Dionysus Forums Archives - Choice Excerpts ...

12-12-2004, 05:10 PM

God is Everywhere!

From the JREF Forums thread, Deception ...

Quote:

In fact maybe the biggest deceiver of all is God (you got that Atlas?), because He made it look like everything came from nothing! Of course when you're on the inside and outside of all things, you can assume any form you wish, thus making you (God) indistinguishable from one thing and the next. No wonder we can't find Him, because He's everywhere!

Peekaboo!

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-12-2004, 05:33 PM

Physical Evidence?

From the JREF Forums thread, Rationalizing Nothing ...

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The thing is, if Jesus truly was the son of God, and the Virgin Mary couldn't furnish proof that He was, wouldn't that make Him a bastard in the eyes of the world? How would you prove otherwise? Now that isn't to say God the Father is not there, and doesn't care, it's just that we don't have the physical means by which to determine this is so. So, how you would you make allowances for this then? Certainly not by trashing every idea that comes along that we can't furnish proof for, correct? Maybe we need to look at things differently, in order to reconcile our relationship with Him? Maybe this is what He's looking for?

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-12-2004, 05:39 PM

From the JREF Forums thread, Rationalizing Nothing ...

Quote:

I am trying to illustrate a principle here. In fact it doesn't even have to include the Virgin birth, or even Jesus, just religious ideas in general. This is what I mean by the bastardization of other people's ideas. In which case we have to ask, is there a means by which to validate religious experience? And no, that does not necessarily imply that everybody has to go to church, or Sunday school, or whatever. It's entirely up to us if we choose to reconcile things with God ... and, if anyone is to blame for the bastardization of our existence, ultimately it's us.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-12-2004, 09:19 PM

A Dumb Cosmos?

From the JREF Forums thread, Deception ...

Quote:

If the cosmos was intelligent -- it either is or it isn't -- and, if it isn't, just what the heck are we doing here? -- how should it go about providing the means to let us know? Through these [creation] myths perhaps?

So, we either have an intelligent cosmos, which might help to explain why we're here or, we have a completely dumb cosmos, which doesn't explain a damn thing. Oh, and guess what? It can't be explained except by means of intelligence!

Amen!

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-13-2004, 01:41 AM

Nothing vs Everything

From the I Love Philosophy Forums thread, A Bastard Universe ...

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Yes, the fact that something does exist, goes completely and unequivocally beyond any notion of nothing. In fact we have a whole Universe set in its place just to maintain that "something" can exist. So you see it can't just be nothing versus something. It has to be nothing versus everything. In which case we have a whole Universe built upon structure ... built upon structure ... built upon structure ... all the way unto infinity. Whoa dude! So what else could that possibly suggest, except something which can only be described as, super-intelligent.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-13-2004, 05:52 AM

Infinite Structure

From the JREF Forums thread, Nothing vs Everything ...

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Well I'm not so sure what you're saying here, but basically what I'm asking is what does infinite structure imply? I have heard that the human mind is the most complex structure on the planet, which of course makes sense, so what does that mean in terms of a Universe (as a whole) which is infinitely more complex than that? Why couldn't it constitute an ever larger system, hence an ever larger brain, hence an ever super-intelligence? Why not? There are microcosms within macrocosms are there not? Why couldn't the earth be the microcosm of what the Universe is as a whole? While certainly the earth (us) must be a reflection of that don't you think?

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-13-2004, 01:11 PM

A Stable Universe

From the JREF Forums thread, Nothing vs Everything ...

Quote:

First of all, the Universe is the Universe, there's nothing hypothetical about its existence. Second of all, there's nothing chaotic (mindless) about the way it functions. Can a computer function wihtout a mind or central processor? No. Why? Because it's all about timing and accuracy. Indeed, it can run thousands of processes at once which, may appear to be at random or chaotic, and yet that's simply not the case. The same thing applies to all the timing and accuracy which is necessary to provide a "stable" Universe. There's nothing about the Universe which does not behave according to what it's been "told" what to do ... i.e., through the "collective process" which holds everything together.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-13-2004, 04:25 PM

A Subconscious Mind?

From the JREF Forums thread, Nothing vs Everything ...

Quote:

Is there anything intelligent about the act of moving an object from point A to point B? Well, it all depends on what precedes the act that determines this, for example if it involves moving my hand which requires my will in order to so. That's an indication of intelligence. However, just because an event doesn't occur at the "conscious level," does not suggest that it or, any other event for that matter (universally speaking), does not occur at the subconscious level. In other words the Universe may very well be working at the level of a subconscious mind.

Remember Jung's, collective unconscious? So, in answer to your question, I don't know? But then again that's not to say we're barking up the wrong tree? ...

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

12-14-2004, 08:12 AM

Only One God?

From the JREF Forums thread, Nothing vs Everything ...

Quote:

Albeit things do have the tendency to come together for the greater good of the whole ... i.e., the wholeness itself signifying Unity. And, if there was a unified purpose, why couldn't that be construed as "One God?" ... Not that God would be incapable of having multiple facets which, could conceivably be mistaken for more than one God. And yet that needn't be a problem so long as the god of "the foot" doesn't override the god of "the mouth," so to speak.

So, perhaps we could have a whole myriad of gods, and yet the only one God which proclaims, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#10

12-14-2004, 01:59 PM

Nothing in Particular?

From the JREF Forums thread, Rationalizing Nothing ...

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No, I do have "something" to say. But you folks would attempt to pass it off as "nothing." And yet it seems like an "all or nothing" proposition now doesn't it? Is the fact that we're here based upon "something" in particular? Or, "nothing" in particular? Of course if it was based upon something, then perhaps we can begin to understand where our ability to rationalize comes from. Hmm ... But then again, if it were based upon nothing, that's where you guys come in.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#11

12-15-2004, 03:25 AM

A Subtle Instrument?

From the JREF Forums thread, Deception ...

Quote:

What you're suggesting here is that thinking is self-contained and everything else isn't. What a joke! Now I can't remember who it was that said, "The more truths contained within lie, the more convincing it is." Hmm ... So basically you've got the whole thing right or, so it would seem, all except for one little insignifcant detail. Amazing! Apparently you fail to realize that the mind is a much more subtle instrument (but an instrument nonetheless) than the lense of an eye or, the drum of an ear and, that it was designed specifically for picking up and transmitting the minutest of signals.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#12

12-15-2004, 09:59 AM

What is Uniqueness?

From the JREF Forums thread, Rationalizing Nothing ...

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The methodology [of determining if the processes of the mind are strictly electro-chemical in nature] exists within the mind itself, and is evidenced by the fact that the mind is sentient and, is the very thing which gave rise to such a dumb-ass question in the first place. So what you are asking is the observer to observe the observer, while attempting to discount that the observer even exists. What are you nuts? And yet this is the very observer which runs all the tests and logs the results. Hmm ... Something is definitely lacking here. In other words which came first, the uniqueness of the observer or, the electro-chemical processes which backup the uniqueness of the observer? In which case we have to ask who's making the observation here and, if it can be deemed credible or not, if the observation method is not unique. Certainly uniqueness cannot be manufactured out of "nothing." While indeed, fallacy can only be based upon the falsification of "something."

So, does that mean our existence is based upon a fallacy?

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#13

12-20-2004, 01:32 PM

From the JREF Forums thread, Where Am I? ...

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The mind is like a corridor between energy and matter, with an existent reality on either side. Evidence of this? You can remain both awake (conscious) and interact within your dreams. This is the beginning of what we would term, a "spiritual reality." Now, if you wish to pass it off as electro-chemical processes within the brain that's your business. But sooner or later you're going to have to come to terms with the "observer" who has witnessed all of this. Yourself.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#14

12-24-2004, 06:26 PM

The Will to Live

From the JREF Forums thread, Are we supernatural? (A logical reason) ...

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Well, that "thing" (consciousness) can operate the intsrumentation known as "our body," much as it can operate any other tool or, piece of instrumentation, such as hitting a nail over the head with a hammer. In other words the body -- as with the hammer and the nail -- is just an inanimate object without "a will" in order to tell it what to do.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#15

01-16-2005, 11:38 PM

From the Internet Infidels thread, 2 Reasons Why Naturalism is Irrational ...

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And yet would you agree that nothing can come into existence without it first existing in potential? Even the DNA code speaks for this in terms of living organisms. If this is the case, doesn't it suggest that each and every thing which exists, has always existed, at least in potential? So what could that mean, except that whatever existed prior to the Big Bang, must have been just as complex as it was after the Big Bang. So it couldn't have been just "any old thing" which existed, but more than likely some form of super-intelligence.

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?

#16

01-16-2005, 11:43 PM

From the JREF Forums thread, If it all just happened...what is driving the electrons and magnetism? ...

Quote:

What of the world of abstract thinking though? Our thoughts aren't material are they? Yet this is the very thing which gives rise to sentience which, is the very thing that informs us that we're alive and well. Is it possible that something comparable to the world of abstract thought existed prior to the Big Bang, thereby accounting for all the pre-existing structure necessary in order to usher a New Universe into existence? While here, even if complexity doesn't appear to exist (prior to the Big Bang), it still has to exist in potential, and where would that potential exist, but within the parameters of "a mind?"

By the way, if you believe in an original cause -- besides something coming from nothing that is

-- why would you have to account for anything prior to that? Wouldn't it be enough to suggest that a greater structure (God) gave rise a lessor structure or subset ... hence the Universe?

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So when the body dies, and consciousness departs, where do "we" go? ... Off to define another "reality" perhaps?