has this fellow (finally after 2000 years) refuted Christianity?

I commend you for having fought valiantly (though not honorably, seeing as you are an evil, treacherous scumbag). However, before we continue, there is something you should know. The game is rigged. That’s right, it’s not a fair fight - God’s on my side.

You know, I almost pity you (’til I remember that you’re a two-faced, contemptible liar). No matter how hard you fight, no matter how many blows you land, no matter whether it seems you are winning or not, you will lose. You will die a painful, fiery death (which I will relish as I consider what a faithless, murderous saboteur you are).

You’ve noticed how it’s already begun, haven’t you? Yes, you’ve had some pretty nasty beatings when I’ve called on my God. As much as I despise you, my feelings are but a pale whim compared to the burning hatred He has for your vileness. You definitely picked the wrong person’s bad side to get on.

I would say I’ve enjoyed watching you get trounced, but the funny thing is I can’t even see you at all next to the Glory of my King. How glad it makes my heart to see how your colossal odiousness is reduced to a pathetic spec when set next to the infinitude of His lovingkindness.

Well, I can see you’re not planning on giving up, so hear this: I will not wait passively for the end to enjoy your doom. I will fight you, restlessly, every hour of every day until I have seen the end of your hideousness. Regardless of whether I am winning or losing, whether I achieve great victories or suffer mighty falls, I will not cease to fight. We know the beginning, and the end has been written, so let us settle the middle.

En garde, dirtbag!

Turns out, this debate is not (as I thought) a new one. In fact, Literary Digest published an article in 1923 titled “Is There Such a Word as Irregardless in the English Language?” Since then, our dictionaries have done nothing toward settling the question. Webster waffles so violently as to both insist that the word is real and adjure you not to use it.

I myself am quite conflicted. I am generally a great believer in making up words, considering language to be a playground for the cheekily quick-witted. (For instance I am the only proponent, that I know of, of using the word ‘underlap’ to refer to a gap.) On the other hand, my engineer’s mind can have little sympathy for using ‘irregardless’ to mean the same as ‘regardless’, rendering the prefix ‘irr’ an unconventional NOP.

My solution, an elegant one I believe, is to encourage the use of the word  - but as an antonym of ‘regardless’, rather than a synonym. In this way it could be used in all sorts of delightfully quirky constructions such as:

• People can vote in the US irregardless of age.
• Lifetime expectancy has gone up irregardless of medical advances.
• Carrie Underwood had talent, and she won American Idol irregardless.
• Macs are the best computers irregardless of what you need one for.
• All people go to heaven irregardless.

Now I don’t expect you to go on a crusade (because I know my audience), but when the subject comes up, (despite your best efforts?) you can take now a position no one will expect.

if You touch my face, would i know You?
looked into my eyes, could i behold You?

what do i know of You who spoke me into motion?
where have i even stood but the shore along Your ocean?
are You fire? are You fury?
are You sacred? are You beautiful?
what do i know, what do i know of Holy?

i guess i thought that i had figured You out
i knew all the stories and i learned to talk about
how You were might to save
but those were only empty words on a page

then i caught a glimpse of who You might be
the slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

what do i know of You who spoke me into motion?
where have i even stood but the shore along Your ocean?
are You fire? are You fury?
are You sacred? are You beautiful?
what do i know, what do i know of Holy?

what do i know of Holy?
what do i know of wounds that will heal my shame?
and a God who gave life its name
what do i know of Holy?
of the One who the angels praise
all creation knows Your name.
on earth and heaven above, what do i know of this Love?

what do i know of You who spoke me into motion?
where have i even stood but the shore along Your ocean?
are You fire? are You fury?
are You sacred? are You beautiful?
what do i know, what do i know of Holy?

what do i know of Holy (play)
addison road

Who are we? Why do we muck around with all things that cause us grief? Why do we bother with sins? Fear. Worry. Materialism. Lust. Faithlessness. Spite. Don’t we know who we are?

We are Christians!

We are the disciples Christ loved.
We are more than conquerers.
We are new creations.
We are a holy priesthood.
We are the Body of Christ.
We are the inheritors of the Kingdom of Heaven.

We have no reason to be afraid and every reason to hope.
We have no use for pride for we could not save ourselves.
We have no need for insecurities for Christ loved us even to death.
We are not without purpose for God has made plans for us.

Let us not be so easily mired in sin and flesh and doubt and fear. Let us not stoop to these things which are so far beneath our calling. Let us run after our Captain, our Savior, our King.

Go!

Love People!

Fight the Devil!

Win!

…mmm: strawberry!)

But now, I do like yogurt and eat it on a regular basis. What’s so spectacular about that? Well, it is a curious case, because I happen to know the reason I changed my mind about yogurt - and that reason is Burn Notice.

Burn Notice (if you didn’t know) is a tv show about a spy in forced retirement who uses his mad spy skillz to help out people in distress. Also he eats a lot of yogurt. And since he is clearly an awesome dude, and he eats yogurt, I was subconsciously propelled into the yogurt eating habit.

Scary, huh?

Well it’s not all bad news. At least in this case, I was completely aware of what was going on, and while my attitude towards yogurt was shifted unconsciously, my behavior was changed consciously both because of yogurt’s new appeal and my deliberate recognition that yogurt is generally a good thing.

So what’s the moral? I don’t know, I just thought it was an interesting story. Feel free to draw your own conclusion. Or select one of the suggested ones below.

Suggested Conclusions:

• TV is an evil mind-control device.
• Yogurt is tastey*.
• If you need to motivate yourself to do something, find a tv show about a spy who does that and then you will be motivated to do the thing that you’re trying to motivate yourself to do.
• I am a weak-minded fool.

*@Bequavious ‘e’ for ‘Emphasis!’

Even if it’s not God - is there a good reason not to do whatever it is you’re being prompted to do? If you suspect the voice to be God’s, the idea is probably a good one, regardless of the source. So the new rule is: if you have the faintest suspicion that God is telling you to do something, and you have no good reason not to do the thing in question, then just do it!

Coupla cautions:

1. Don’t confuse miserable excuse with good reasons. Have no doubt - you will have some reason not to do whatever it is. Chances are, though, it’s not a good reason.
2. This algorithm only works in one direction. I’m not going to tell you that God will never ask you to do something which you have a good reason not to do. And God always trumps your good reasons. So this rule can only be used to help you to action, never to help you to inaction.

So that’s what happens when a computer scientist thinks about spiritual matters - you get heuristics for recognizing God’s voice.